Rock Star Cousins ... Literally

On Ryan's side of the family, the kids have 2nd cousins that are real rock stars. Not the music kind, but the scaling rock walls kind. Their 2nd cousins, Elizabeth and Emily, compete regionally and nationally in bouldering and lead climbing. So, that makes them absolutely rock stars. Western Regionals were held in our area this year, so the family went to watch the cousins during qualifiers. This was sometime Jan this year.

The competitors have 4 problems to climb, with each climb having 4-5? minutes to complete their climb. They are judged and given points for various things... a flash (complete route on first try), a top (complete route, but takes more than one try), points for highest hold reached, etc. And the climbers sit with their backs to the route while other climbers climb. This way they don't get to see the route or beta beforehand.

Liz.








Emily.





These competitions are interesting. The routes, the way it is scored... it's like a whole different aspect of climbing than I am used to. Outdoors used to be the proving grounds, but these competitions bring about it's own style.. flashy, dynamic creativity.

The kids have spent some time with their 2nd cousins and they just love being with them. Obviously for our rock climbing family, it's nice to for the kids to have their 2nd cousins as role models.

Here are the kids all over Emily when we got together for grandma's 90th birthday. It helps that they are being entertained by an IPhone. Electronics are just as addicting to them as candy!

A preview into how teenage years will be...

And grandma's 90-years-young. Not sure when they took this photo, cause once the cake was out, Emilia was all over grandma... and the cake!

Party celebrations.

Wanted : Two Front Teeth and Cake!!

A week before the big 7, she lost her 2nd front tooth. Signs of the times... she's turning into a full-fledged kid.

While I definitely miss their cute, little baby and toddler stages, this age also has some perks. Like for instance, when I decided to make a cake for Emilia's cake decorating play date, the kiddos re-confirmed that I have no need to purchase an additional kitchen gadget, such as a Cuisinart Stand Mixer. The kids are saving me $300+.



Now, why can't the kids be this enthused to help me out normally in other areas (aka cleaning up, getting dining table ready for dinner, etc).

Emilia's BFF came over and the kids had a birthday play date where the theme was cake decorating. There were two all-white cakes from a local bakery, and I made an additional four 1-layer vegan chocolate cakes for the younger siblings & others to decorate. It was also for Liam to eat, since you know, he's still allergic to eggs.

The younger siblings.

The kids decorated with homemade buttercream frosting of 5 various colors, frosting gels, sprinkles, and gummy bears... apparently the gummy bears on cake was a big hit. Liam got to it first before the other kids, so his cake is loaded with minimal frosting, but lots of gummy bears.

Emilia's 7th...



This bday play date turned out great. It was all about having a special day with a close friend and doing special activities. She didn't, and hasn't, asked once about presents. Okay, she did ask for cake... and she got lots of it. Anyhow, at 7 years old, I'm quite happy at the little person she's become.

Frozen

All the way from Erendale, Elsa made an appearance at one of Emilia's friend's birthday party. Notice how all the little kiddies can sing along to the song!



On a side note, there was a fitness challenge on Halloween... to do 10 burpees for each Elsa costume one saw. I knew better than to sign up for THAT challenge.

Emilia practicing patience while waiting for her turn to meet Elsa.

Elsa paints pretty pink snowflakes on Emilia's hand and face.

This is what Liam's doing instead of meeting Elsa.

School buddies.

The kiddos love birthday parties!

Liam's 3rd Halloween-Themed Birthday Party

Liam's turning 3! And with him being such a big boy now, I decided it is finally time for him to have a real big-hoopla birthday party with the works.. friends, party planning, cake, and memorable fun. About a month ago, Liam started "trick or treating" every night when he cleaned up his toys. He would pick up the toys, put them in a carry basket, and come over and say "trick or treat". I would then pretend to give him a treat. This nightly ritual for the past month, led to Liam's 3rd birthday party set to a Halloween theme.

Liam's Halloween costume is... a racecar driver!

My brain operated in two modes the past month of September. It was either thinking about work issues or brainstorming birthday planning. I took influences from recent events, even TV shows, to come up with the idea of a "Scavenger Trick And Treat Hunt" around the yard. At 3 years old, chances are that Liam may not remember details of the birthday party, but I wanted to approach the planning so that he has a greater possibility of remembering the fun. And so the pumpkin scavenger hunt combined a challenge at each pumpkin station which was doable for a 3-5 year old, but may require the help and support of the adults. When the kid completed the challenge, they get to pick a treat out of a jack-o-latern basket. Some of the pumpkin stations also required team work.

Scavenger Trick And Treat Hunt - Pumpkin Stations
1. Decorate Trick Or Treat Bag
2. Go Fish
3. Bean bag Toss/Cornhole
4. Cylinder/Block Log Hop
5. Bike Tire Hop
6. Driveway Sprint
7. Build a Tower Bridge
8. Bear Bear Mummy Wrap
9. Crawl Maze
10. Decorate Your Pumpkin

1. The party started with the kids decorating their trick'o'treat bag with Halloween stickers and marker/crayon artworks. Once all the kids had arrived and bags decorated, we went on to the next "Pumpkin Station".

Ryan and our neighbor, Mike, teamed up to lead the kids to find the pumpkin stations. Mike was "The Map" while Ryan assisted the kids in the activity at hand. Other parents helped out by being cheerleaders or handing out the treats afterwards. All in all, the scavenger hunt was great for the kids. They had a challenge to conquer. They had support and cheering section. They watched the other kids go through the same thing. And they all received a prize.

