Cops n' Robbers

It all started when we bought Logan a policeman Halloween costume at costco that he just couldn't live without.  Suddenly he wanted to be a police officer when he grows up and a short time later announced that he was going to have a cops and robbers birthday party.  He was sure to tell everyone at church and all our neighbors so it was settled...we were having a police themed party, AH!  Well after much delay here we are:

 

 

 

 

 

There were 9 kids, it was total chaos so did I get many pictures? Neigh, I did not!  I am so sad so just use your imagination.

 

 

 

Start using that imagination now. I got this picture before the finsihed product but you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Amy for making the rice krispy balls!  I love the way they turned out.  The kids actually ate them and they were way easier than cake.

 

 

 

First the kids painted their badges.

 

Officer Tyken abd Officer Berkley hard at work.

Then is was time for their police training (an obstacle course).  They each took turns crawling through a tunnel, around the lamp post, down the slide, saved a baby from a burning building, gave cinderella a speeding ticket, shot at a target, and finished up by tackling Gerald the bad-guy monkey and throwing him in jail (again, I wish I had the pictures to show).  Wah-wah.

Officer Walker issuing a ticket.

 

 

If only I had a picture of this officer bursting through the back door!

 

 

 

 

Target shooting. This picture was taken the next day.  This is what happens when Logan dresses himself.  How does he find the grubbiest clothes possible?  Anyway...

 

 

When the obstacle course was successfully completed the officers were rewarded with their cops n' robbers kits.   I had some canvas on hand to make the loot bags and just used the freezer paper technique to paint on the $. 

I think the kits were a hit!  Just ask Officer Jost.

Or Bandit Sophie.  I asked her to look sneaky.  Isn's she cute?

And how could we celebrate without giving our cops some donuts?  We hung the donuts from the trees and handcuffed their little hand behind their backs.  It was tricky but many of them stuck with it.  After that the kids decided that they wanted to skip the games on the agenda and play "cops and robbers" which consisted of the cops chasing the robbers and throwing them in jail.  This was followed by pizza, singing the birthday song, and opening presents just before the parents arrived to pick up our guests.  The two hours flew by.

   

Oh Campbell.

I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend Sara.  Mike had to pick up the pizza and Sara was kind enough to submit herself to all the craziness and offer a helping hand.  Minus the lack of pictures and my frazzled mind I think it went pretty well.

 

They Are Getting Big

 

 

 

 

 

Guess Who Started Kindergarten!

The pictures might be overkill but we are too excited around here. . . Logan has started Kindergarten!

 

 

Logan's number one goal in life is to make people laugh.  He is going to be the class clown for sure.

He had Campbell in stitches.

He had a great first day and we are so proud of him!  He is such a social butterfly and he has been looking forward to this for a long time though it breaks my heart that he is getting so big.  

A Visit from Nana and Papa

My Dad drove from Utah to Saskatoon on his motorcycle and to my surprise my mom showed up with him (it is a very long drive especially for a motorcycle passenger)!  It was a very short stay but we enjoyed every minute of it.  We were so excited to show Nana and Papa around the city.    

Here we are at a parade downtown.

My favorite parts of the parade were the Calliope, bagpipes, and the camel.

 

Then we headed over to Kinsmen Park.  Here is Campbell on the carousel with Nana.



Papa and Logan on the train.  We raced for the caboose.



A not-so-great picture of the train.

Afterwards we headed to the paddling pool and playground.



Elsie was chipper as usual (thanks for the picture papa).



Two best friends and partners in crime.



Here we are crossing the train bridge.  It has a beautiful view of the city.



I love this picture my Dad took of the city from the bridge.



This is my favorite picture he took on the drive up. Its a view of the Little Rockies

This is Fort Benton.

A Montana Sunset.

Dad you made the drive look magical maybe now we'll have more visitors.  Any takers??

Thanks for coming all this way Mom and Dad.  It was so good to spend more time with you.  We have had an eventful summer (plenty more posts to come).

  

Campbell is Three!

