Phew!

I made it through this crazy week!

And I'm still alive and still sane...

well, that's debatable. ;)

On Friday, Seth did the Wax Museum with the 4th grade. He dressed as Philo T. Farnsworth (the inventor of the television, and also a distant Blackham relative). He looked really cute as he posed with his homemade television set. The kids had little orange stickers as buttons that we could push and they'd tell us a fact about the person they were dressed as. It was very well done. BTW, he wouldn't smile for me because he said he was supposed to be serious as he posed. LOL

Tom turned 40 on Wednesday, the 22nd, so I had planned a surprise party for him on Friday evening.

It was an 80s party, and we had some of the raddest outfits on our guests that night! It was, like, totally awesome. Leg warmers, spiked bangs, and blue eye shadow were everywhere. Here are my 80s girls. Remember those shoelace hair bows? Cass loves them now, she wants to start a new trend with them. Heeheehee...

We even had a former member of Flock of Seagulls show up.

We rocked out to the 80s tunes and laughed at our pictures that we hung up on the 80s Hall of Shame. A big huge THANKS to all our guests that showed up. It was so much fun to share the evening with you, it was a memorable night, that's for sure. Tom was surprised, he kept telling me he had no idea that I was planning the party. I'm so glad we were able to pull it off without him finding out! My good friend Ninette was snapping pictures all night long, so I didn't worry too much about taking pictures. I can't wait to see her pics of the evening. Everyone looked really cool!

Heh... one other notable thing that happened was I dropped my phone in the sink on Friday afternoon. Ugh! Of all days.... I was running around setting up for the party and getting last minute things, and I had no way to call or text anyone. I felt so disconnected. It was horrible! Luckily, fingers crossed, my phone came back to life today. It has slowly regained key functions since Friday night, and it suddenly started working this afternoon. So YAY! So, if you have texted me in the last 48 hours and haven't received a reply, now you know why.

Now for some sad news. Micah is 7 months old today. Yes, my baby boy. My teeny tiny little (well, he was never little, being born over 9 pounds) baby boy who can sit up, scoot, and roll all over the floor is 7 months old.

How did this happen?

Don't ya just love his 'do?

I've had to put away his too-small clothes TWICE now. I pulled out the 12 month stuff last week. Today, for church, he wore navy dockers and a navy and white checked button up shirt. Not a cute light blue baby one-piece outfit with the matching booties, he actually wore big baby boy stuff today. I even pulled out the black Sunday shoes, but I just couldn't put them on him yet. Once they wear shoes, there's no going back. I will then have to admit that he's getting bigger, and you can't make me do that. Not yet.

Pinewood Derby

We had our Pinewood Derby the other night. Seth made a car that looked like a big chunk of cheese, which Tom appropriately dubbed the "Flying Cheese". Seth's friend also made a cheese car, and as the race proceeded, both cheese cars kept coming in 1st place. By the end of the first round, Seth was in the finals with 7 other boys. In one race, his car jumped the track a bit, and slowed down enough that he came in 2nd place for that race. So at the end of the finals, he was tied for 3rd place with another boy. After racing each other 4 times, and each winning twice, they timed each car to see who was the fastest. Each boy got to pick their lane to race in, and the stopwatch was pulled out. Seth's car was 3.63 seconds, and the other boy's was 3.75.... so close!! It was such a fun night. It was worth all the work Seth and Tom did to get that car ready.

So it was the night for the cheese cars. Seth's friend took 1st, and Seth took 3rd.

We were all joking that next year, all the boys will be making cheese cars. :)

Here are Tom and Seth putting graphite on the wheels before the race.

Seth putting his car on the track.

Andrew and Janessa goofing off on the sidelines.

Easter Report

We had a really nice Easter weekend. The Easter Bunny brought the kids' baskets on Friday night. We started doing it that way a few years ago. It works out really well. We have the "Easter Bunny" part for one day, then we get to focus on the true meaning of Easter on the Sabbath. Another good thing is that we don't have to rush the kids around before church on Sunday morning. They can take their time and enjoy their baskets the day before.

