Superhero Academy

I want to make the disclaimer right off that almost all of the ideas for this birthday party were found online or shared with me by friends. I can't claim ownership over some of the brilliant ideas that made Louie's 6th birthday party so much fun.

For instance, Amanda shared with me that her friend used T-shirts as capes. One of my biggest gripes about making capes for my boys is that they want to use their blankies. No matter how well I tie the blanket or even wrap it with a rubberband, it comes undone. There was no way I was going to do that for ten kids throughout the party! I found a great deal on some colored T-shirts at Hobby Lobby and, with the help of Lisa, cut off the front of the shirt along with the sleeves, leaving the ring of the collar and voila! you got your self a cape that the boys could pull off and on without any help!

At the beginning of the party we had Louie (Batman), Owen (Super O), Benny (Spiderman) and Charlie (Super C) modeling the superhero gear. I found a stack of foam rectangles at Deals that came in all sorts of colors and used the pink ones to practice until I came up with the right shape.

The shapes on the back are felt that have sticky stuff already on the back! I'm sure there are a number of places where you can get it, but I had a coupon for Michael's. All you have to do is peel off the back. Each boy got a bag that had a cape, a shield, stars, a mask, and a watch inside. Their first task was to put together their costume. I figured by giving them each the supplies already divied out we could save some arguments and time. Although thinking back on it, we could have spent more time making capes!

Even Miss Meredith--I mean Super Mere--had a cape! And Daddy was wearing the "staff" attire of black T-shirt and jeans. Not the brightest idea on a very warm day! Sorry :)

The crew, after all had made their capes.

The first game: Vaporize the Villains. I really have to thank this blog for coming up with so many great ideas. Especially for the idea of the "academy." We could play games with no winners or losers, which we found out for a couple of the kids was a big deal. A big deal that could cause tears if they thought they should be the winner. It was nice that they all had to just complete the task--and have a blast while doing it. I didn't get real water balloons, but thought surely they wouldn't have any trouble breaking them against the pictures of the bad guys.

I wish we would have gotten it on video! The balloons just kept bouncing off the wall and there was a flurry of throws, with kids getting hit in the head then grabbing another one and finally, when each balloon was thrown about twenty times they finally broke! The blog suggested using silly string, but the more I thought about it, water was a lot easier to deal with than silly string.

Next we played "Leap a Building in a Single Bound," but I couldn't bring myself to post pictures of the kids propelling their bodies when we didn't have parents sign permission letters saying that it'd be ok if they were sent to the hospital over a birthday party game.

After that we played "Batcave" (pictured above) where I took the basic idea from the link and adapted it for our situation. Kevin's cell phone rang while he was talking to the boys about their favorite superheroes. He told them it was Batman calling to say that Superman was coming to the Batcave and he needed to get his stash of kryptonite out of there pronto! The boys were really pumped up about helping Batman out!

I made a simple obstacle course where the kids started out by spinning 6 times with their forehead on the end of a baseball bat. (How funny is it that Charlie's so short that he had to spin on his eye socket!) Next, they took a basketball, while still wobbly, ran to the back of the yard and shot it into a bucket. This was the "key" to get into the Batcave. Then, they balanced themselves on steps of landscaping timbers to reach the stash of kryptonite. There was a pitch-back set up and each stick of kryptonite (glow stick) had a hook on it which made it easy for hanging.

All the Superheroes finished the task and, of course, what comes out of their mouths? Where's Batman and Superman??? Wouldn't that have been cool if they would have shown up? I wish I would have thought of that. I could have had my brothers come over in costume and thrilled the boys.

Instead of cake, I made "Superhero Sundaes." Basically I made the kids sundae that you'd find at a Bob Evans restaurant--Reece's cup eyes, cherry nose and chocolate syrup smile on top of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream with fudge and caramel. YUM.

The day ended with a ceremony where each attendee of the academy received a certificate that detailed the skills he attained and now he was in the same league as Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman and others. I thought this picture was really cute, with all the guys doing their best poses. We really lucked out on the incredibly nice day so that this group of energetic (mainly) 6-year-olds could run around the yard because we anticipated the games lasting longer than they actually did!

