Campbell's Pokemon Party

Back in April Campbell turned 4!  He is the most entertaining kid and our family wouldn't be the same without him.  He is a grumpy loveable old man stuck in a little boy's body.  He is constantly surprising us and says the funniest things.  He loves reading us books, playing board games, and the wii or any electronic device he can get his hands on.  He and Logan are inseparable but he still takes pride in his role as big brother to little Elsie.  He likes to do things all by himself and constantly scolds coaches and teachers that he doesn't need help.  At the end of his gymnastics class they give the kids a stamp, a color page, and end with a cheer but Campbell doesn't have time for such frivolous tomfoolery and politely declines participation.  I seriously wish I could describe the intensity and depth of Sweet Campbell! 

To my horror he requested a Pokémon Party.  I tried to convince him otherwise but those of you who know Campbell know he is not easily persuaded.  I searched all over town for Pokémon anything but had zero luck so I had to get a little creative. 

We made a special trip to Utah for his party so we could celebrate with family (Campbell's idea).  We started off with some Pokémon Trainer training.  The kids chased Pikachu (Dad/Mike) around with silly string because everyone knows that a trainer has to practice being fast in order to catch those Pokémon.  Unfortunately I didn't get the best pictures of the chase.  It is so hard to get pictures of a the party one is hosting.  Anyone else have this problem?
 

Next we had a Pokémon scavenger hunt.  The kids followed clues around my parent's house and yard to collect all the Pokémon cards earning Pikachu ears along the way.  Thanks Mom for helping me make these beauties!  We bought headbands from the dollarstore, cut and then colored craft foam with a marker for the black tips, and glued them together.  

Campbell, Logan, Cousin Creed, and Cousin Ava

Pikachu was waiting at the last clue.  Campbell still carries him around almost everywhere he goes. 

Next on the agenda was "pin-the-nose-on-Pikachu". 

We can't seem to throw a party without a piñata.  My favorite part was when Campbell knocked the piñata off the rope on his second turn and continued  hitting it until he felt it was good and dead.  We are talking a good full two minutes of excessive and intense beating of this piñata.  I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt; we all were. 

The baker at Harmon's was a big Pokémon fan as a child so he was able to create this cake on special order.  Best store bought cake ever!

 

Can someone please tell me why this photo won't rotate?  Turn your head at a clockwise tilt. 

It was so much fun to be surrounded by family!  Thank you for coming Grandma Elsie, Grandpa Paul, Nana, Papa, Asays, Fords,  and Steve Garner Family.  And a Huge thank you to my Mom for helping me put the party together and for letting me borrow her lovely house!

 

 

Boom. There it is.

Mesa Verde

Tatiana, this one's for you!  We miss you! 

For Spring Break last week my sister Candice and her family drove up from San Antonio and a few days later my parents came down from Utah.  We had so much fun hanging out, sledding, geocaching, visiting Durango, and checking out the Aztec ruins.  A highlight of the break was definately the day we visited the Mesa Verde National Park.  The ruins there are intriguing and mysterious.  The lovely weather added to the perfect day.
 

Campbell with Nana (my Mom).

 

Campbell is still our serious soul. I constatnly have to remind myself that he is only three!

The whole crew (minus me).  From left to right: Papa, Candice, Nana, Logan, Grant, Mark, Sebatian, Cole, Campbell, and Mike.

 

I think they really did enjoy themselves though the sour faces don't prove it.

The kids earned their ranger badges.  It's very serious business. 

There were ruins throughout the cliffs leaving us in awe.  The views were breathtaking and the history alluring.  New Mexico is full of these historical sites and we plan on checking out as many as we can in the short time that we'll be living here. 



Elsie's First Birthday

I know this post is a little late but I just had to share a piece of this little gal's big day.  She adds so much to our family.  She is still daddy's little clone.  Her favortie food is Marshmellows (do they count?) and she LOVES to read books with anyone willing!  She loves bathtime and being outside.  She is so sweet yet super tough and stubborn.  She has a super loud voice (a true Garner).  Elsie is super interested in animals and their sounds. Her favorite sounds to make are elphant, snake, bee, and owl (random!).  She never stops surprising us.  We just love her to pieces!   

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.