2. Ryan helping to set up the fishing pole at the Fishing hole station. Kids used a fishing pole to hook rubber duckies.

3. Bean Bag Toss

4. Cylinder and Block Hops --> Stole this idea from the Spartan Race where one had to balance and hop across logs. Obviously made this easier for the kids. Ryan would help and hold one hand if needed. There was a great cheering section on this challenge. Some of the kids started off unsure, but then would give it a try after seeing a few kids complete it. The cheering from the parents made it even better.

5. Tire Jumps --> Tires lined up a row where the kids have to jump (or step-through) the tire path.

6. Driveway Sprint

7. Build A Tower Bridge --> I took out a bunch of empty boxes, drew an example diagram, and the kids had to work together to build a tower bridge out of the boxes. When the bridge was done, they would each crawl through to the other side and received a treat.

8. Mummy Wrap Bear Bear --> We hung a teddy bear from the railing of the balcony, so that the kids would help give Bear Bear a Halloween costume. Each kid had a streamer or two which they were suppose to work together to wrap up Bear Bears head, arms, legs, and tummy to create a mummified Bear Bear.

9. Crawl Maze --> Took this idea from the Spartan Race barb wire crawl as well as the latest episode of "Agents of Shield" where the agents had to infiltrate an area protected by a laser grid. We kept it simple for the kids and used streamers. =)

The crawl maze was one of the favorites among the kiddies. Some even went back to do it several times. The maze ended at an area with a narrow section where they get a treat from the jack-o-latern.

Liam getting a treat from the jack-o-latern.

Emilia's Halloween costume this year is Rapunzel!

Em playing around with one of her besties.

Thing1 is suppose to be supervising the kiddies.

Liam's homemade vegan birthday cake! Thanks to Amparo for a great recipe for a good taste and texture cake. My implementation of the recipe could have been better and now I know, coconut oil is finicky to work with, especially in warmer temperatures.

(Photo-bombed by Liam's cutie classmate, JuJu!)

Along with the Halloween theme, I planned out the food trying to make it adult and kid-friendly, healthy, and Halloween-ish.

(photo curtesy of google..)

Food:
Snacks -
1. bowl of pepitas and cranberries
2. peeled cuties w/celery stick on top (like a mini-pumpkin)
3. half bananas with chocolate chips for eyes/mouth (ghost)
4. String cheese broomsticks - chives & pretzel sticks
5. cucumbers or crackers w/ cream cheese & olive spiders
6. Jack-O-Latern Veggie Tray - Carrots and broccoli w/ yogurt dip
7. strawberry mice --> pepitas as ears, carrot noodles as tail, chocolate frosting as eyes
8. Octopus hummus dip

(photo curtesy of google..)

(photo curtesy of google..)

Adults Lunch-
1. Trader Joes Harvest blend salad w/pumpkin croutons
2. 8lbs Center Cut Tenderloin Roast

(photo curtesy of google..)

Kids Lunch-
1. mac and cheese
2. hot dog mummy wraps (crescent rolls)

(photo curtesy of google..)

Dessert
1. Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Liam's Vegan Chocolate Cake

I did over plan too many details of this party that it was extremely stressful to execute. Next time around, best to skip out on the food decor. Thanks to grandma, though, for helping with food prep and ensuring a great memorable party for the kiddies!

MIA

It's been a while since we have posted... for the usual reasons - juggling all of ours and the kiddies' schedules and priorities of things that need to be done. Also, my New Years resolution this year is to reduce the amount of time I spend on the computer at home, which means no more blogging after the kids go to bed, and means more sleep for me and a less cranky mama... sort of. Downside though, as you can tell, is less updates.

So updates...

We missed doing parties for the kiddies' actual birthdays, Liam's at the end of last year and Emilia's this year. Mama didn't get around to planning their birthdays in time, so we finally put together a belated, joint Liam and Emilia's Un-Birthday party with a few neighborhood families and friends this past weekend. The theme was a "Cooking Party" where the kiddies would create their own personal dish, a casserole of various healthy assortments of food. While the food was cooking in the oven, the kiddies had the option of decorating their own apron or a placemat.

The kiddies each had their own mini loaf pan where they would choose the ingredients they want and scoop them into the pan. Layers of different veggies, meat, pasta, sauces, cheese,etc.. and viola! Everyone had their unique dish prepared. All the pans went into the oven at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.

While their food was baking, the kiddies went in to creative action with decorating foam "placemats" with LOTS of stickers and markers. Ryan was great with preparing for this party! I was in charge of planning the food and details of the party, Ryan was in charge of the setup. He found a place to rent kiddie size tables and chairs.

They each had their own cakes. Emilia had requested for a purple cake, and I just so happen to know of a Filipino bakery that makes a bright, purple yam cake! And Liam, had a TLC cake made by Mary Poppins (nanny) with wholesome ingredients, egg-free, nut-free chocolate cake.

A kid-interactive party was a success! Thanks to the help of friends (Carey with setup and cleanup!) and Mary Poppins (best chocolate cake!). The kids had fun and I think the kid-party was quite tolerable for the adults too. =P Not pictured here, but I did cook up food for the adults too. It is my new go-to recipe for the masses, a VERY EASY and delicious 20-hour slow cooker Kalua Pig. I followed the recipe and bought the recommended Hawaiian Red Lava Sea Salt, but modified to slow-cook for 16-hours + 4 hours on warm, and added all-natural, concentrated liquid smoke.

If we get around to doing AvocadoFest this year, Kalua Pig is definitely on the menu. =)