Author: Christy

We’re preparing for Finn’s 5th birthday party tomorrow. We’re expecting 25-30 kids (Finn insisted on inviting his entire class) and Bruce has had all sorts of nutty ideas. It’s gonna be crazy.

(Ninjago weapons prep)

(party supplies)

We had some pretty awesome morning hair today, so I had to take pictures. Of course, the boys had to goof off but you get the idea.

Finn’s Alfalfa ‘do.

Ezra as Edward Cullen.

We had a very laid back Easter (as usual) with the boys just happy to run around outside, work in the garage with Bruce, and later in the afternoon start readying the area in the way back for our vegetable garden. When I came out to empty the compost bowl about 4:00, this is what I saw.

Wait, who’s supervising the boys?!? Oh, right …

After a good soaking in the shower, the boys were ready and anxious for cousin Thomas (and Bob and Vanessa) to arrive. Vanessa and Bruce set to studying their Physics (they’re taking an online class together) and all three boys just played and played.

After dinner we had a little Easter egg hunt in the backyard. I tried to get pictures of all three boys at the start, but couldn’t quite make it happen.

Here are some shots from the hunt.

Since the eggs were all filled with candy, the boys then got sugared up while watching Tom & Jerry cartoons. And so it was another very traditional Easter celebration.

The Easter Bunny visited our house overnight, much to the boys’ delight. Instead of just leaving the baskets out, the Bunny left notes taking them on a scavenger hunt. At first they weren’t sure if they were supposed to open the envelope.

But finally they got into the swing of things.

And set to decoding the message.

Clue #1 took them to the white bathroom.

Clue #2 showed the fireplace — tricky because the next clue was behind the screen.

Clue #3 sent them to the gnome. Apologies for the blurry photography; it was quite early.

Clue #4 had them upstairs in the office.

And the final clue …

… outside on the upstairs patio for the big payoff!

Then they went inside because it was a little chilly.

Note to self for next year: don’t leave the boys unattended with their Easter candy.

We did some egg dyeing with the Heffernans and Nuccio/Dyes yesterday. The kids had a messy blast.

And the end product.

Bruce’s latest project: Angry Birds slingshots. Here’s Finn showing off the prototype.

Then he ditched the water ballon and launched Yellow Bird.

And, of course, I have video.

Bruce held his first woodworking class for the kids yesterday and it was a rousing success. (Perhaps a little loud when all 11 kids were hammering at the same time, but super fun nonetheless.)

Finn helped with a little cleanup before everyone arrived.

He really likes the shop vac, so long as he has his “ear mops” on.

Once everyone was here, Bruce gave a demonstration on what they were going to make: a platform.

I also took a couple of videos.

Then, the hammering began.

When the platforms were all built, they painted them.

Poor Ezra was sick and couldn’t participate in the class. He slept through most of it, only coming downstairs during dinner to drink some juice and promptly throw up all over the patio. After that he felt much better.

I don’t have any pictures of the finished products because we moved directly from the class into dinner and drinks. The kids ran around like crazy and the parents had a chance to chat. It was great! (Except for the throw up.)