Campbell turned three in April.  He is quite obssessed with Kinder eggs (chocolate eggs with surprises in the middle) so he insisted on having a "Kinder Egg Party".  "But what do you do at a Kinder Egg Party?" I would ask him.  Campbell: "You have an easter egg hunt and give everyone Kinder Eggs." So here it is folks...The Kinder Egg Birthday Party.

   

The spring has been cold and wet so we waited until the end of May for the perfect day.  I think it was worth the wait.  Campbell was one happy boy!

   

Our guests met us at a park perfect for picnicking and easter egg hunting. 

While Mike hid the eggs we distracted the kids with a few games. 

The kids had to push their kinder egg with their nose to a plastic spoon and then balance it while racing down to a tree. 

Then it was time for the much anticipated hunt.   

I had a hard time getting decent pictures of the kids.  They were too fast racing around gathering their eggs.

Campbell took his sweet time hunting.  He likes to stop and check out what is in each egg before he moves on to the next.  I guess he knows how to live in the moment.  You could say he is a "stop and smell the roses" kind of a guy. 

 

The good news is the party was after easter so I was able to buy buckets and eggs on clearance.  I wrote each child's name in gold on the bucket to avoid mix-ups and sent them off to find fifteen eggs each.  I tried to fill the eggs with things other than just sweets.  There were glow-in-the-dark spiders, felt bunny stickers, foam surprise capsules, and then treats of course. 

It was nice having the playground close by so the kids could play while we waited for other guests to arrive or while we set up for lunch. 

 

After the egg hunt it was picnic time.  We served croissant sandwiches, fruit kabobs, chips, drinks, and chocolate bird nests. 

Here are a few of our little guests. 

I was so glad that Mike was able to leave work for a few hours to celebrate.  He is always such a big help and the best dad.
 

We are so grateful Campbell is a part of our family.  He adds so much joy to our life.  He is one of the funniest kids I have ever met.  He has a grumpy old man soul and he always has us in stitches (see above picture).  He scowls at admirers in public places, "I'm giving them my mad face Mom", he says whatever he feels, and has no hesitation doing whatever he pleases.  He is confident and tough, don't you dare call him cute to his face.   He is very smart and he keeps up with his big brother Logan whom he admires greatly.  Logan is his best friend.  They do everything together.  He is still obssessed with cats and has already planned his fourth birthday party which yes, is indeed cat themed.  He spends most of his spare time pretending to be a cat named Fluffy (which I thought was just a little phase but it is turning out to be a really long phase).  His favorite toys are Squinkies.  He lives off of fruit.  He is a pro at riding his little red tricycle around and he has been a great shopping companion while Logan is in preschool.  When I try things on I always ask Campbell what he thinks.  Once I got the response, "you're a pretty princess Mom!"  My heart melted.  Another time I held up a shirt and Campbell said, "not good Mom".  I don't know if it was how he said it or the look on his face that had me laughing hysterically.  He still loves books and hates princess movies.  He has recently overcome his fear of skunks.  On our drive to Utah for our christmas vacation a skunk sprayed our truck and at the next stop Campbell thought he saw a skunk close by him in the bushes.  He was really startled and made us carry him to and from the car wherever we went for two weeks.  Now he is on to coyotes.  There have been several sightings of coyotes in the neighborhood and warnings from the neighborhood association.  I may have used this to my benefit when Campbell kept letting himself out to play without my supervision.  I told him about the letters and he hasn't left the house alone since.  If you want to be this little guys friend you have to earn it.  Grandma Elsie says she has to win Campbell over everyday when he comes to visit.  But his company will keep you entertained for sure.  Here is a recent conversation we had:

Campbell:  "Mom I can't find_____ (some toy I don't recall which particular one).  Do you know where it is?"
Me:  "Campbell, I think we should get rid of some toys.  You have too many so you can't ever find what you're looking for."
Campbell:   Silence. . . "Mom?  I think you have too many dresses."

I could go on forever.  The point is, Campbell, you are awesome and we love you!