Sophia's Most Amazing 9th Birthday!

Friday night Sophia had her first Birthday sleepover - three of her best friends were on the list! According to Sophia it was the best birthday ever!! The girls were dropped off at 5:00 and the festivities started! We ate pizza, punch, and lots of chocolate!! At Sophia's request I made her favorite traditional Eclair dessert Birthday cake! She wanted a "critter" theme - she loves lizzards, frogs etc. Not exactly the "girly" party from the past but I tried to do my best to put some pink in with her favorite color green!






The highlight for the night was the most amazing scavenger hunt that our dear friend Janita wrote for us! It went like this:

The neighbor delivered the first clue at 6:45 to start the scavenger hunt and it read like this:
Good evening girls,, and welcome to all. I'm so glad that you could come. I've been waiting all day for you to arrive so we could have some fun. You may not know me, but the birthday girl does - I'm her favorite animal pal. And I've got quite a game for you all to play, but first you must find me somehow. Just come up the stairs, and down the right hall, to a room that's usually off-limits, where grown-ups sleep tight when they go nighty-night. That's where I'll be counting the minutes.
They immediately guessed my room and took off running. They searched and searched and finally spotted Larry the Lizzard's tail sticking out from the pile of pillows on my bed.

He had the following clue attached:
You found me – great job! You’re well on your way. Now let me explain my mission.. I’m Larry the Lizard and my job tonight is to see how all of you listen.
An adventure I’ve planned - it’s not for the lazy; I hope you’re up to the task
Just read my clues and work together, that’s really all I ask. I’ve gathered some friends to help me out, some reptiles and a few who are not. They each have a clue for you to unlock, which will guide you to the next spot. So let’s get started – are you ready to go? Have you put your brains in high gear? Then go to the place that makes dirt go away, and where kids make their teeth bright and clear. You’ll find in that room a bunch of my pals, hopping and having a ball. But they’re not in this room, you’ve got to leave here and head to a place down the hall.

They ran to the kid's bathroom and Sophia ripped open the shower curtain and found a family of frogs occupying the bathtub with a clue that read:

Ok, that was easy. I gave it away - from here it will get a bit harder. But you guys seem quick, I know you can do it. I’m counting on you to be smarter.
So off you go, the next clue to be found, in a place where my tailed-friend swings. If you’ve been to the Limited 2 or Justice, she’s the one on all of their things. But don’t go just yet, you need a few items to go trudging around in the night. Grab your shoes; get your coats and stop by the back door for those things that give off lots of light. You’ll find my friend in the place she’d call home, if she were going to play Where could that be? It’s not in a tree! If you’re there, you’ve gone the wrong way.
They all immediately knew that we were talking about a monkey and ran for their coats and shoes. We briefly stopped at the back door to hand out flashlights and to reread the clue although they already knew where to head - the playground.

There they found a bright pink monkey happily swinging from the monkey bars with the following clue attached:

You girls are quite brainy; I’m very impressed with your clue-solving skills tonight. So let’s move right on and see how you do when we head further out of the light. There’s a place down the way where slimy things play – they slither and crawl on the ground. There’s water around but keep your feet dry; the grass is where your clue will be found. Don’t worry – they’re friendly, these cousins of mine; we’re all one big happy bunch (But they’re only nice to girls so the boys best be careful – they just might have them for lunch!).
They took off searching the perimeter of the backyard and then it came to Sophia that we were talking about the fishing spot in back of the neighbor's house. They ran their way down there and found a bright colored snake in the grass with a clue attached:


What detectives you are; you’re sailing right through this! My reptile friends are so proud. (I did have to warn them ahead of time that four screaming girls can be loud!) I hope you’re enjoying our little adventure, but you’ve been awfully long on your feet - maybe it’s time we gave them a rest and let you take a ride on the street. But how will we do it? Four girls in one thing? The tractor is far too small. Ah, I have a plan – you’ll find my next man in a place that will fit one and all.
After a couple of guesses they decided to run to our driveway and searched for some time and finally spotted a blinking yucky spider on Janita's side view mirror. Attached they found the following clue:

Have you ever seen a spider that glows? He’s great when you’re lost in the woods “Hairy” will help lead you to the next place; which takes us a little farther than it should. To a place that shines bright at a friend’s house tonight, a friend right here in our pack. With a Spark in its name, past the park in our game, you’ll find your next clue to crack. Go to the place where letters await for someone to find them and read them. What you see in that box will knock off your socks! A hopper of giant proportions!

