Richard's party

Last year we went to Richard's 4th birthday party, and I was pretty sure it couldn't be topped... Then we went this year, and it was better. Crazy! Spiderman made an appearance, there was a piñata, a face painter came, and a balloon artist came. The cake could feed the whole neighborhood. There was a bounce house and slide. The food was catered and amazing. Seriously, the best 5 year old party ever. When we got there, the kids remembered, and called it "the party house".  There is no way to explain all the pictures. Just imagine happy kids, heaps of candy, adults stuffed full of amazing food, really, just the best time.

Welcome Spidey!

Did you know that Spiderman can also do magic tricks? Hawken and Alexandra were his first two volunteers.

Balloon animals were taken to a whole new level. I'm pretty sure every balloon animal I ever received as a child was a dog. I would have peed my pants if I got anything like this.

Face painting, this guy could do anything you asked for. Scorpion/dragon with green eyes for Matix, dolphin with sparkles for Lullaby (actually she originally asked for a shark, but the guy said, "wouldn't you rather have a nice dolphin?"), and a perfect pink and red flower with sparkles for Alexandra. Again, Hawken likes a clean face.

This birthday cake, if standing up, would have been three feet tall. Crazy.

And the piñata... all the kids got a few good hits in, but eventually the stick was given to Paul to break it open. It still took a while because it was made of THICK cardboard, but eventually everyone left with armfuls of candy.

They all wanted one last picture of their face paint masterpieces before I made them wash it of in the bath.  Then Lullaby wanted an extra picture, lovely.

camel rides

After our long afternoon at the Children's Museum, we headed back down to Pearland to ride camels! What?! Yet another free event put on by our Chick-fil-A. Paul and Solace waited in line while the big kids and I went inside to play and do some crafts.

The line moved FAST and the kids got their turn in no time. They were all able to go together too, which was nice. I was surprised at how much Lullaby liked it. Goats, she's scared of, but camels? No big deal.  The faces on the kids were priceless. They were literally squealing with excitement. So so so fun.

The ride was just around the parking lot, but the kids loved it. LOVED. I also shot a quick video, because, as you might remember, I don't take enough videos (according to Matix). So here it is. Camel rides in the Chick-fil-A parking lot. What a strange sentence. :)

cookie tasters

I made up a new chewy oatmeal cookie recipe. These three were up from naps first, so they were the taste testers. I made 4 different versions of the cookie, and have almost perfected it. I don't LOVE it yet, although each batch was good tasting, and the kids liked them all. Cookie numbers 3 and 4 were the favorites. #3 had a little nutmeg and #4 had just cinnamon.  The kids took their taste testing job very seriously. It was so funny to watch them talk about why they liked each one. Even Alexandra, who has to be the world's pickiest eater, had good things to say about the cookies. That was quite the compliment. :)

Children's Museum

The Children's Museum has to be one of the best places in all of Houston to go to with kids on a hot day who are just itching to play. This particular day, we were there for about 4 hours, and there were still lots of things we didn't get to.  The super hero summer theme is so fun.

Alexandra got to see a few other parts that she hadn't seen yet. Pictures three and four had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. They kept making faces by squishing their faces on the window... SO funny.

Face painting fun. They love to do their own creations. Matix was (again) a warrior, Alexandra was an Indian princess, and Lullaby was a butterfly(?!). Hawken likes his face clean.

The inventors' workshop is a HUGE area full of anything you could think of for doing crafts. Popsicle sticks, paper, clothespins, tape, glue, pipe cleaners, tin foil, paper cups, straws, yarn, beads, glitter, string... I really couldn't name everything, there is too much. Basically, it's heaven for artsy and crafty little kids, like these.

Sully boy is so good to sit and chew on spoons or look around while the big kids do their thing. He is SUCH a good baby.