The Easter Bunny keeps thing pretty simple around here. Each child got some item of clothing, a little bit of candy, and a special treat. Cassidy got beef jerkey (hey, it's what she wanted). Seth got Nutty Bars, Jonah got Pop Tarts, Janessa got goldfish crackers, Andrew got Go-gurts, and Micah got baby food. It was fun watching them barter and trade their treats.

Here are Andrew and Micah in their matching train shirts. Well, sorta matching... Micah's is covered in slobber. :P

Church was very nice on Sunday, the choir did an Easter Cantata for our sacrament meeting. I'm really impressed with the size and quality of our choir. We get lots of compliments from other wards. I have been meaning to join, ever since we moved here, actually, but I keep finding excuses NOT to. But I think the time has come for me to get back into it. I love singing, I love being a part of a singing group, and I love everyone involved in our choir, so that's my next "thing". I can't wait. I especially love singing at Christmas time.

Here are the kidlets after church. *sigh*

Just trying to get a decent pic of the 6 of them gives me a headache.

After church, we had a nice family dinner here at our house. Of course it was the traditional Easter/ward dinner fare: ham, RS potatoes, rolls, etc. However, there was no green jello. LOL After dinner, Cassidy organized an egg hunt downstairs for the little kids. It was nice to have Janice and Jeremy there with us. I hope it wasn't too loud and crazy for you guys with 10 kids running around.

My Princess

Janessa was invited to her friend's birthday party this week. It was a princess party. Well... and a super hero party too, because some of the guests were boys. :) Janessa looked so cute in all the dress up stuff. She went all out with the feather boa, pearls, lace gloves, and tiara. It was a cute party.

Happy Birthday, Seth!

Seth Thomas Blackham was born at 6:28 pm on April 4th, 1999. It was Easter Sunday, and General Conference was also that weekend, so it was an extra special day. He was a surprise, we didn't know if he was a boy or a girl, but I kind of had a feeling he was a boy. I even bought his blessing outfit a few months ahead of time because I was pretty sure.

In the Bible, Seth was Adam's son, he was "the express likeness of his father, insomuch that he looked like his father in all things" (D&C 107:43). Seth looked a lot like Tom, (still does, he's just a blond version!) so the name fit perfectly.

Seth had reflux when he was a baby. I remember carrying around a bath towel instead of a small spitcloth for him, because he would spit up a lot.

Seth has always been good at puzzles and games. He likes to play baseball and soccer, and is a good swimmer.

Seth tries his very best in everything he does. He is a great reader, he learns quickly, and he really enjoys school. He hardly ever has homework because he finishes it all during class.

He has been in cub scouts for the last 2 years, and will now move on to Webelos. I was his Bear leader, and Tom is the Webelo leader, so he just can't away from us, I guess. LOL

Happy Birthday, Sether-Bub! I can't believe you have hit Double Digits! I think you are an awesome kid, and I love you very much! Your dad and I are so proud of you, and we know that you will be able to accomplish anything that you set your mind to. Happy Birthday!
♥♥♥HUGS and KISSES ♥♥♥

April Fool's

Hahaha.... very funny. Now let's have some spring weather.

Seriously!

My poor tulips and crocus are covered with snow, and it's supposed to continue all day. Ugh. I declared our own snow day because I just don't want to be out driving in this. Luckily, it's not my carpool week, so I sent the older kids off to school. I'm so glad I don't have to drive anywhere. I mean, I know that I can manage a car in the snow, but everyone else scares me. Plus traffic is really bad on days like these, why stress about getting Janessa to preschool when the weather is bad like this? Any way, she's still sleeping. We had a late night last night because of her Spring (LOL... ironic name, I know) Dance Recital. I'm going to let her sleep in as long as she needs to. Then we'll make pancakes, watch a movie, cuddle on the couch, make cookies later..... It'll be fun. I might even be able to catch a nap later. I haven't had a "day off" for awhile, I think we should all stay in our jammies today.