I think Louie had a great time :)

Incredible Amounts of Fun

Last Friday we had a fantastic day with our friends Amanda, Owen and Eli and wouldn't you know it, I forgot my camera! Here is Amanda's account of the day, if you'd like to see some of the cool shots she got of the park and of the kids.

We started the day off similar to when we were here with Daddy a couple of weeks before by flying kites. It was extremely chilly, but the sun and blue skies made it very enjoyable! I had so many great memories of being a kid in the park and it was fun watching the boys make their own memories.

I've known a little bit about the park but not much, just kind of took it for granted as the giant-wooded park not far from my childhood home. I found some more details about it on Cincinnati's website and I've copied it to share with you. Interesting stuff!

Herbert Greer French House

Once the home of Herbert Greer French, this structure is the focal point of a 276-acre property, which he bequeathed to the Board of Park Commissioners. Mr. French was a top Procter & Gamble executive from 1893 until his death in 1942. About 1910, French acquired a group of farms and selected one of the farmhouses to use as a lodge. Calling it Reachmont Farm, he moved there full-time in 1931.

This brick house appears to be early-19th-century and was altered and expanded in the early 20th century. The original section is the four-bay west wing. Between 1908 and 1916, architect David D. Davis (who completed the design of the facade of St. Mary's Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Ky.) drew up plans for Mr. French for an east addition (New kitchen, dinning porch,two bedrooms and sleeping porch).

In 1930, architects Garber & Woodward further expanded the east addition, which required the demolition of a smokehouse and a greenhouse. Garber & Woodward are known for Dixie Terminal, Central Trust Tower, Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. headquarters, and many schools and libraries. (For more about these architects, see appendix.)

In the mid-1970s, Savage, Chappelear, Schulte Associates carried out a major renovation. The house remains an excellent example of Federal and Colonial Revival architecture.

3 + 1 = More

I'm not sure how it is, but having Louie on spring break today while trying to get Benny to school and do the normal "while Benny's at school errands" was so much more difficult than when Louie is at school. Why is that? Should one more kid make all that much difference?

They were bonkers today, creating a confrontation with me over everything from breakfast to where their hand was on the grocery cart. Speaking of which, in the future: even if we are completely out of milk, eggs, fruit, out of anything that the kids will eat, I will not go to the grocery with all four of them ever again. I'm repeating myself, but that one extra kid made all the difference. We couldn't get in the door and they were fighting and hurting and causing a big ol' commotion. This isn't normally how we roll. They are normally helpful and relatively quiet through the store (we go extremely quickly, so it doesn't leave much time for mischief!), and today even though they each had a list of stuff they needed to look for, they were crazy. And that was just in the morning!

I don't know. I'm going to blame it on the major weather change. The warm weather has been replaced with rain and cold and mostly gray skies. That has to be it. Good news, though: the weekend is supposed to be really nice!

~BIG NEWS~

We found out on Easter that my niece Gracie is going to be a big sister!

It happened after the kids' egg hunt at my parents' house. Mom was holding Gracie and my brother Joe gave Gracie an egg to open. Inside was a note that read "I'm going to be a big sister!" I don't think it clicked right away for anyone. And then the screaming ensued.

What a great Easter surprise! Baby number 2 for their family will be arriving sometime late November--what a great Thanksgiving it will be!

Friday with Friends

(I forgot to include this from last week. With all these cute kids, I definitely wanted to post this.)

Great-Grandpa and his great-grandchildren

Kevin had Good Friday off and joined us at Dulle park for lunch with Grandpa M, Grandma R, Grandma Alice and the kids. They had a great time on the playset, but even more fun down by the creek.

Jay, Eva, Meredith, Charlie, Benny, Louie, Lexi, Gracie

I'm sure I've talked about it before, but growing up there were two families, each having four kids. Most, but not all the kids "matched up" age-wise, and we were pretty much always together. Vacations, camping trips, going to the pool, park--we even lived two doors down from each other. Those two families grew up and now the kids are having kids. This picture is the product of four of those families (above names color-coded by family).

