Potato Guns!

They shoot little pellets of potato. Great old-school fun.

xmas lessons 2005

Lessons from xmas 2005:
1) You never really know which toy is the hit and which is a miss, and
2) Grandparents always have the best gifts.

A "mood ball" that changes color wherever you touch it.... HIT. (Also note new clothes... HIT.)

Daddy got a book about bugs, complete with three-d glasses... HIT

Jake added to his collection of pirates... HIT

The only MISS was Santa's. Apparently, Santa was supposed to bring Matt a Stars Wars III DVD. Unfortunately, Santa didn't get the memo, so Matt had to go out and buy it for himself today.

Ho ho ho. :-)

Jake's 5th Birthday Party

Just had a big party at our house for Jake's 5-year-old birthday. Planned on some outdoor activity, but bad weather prevented it. I'd say, it worked out fine. Note the Power Ranger theme. Thanks to Barbara Duffy for all these great photos.

 
Six classmates in your bedroom. Now, that's good fun. 

 
This party practically ran itself. 

 
Beading. The perfect party activity. 

Everybody limbo!

 
What party is complete without the Chicken Dance? 

 
Followed by a Conga line, of course. To the tune of Buster Poindexter's "Hot! Hot! Hot!" 

 
By the time the Conga line reached the living room, the pizza was set out, ready for kid-consumption. This party ran like clockwork, baby. 

 
We decided to make rules about what behavior was appropriate. "No hitting." "No being mean." "No pulling eyeballs out of your head." 

 
The best ride ever. 

By the end, we were all ready for some relaxation!

At the Lapin Agile

 
Lydia learned all about Picasso in her art class. Does it show?