Oveson Family

The boys’ birthdays were this past week. Something they’ve wanted to do, especially with the Winter Olympics going, is to go skiing. As their father, I felt it my duty to teach my boys the rigorous sport of downhill skiing. We went and rented some skis and headed up to Wolf Mountain, a nearby resort. The beautiful thing about Wolf Mountain is that it’s A) close, B) cheap, and C) has an awesome learning area. They have something up there they call the Magic Carpet, which is just a conveyor belt that you can stand on to go back up to the top of the learning hill. This was really cool for the boys. Here’s a video of Preston on it:

When we got up to the learner hill, Zach just took off. He said “Bye, Dad!” and just started going down the hill. He crashed about halfway down, but he did rather well for just taking off like that. I tried to teach him how to snowplow but he wasn’t very interested in that. So he just kept going, learning through trial and error but learning quickly. By the time we stopped four-and-a-half hours later he was doing incredibly well. Here’s a video that Zach shot skiing down on his last run:

Preston hung back with me as I tried to show him how to turn and stop. For anyone who’s ever been skiing, it’s not so easy to learn. Some people really take to it. Trying to tell somehow how to ski for the first time is harder than I thought it would be. Preston was a real trooper though and just kept going and going, despite my confusing directions. At one point he wanted to go home, but we took a break and ate some M&M’s. After that he kept going and going. It was awesome. Here’s a video of him coming off the Magic Carpet. This wasn’t his best exit, but he was awesome even when he fell:

And here’s our fearless Zach, looking like someone on the A-Team…

Preston posing for his skiing debut:

The boys kept wanting to race me, which we did. Both boys beat me soundly, and it was a lot of fun. Here’s a video of the boys racing:

A few funny comments from the day are listed below:

Preston, after crashing: “Dad, I thought you said the snow was soft.”

Zach: “Dad, I think you should work here”

Dad: “Why’s that Zach?”

Zach: “Because then we could ski here EVERYDAY!”

Dad: “Preston, I think you could use some M&M’s.”

Preston: “But we don’t have any M&M’s.”

Dad: “Oh yes we do. They’re in my pocket.”

Preston: “How did they get in your pocket?”

Dad: “Magic.”

Preston: “There’s no such thing as magic.”

Today was Preston’s Narnia birthday party!  He has been talking about having a Narnia birthday party since last spring, and I really thought that it was a fad that would pass.  Kids this age typically change their minds every 5 minutes, right?  Not Pres – he was set on it and remembered it this long!  And he had a ton of ideas on what to do for it (unfortunately I had to say no to many of them), but we had a lot of fun with  the ones we did.  First, he knew exactly what he wanted to do to decorate.  He wanted to tape cotton balls all over the house so it would look like snow.  We adapted that idea a little bit and the boys and I made snowflakes to hang from the ceiling, and we put cotton batting around the room (of course the batting got a bit distracting to the preschoolers and we had many “snowball fights”).

We also created a “wardrobe” for the guests to enter Narnia through when they arrived.  This was one of Preston’s favorite parts!

Preston also helped plan out the games!  Ever since his third birthday party, he has come to me with his whole party planned. He knows the games he wants to play, what his cake will be, who will be there, and everything!  He’s quite the party planner!  So this time he wanted to play “Prince, Prince, King,”

“Pin the Tail on the Lion,”

“Don’t Eat Pete” (Narnia style of course)

And we adapted a couple of his game ideas to play a game where we helped “melt the snow in Narnia” by carrying cotton balls on a spatula across the room to fill a basket.

So those were the games… pretty simple and fun!!  After games we opened presents…

…and had cake!

And that was that – awesome!  What a fun party it was, and Preston loved it!  I think he sometimes gets a little shy with all the people there, focused on him for his party, but overall he loved it!

Mike may not be home very much, but I am SO glad he was home tonight!  I’m glad he was home for the obvious reasons (it was Preston’s birthday and he was there for all the festivities), but I am doubly glad he was here because Preston got  a present that was insanely crazy to put together, and it came with the worst, most confusing directions ever!  (And men just have brains that are naturally good and putting things together I think…).  Once we got it put together and looked back at it, it actually wasn’t too hard, but the instructions made it 10 times harder!  It was nutty!  So, here’s to the “icoaster” and a wonderful husband who can fix anything or put anything together (and remain patient while 3 little boys “help”)!

My sweet, darling Preston turned 5 years old today!  5!  Where does the time go?  (I think I say that far too often, but I really feel that way!  My kids are growing up way too fast!).  5 is one of those milestone birthdays…  it means he’s starting kindergarten soon (and starting t-ball soon he keeps telling me), and it’s the age that officially divides the “little kids” (toddler/preschoolers) and the “bigger kids” (school aged kids).   And Preston has now crossed that threshold.  It’s one of those times as a mom where you are excited to see them grow and experience new things, and sad to know a chapter of their life is ending.  (ok, I’m taking a big deep breath and I’m going to finish this blog post without bursting into tears….)

