Pond + Water Fun

Laptop Chats with Will

This was my very first laptop.  I can still remember using it, sitting on my bed, thinking, "Oh my goodness.  I'm using a computer sitting on my bed."  I had been so used the old, boxy, clunky things that took up half a desk and a full closet of cords.  It was the best.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago.  The kiddos have been using it as a toy and were having so much fun.  Whenever Mark was studying and working on seminary, Will would haul it out (it's pretty heavy for a little guy) and start doing his "sem-nary" work too.  "I'm working hard, Mom!"

This time around, Will had airplanes on his mind, though...  He is his Papa's grandson for sure.

It is really starting to pay off, being so far behind in blogging.  Sifting through photos + videos that are two and three years old is so nostalgic and fun.  The kids have grown up so much in just a couple short years.  In this video, Will was still having a hard time with L's and R's.  What a cutie.

Will's Disney Planes Birthday

Will is five!  We can hardly believe it.  This year, he has been really into the Disney Planes movies, so he chose airplanes as his birthday theme.  It was majorly convenient, since his Papa George is a pilot.  Lucky duck!

He chose sandwiches again for his birthday supper - no surprises there.  I'm wondering if we'll have ham sandwiches at every birthday for the rest of his life?  Such a guy thing, isn't it?  

Since Papa George flew his airplane to our house, everyone got to take a ride!  I wasn't sure how Will + Charlie would do going up for the first time - they had taxied up and down the runway last summer, but never had actually flown.  It took a little coaxing and reassuring, but both loved it in the end.  Charlie still talks about the teeny-tiny tractors she saw and Will swears he saw our house from the sky.  :)

Then, it was back to our house for cupcakes + presents.  

This Dusty Crophopper pinata served double-duty as decoration and party fun.  Win-win!

Marshmallows + coconut for some cloudy treats.  I think my dad and I cleared this whole platter by ourselves.  

Did you know airplane fuel comes in different colors?!  Avgas has a blue tint to it, which worked perfectly with our color scheme.  I bought a bunch of Jones Soda + designed a label to print on sticker paper to cover the existing label.

The first Planes movie is all about Dusty, a crop duster, who is designed to fly low + slow, but who dreams of winning the Wings Around the Globe race, so checkered flag cupcake toppers were definitely in order.

I have fallen in love with Sweetapolita's sprinkle mixes.  They are overpriced, to be sure, but when you spend so little on Wal-Mart cupcakes to begin with, they're worth the splurge.

Over Will's birthday weekend, one of the men's dorms at Northwestern (where Mark works) had their annual cardboard + duct tape battle.  Picture a hundred college guys dressed in homemade Braveheart and Knight gear, complete with cardboard weapons + armor, battling in the center of campus.  Will loved it.  One of the guys even gifted Will his ax.  We could have returned all of his presents and just given him the duct taped ax and his life would have been made.  It also turned into a perfect weapon to hack away at his birthday pinata.

He had such a fun few days.  We love celebrating birthdays around our house - such a great excuse to remember the Lord's faithfulness to our family.  We love you, Will-Bug!