I love it that we were all so close growing up, and now our kids will be!

Spring Fever

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

It's that time of year again and it is, for my family and many others, a holiday. It was lucky for us that I didn't have to call Lou off of school because he was on spring break, but it was my plan to. Daddy and pretty much everyone else we know had tickets for the game, but that was ok because we already had plans: to go down to the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade with our friends, Amanda, Owen and Eli.

We went a couple of years ago, on a day filled with constant sprinkles and big puddles; last year the weather was so bad, we instead had a "pep rally" at our house instead; but this year was the perfect start to the season, even if it did end up as a good old-fashioned butt-whoopin' for our beloved Redlegs.

Amanda got down to "our spot" early and it was a good thing she did because this year was much more crowded than before. We decided that it was on account of the great weather and possibly it was spring break for a lot of those kids.

Amanda and Meredith

The boys went to play baseball on the grassy area again and no one said anything!

The ball just "happened" to end up in the fountain. I envisioned a head-first dive into it, but Amanda was able to cut it off before anything like that happened. I imagine that if it were two dads instead of two moms the boys would still be playing in the water!

I think Meredith's refusal to look at the camera was because she was upset that she was the only one without Reds gear. My goal is to make a Rosie Red outfit for her before the season's up. (I could be called delusional.)

The boys were excited to see Johnny Bench--they practically have Game 6 of the 1975 World Series memorized, and one of their favorite homeruns is the one Bench hit at his last game as a Red.

Sponsor of the parade--it's been a Cincinnati tradition for 91 years!

Our little fans--see Charlie waving? Every time someone in the parade came by and waved, he thought that the person was waving directly to him and he waved back furiously. So cute!

Lots of people dressed up in costume for the parade, and this was one of my boys' favorite--Big Boy!

So many great marching bands came by us, getting everyone pumped up for the game.

Easter

A big part of getting ready for Easter is picking out special outfits to wear to church. Kind of like the beautiful crocuses, hyacinths and tulips popping up in our yard, Easter presents us with a time to spiffy ourselves up. I've mentioned how we had no problem figuring out what Miss Meredith was going to wear, but the boys were a different story.

Charlie has a really cute sweater vest that he could have worn, but most of the time the boys are all about "one for all and all for one" when it comes to dressing themselves. I looked at stores for ties and I was finding ones for $11. I decided to give it a go myself. A while back I found a pattern online for little boys ties and even though I am extremely new to the world of sewing I thought I could attempt it. And in typical Annie fashion, I waited until Good Friday to attempt it.

Believe it or not, I made three ties that could be worn. They weren't perfect by any means, but they worked! (I'm so excited, if you can't tell.) Here are some pictures from the day, that started with finding eggs and baskets at our house; mass with the family then brunch at my parents'; and ending the day at Aunt Robin's for dinner. It was a gorgeous day, making me a huge supporter of living in areas where there are seasons. I mean, do you think residents of San Diego would appreciate the weather we've been having if they didn't go through the winter we just had? Probably, but I tell myself otherwise.

Happy Easter to you!

Meredith's sun bonnet. Gracie got the same one in her Easter basket and the Easter Bunny(s) didn't even go shopping together!

Not a great shot of their ties or Mere's dress. We definitely weren't on the ball, as far as that goes. And yes, Louie's tie is a bit short, made to look even shorter by his shirttail hanging out!

Gracie's first Easter!

Charlie didn't get it that the eggs in the tree weren't just easy pickins.

The negligent mom not realizing that sun in April can still burn a fair-skinned baby's skin.

An egg rolled out into the middle of the pool cover.

Meredith and Charlie at Aunt Robin's

I think Mere and Charlie will be like my cousins Katie and Andy. They're also the two youngest in their family and such good friends.

A closeup of the ties: I should have made a point to make Lou's longer since he is obviously taller than the other two. Maybe I'll put together some more for upcoming events...