Dance Fever

Our local Daddy-Daughter dance was last month, and it couldn't have come soon enough for Jordis.  No joke, she's been asking about it since last summer.  See how excited she was?

She was slightly more patient for the hair styling this year.  And I do mean SLIGHTLY.  Two days previously we had decided to go on vacation, leaving right after the dance was over, so getting these two ready and out of the house was hectic when we added trip preparations to the mix.  But they couldn't have looked any more stunning.

Jordis had quite a few friends there this year.  Here she is dancing with a few of them, instead of her date.  (Sideways, of course, because for whatever reason certain pictures will not upload here the way they are showing up in my computer.  I think it's an i-phone thing).

And of course a few trips to the ice cream bar.

  Xander and I usually have a dinner date during the dance, but we had to make it a quick one this year so we could get home and finish packing. So I suggested the KFC buffet.  Xander loves mashed potatoes and he loves buffets, so he was a pretty happy guy.

Then home we all went to finish packing and load up the car for our trip south. 

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Last month, Jason and Jordis went to the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance sponsored by our city. You have to be four to attend, so she just missed going last year by about two months. I had fun getting her ready, but I'd make a horrible pageant mom. Jordis is a typical girl.....she wants to look pretty, but she doesn't want it to take too long. This is the look she kept giving me when I told her for the eighty-millionth time, "No, I'm not finished with your hair yet."

All ready to go

Upon arrival, all of the little girls received a red carnation corsage.

Jordis wore hers all of five minutes before demanding that it be removed.

There was an ice cream buffet that looked really yummy. Jordis apparently had two bowls. She's never really adventurous, just chocolate and sprinkles.


Jordis' neighbor friend, Megan, and Xander's neighbor friend, Lauren, were also there with their dads, and they all sat at the same table together. Besides the dancing there were also some other activities, as well as a professional photographer on hand to take pictures.


Xander and I couldn't let Jason and Jordis have all the fun, so we went on a little date or our own. I took him to Donato's for subs and pizza because he really loves meatball subs and I really love Donato's pizza. It was win-win!

By far, this picture of Jordis was one of the highlights of my evening. She has never been one to enjoy posing for portraits. So much so that, after taking her for unsuccessful photos at 9 months, 12 months and 18 months, I finally quit taking her altogether. I was getting upset with her because she wouldn't stand still and smile for a picture before we left the house, and she rolled her eyes at me. Sometimes I tend to forget that some of the best pictures are the candid ones. I think this one needs blown up and hung on the wall.

Jordis' Birthday Party

This year Jordis invited some friends over for a cupcake decorating party. She had wanted some invitations at Factory Card Outlet that I refused to buy because they cost a ridiculous $8. Then I spent $19 buying the supplies to make her some invitations. Crazy, I know. But mine were cuter. The ones she wanted had turqouise frosting and they just didn't look very little-girlish.

The first thing we did was play Pin the Cherry on the Cupcake. Then we opened presents. Jordis got some really nice gifts.

Then we put on the aprons I made and decorated some cupcakes.



After the cupcakes were complete everyone had a box to take them home in so they could share them with their families.

Then we capped off the afternoon with cake and ice cream. Jordis picked mint chocolate chip, just like her brother. She didn't want anyone singing to her though, so she hunkered down in her chair.



Xander enjoyed the day, too.

And now, we are thankful that their birthdays don't roll around for another 11 months.

Scooby Dooby Doo!

Xander has been into Scooby Doo for the past 8 months or so. Want to know what cartoon I HATED growing up? Yeah.....I probably don't have to tell you. But I love the kid, so I went along with his idea for a Scooby Doo birthday party. The plan was for the kids to make their own pizzas, play a few games, then do presents and cake. It didn't quite happen that way. Only a few kids made pizza, some refused to play games, one stood in the corner and listened to his I-pod, and they all practically sat in my lap while Xander opened his gifts. I think his whole video is going to just be me asking the kids (over and over) to scoot back. Let's just say that Xander's already been told he's not having 11 people over for his birthday next year.

I found paw print wrapping paper to decorate the tables and the kids snacked on potato chips and Scooby Snacks served in dog food bowls. We also had punch in Scooby Doo colors.

We played Scooby Doo bingo and one other game, and Xander enjoyed sitting with his "girlfriend." She lives down the street and they share a seat on the bus together. Each day they rotate who sits by the window, although I'm not sure if the coveted seat position is by the window or on the aisle.

Xander opened presents

Then we had cake and ice cream (Xander picked mint chocolate chip) and passed out goodies. Xander gave his friends cupcakes that had Scooby Doo liners, Scooby Doo Fruit Snacks, Scooby Snacks and Scooby Doo Band-Aids.

And then it was time to finish working on Jordis' party. One down, one to go.

Pump It Up

Last night the kids got to go to a birthday party at Pump It Up. It was Xander's friend from our old church who had the party, but Jordis plays with them too so she got to be included. They couldn't wait to go and jump all over the place.





It was hard to get good pictures since the kids were moving so much. Jordis even made me go down the slide with her. One time was good enough for me. After an hour and a half of jumping and sliding, it was time to eat. The kids were all about pizza, Spider Man cake and ice cream. Xander was most excited about getting to sit by the birthday boy...until it was time for goodie bags. You'd have thought someone offered them a trip to Disney World. They both shouted "goodie bags" and hugged each other like long lost friends. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to get a photo of that.


Happy Birthday, Wes. See you next month at Xander's party.

The pumpkin patch

Last month I took the kids to the pumpkin patch we typically go to, so today we decided to try somewhere new. Living close to some rural areas is nice because it gives us multiple locations to choose from. The first thing we did was go on a hayride.

Then we navigated our way through an 8 acre corn maze.

After the maze we went to the front of the property where the kids jumped in an inflatable, sat on some tractors, grudgingly posed for pictures, and picked out a few pumpkins and some homemade black raspberry preserves.

After leaving we decided to go check out a new BBQ restaurant that came to town. I didn't want to go there because I hate that their name is Dickey's, but Jason wanted to try it so we were going to go get something and take it home. Turns out that kids eat free on Sundays if you dine in, and they also have free soft-serve ice cream. So it ended up being pretty economical.

The kids even sat next to each other without fighting. It wasn't amazing food, but it was good enough that we'll go back. Especially if it's somewhere that the kids will cooperate. We had such a fun time!