This was probably the clue that stumped them the most and had to be reread a few times. The clue spoke of Elisabeth whose street has a "Spark" in its name. They finally realized where to go but still searched our mailbox before realizing that they had to go to Elisabeth's mailbox. They did guess that the clue reffered to a giant grasshopper. Off in the car they went!!!

Tucked away inside Elisabeth's mailbox they discovered an enormous grasshopper with another clue:

Whew! You didn’t get lost – I was worried, I was. Boy would that have been trouble. We’d better get back before Mom starts to crack. Driver – to Sophia’s on the double! When you arrive, step right back inside, leave your coats and shoes at the door. And tiptoe to the place where you started this race; that’s where you’ll see one clue more. In a room full of pink (with no boys, cuz they stink!), we end tonight’s little journey. Stick with me once more till we get to that door, then you’ll know the end of the story. I hope you’re excited – you’ve almost done it! You’re so very close to the prize! So strap yourselves in, get ready to roll. This is your very last ride.
With much anticipation they unloaded shoes and coats and ran full speed up the stairs to Sophia's door where they found the next clue taped to her door -

You did it – you’re back! And that my friends brings this scavenger hunt to a close.
What great detectives you turned out to be, who knew you’d be so on your toes! Now don’t be too glum, you’re not quite all-done, there’s one final thing left to see…. You didn’t think I’d bring you this far to leave you with nothing but me? There’s a soft place inside where you close your eyes, and your dreams never come to an end. Just look in that spot and you’ll each find your prize, a new and faithful friend.
They burst into the room and realized that something was under Sophia's pillow - It was the new Webkinz Emperor Dragon all snug under her pillow. We reminded of the clue that said that "you'll each find your prize..." and they realized they each had a dragon under their pillow with a note attached that read "Thank you for coming to my 9th Birthday party! With Love, Sophia (and Larry)"



What a fun time and Sophia is still talking about it!! Many thank-yous to Janita who came up with this scavenger hunt on Friday morning :-)

One Way To Let It Snow!

There is one way to get snow if it won't come on it's own - MAKE IT! That is just what we did! Thank you Grandma for sending us "hope for snow" from Maine!! We had a blast with this super snow kit! The kids made a couple of gallons each of snow! It is still out on our doorstep in the back. They actually use this for movie scenes and you can really snowboard and ski on the stuff :-) We didn't have enough to do that, but had fun stirring and watching the "osmosis" take place! What a unique present and it certainly brought smiles to their faces. Oh by the way - no eating it!!!

A Very Merry Christmas

I have not even blogged Christmas yet and here we are off to a new year! We had a wonderful Christmas vacation. Lazy days, many lazy days! We usually drive to Florida to visit my parents and brother for Christmas but chose to stay home instead and will visit family in a couple of weeks. We were not up to the four days of travel time and hauling all of the gifts south and then back north again so we opted to enjoy our vacation at home this year. It was the laziest of vacations. There were a couple of days where we just bathed and changed the kids pajamas in the evening - they never got dressed! You would have thought I could have easily caught up on laundry but that wasn't the case :-)!!
Through the business of the weeks leading to Christmas it was a nice time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and to keep the 'CHRIST' in the season - afterall, that is why we celebrate Christmas! This year was the first year that I had a non Santa believer in the house - no, not my oldest either - it would be Benjamin my 6-year old who continuously for weeks asked HARD questions and demanded the truth. He served as an elf this year :-) So sad. Everyday I am reminded of how fast my children are growing up and how everyday is truly a gift. More on that later!
Big hit this year under the tree was of course, the WII!!!! Our whole family has enjoyed it - bowling, tennis, speed racer!! Now I just need to get the Wii Fit to help me with my resolutions :-)
Sophia loved her Nintendo DS (first video game to enter into the family), Benjamin loved his Bakugans (little collector pieces that he throws around to watch them pop open) and his great assortment of challenging Legos, and William - he loved his Speed Racer track and his Wall E Laptop.
Vacation, as usual, was much to short! I would have loved to have another week with no schedule and time with my little ones but, this week we are off to routines and school and resolutions! Oh, and did I mention birthdays? Yes, Sophia turns 9 next week. She is having a sleepover on Friday - wish me luck - more details on that later!