Preston is an absolutely delightful little boy.  He has such a fun, sweet personality, and he is such a blessing to have in our family.  If you are having a bad day, Preston is the one you want to have around.  He’s our “cheerleader.”  He has an excitement for life and  sweet loving manner that is infectious.  Plus, he has the cutest smile and the best giggle in the world!  I wish I could bottle it up and save it forever!  He also loves to be silly and make people laugh.  He’s very thoughtful and selfless, and is always quick to say thank you and make you feel good.  He also has a very “go get ‘em” personality and isn’t afraid of much.  He’ll try just about anything!

Preston LOVES to “create.”  He loves art, crafts, and inventing – I think it’s in his blood.  In fact most of his birthday presents today where things he could create with.  Speaking of presents, Preston is someone that we loves to give presents to because he always has the best reactions!  He gets so excited and loves whatever you got him.  He’s so easy to please!  I fact, I kept asking him what he wanted for his birthday and he kept saying things like, “Whatever you think is good, Mom.”  and “I know whatever you get me will be great!”  He’s also one of those people that gets genuinely excited for other people – what a great trait!

Preston also loves legos, video games, pokemon and bakugan, dancing & music (especially High School Musical), playing with his brothers and cousins, pretending, & snuggling.

Preston is also so smart!  He is reading so well already, and it’s still 6 months until kindergarten starts.  In fact, he’s reading books that Zach was reading several months into kindergarten.  And the fun thing is, he’s the one that has been pushing to learn to read – he wants to read so bad!  He is constantly reading things wherever we go, and asking me to come read with him.  I haven’t really had to try and teach him much at all – he’s just naturally picked it up.  What a smartie!  He is so looking forward to kindergarten!

Well that’s our quick Pressy post for his birthday!  For his birthday today he got to pick all 3 meals.  So for breakfast he wanted yogurt, bananas, toast (“with butter Mom… I mean the regular kind of butter, not the spray butter you usually put on.”  is he his Daddy’s boy or what?), and bacon.  Then he picked to go to Golden Coral for lunch, and for dinner he picked lasagna and breadsticks.  Yum!  Happy Birthday, buddy!

Here are a couple of great Preston present reactions:

Yesterday we had a super fun pirate birthday dinner with my family in honor of our 3 February birthday boys…

Zach

Preston

and Lucas

Now since it was a pirate party, we decided we needed to eat in true pirate style… (Mike insists that it is not how pirates eat, but I told him to have a little imagination :>).  We took our yummy roasted chickens, veggies, and tater tots and spread them down the middle of the table.  Then everybody got to dig in with their hands… no plates, no utensils, nothing!  (I think Jon was about to have a heart attack at the thought!)

But what a perfect birthday dinner in a house full of boys, right?  We all loved it!  Thanks for hosting the mess, Staten family!

We look way too happy and clean to be pirates…

Now that’s what I’m talking about Tee and Melissa… :>

David and Sinda

Nick

Jon

Mike Staten with his “pirate teeth”

Esther, Kyra, & Carly

Liz

Kyle

And a very scary pirate family

I asked Zach what he wanted me to blog about his birthday party and he said, “That it was the best, most awesome, funnest birthday party ever!  I loved it!”  So there you have it.  When the birthday boy feels that way the exhaustion that Mom and Dad feel is well worth it!

For Zach’s party this year he chose a Magic Tree House theme (after the book series).  So first, we made a “tree house” in our living room, and a cool tree house cake.  I had this great idea for the cake, but unfortunately the first attempt fell.  So I had to revamp and put it back together and this is how it turned out (and luckily this one stayed standing):

Then you add 28 kids and six adults to the magical tree house (in my little house) and it was the perfect recipe for chaos, craziness, excitement and a whole lot of fun.  It was wild!  We started out with some Magic Tree House word searches, mazes, and word games while we waited for all the kids to arrive.  After that the real fun began.  I had Zach pick 5 of his favorite Magic Tree House books, and we “traveled” to each one and played a game that went along with that book.  After each game we came back up to the tree house to get ready to leave on another adventure.  Each time we gathered in the tree house, Zach pointed at the next book and said, “I want to go there!”  (That’s what Jack and Annie say in the books).  Then “the tree house started to spin… The wind began to blow… It spun faster and faster and then everything was still.  Absolutely still.”  (That’s also from the books).  So we recited that each time, and had a fan blowing and the lights flipping on and off to pretend it’s spinning.  Then the kids ran back downstairs for another adventure.  Mike was manning the games downstairs and he did such a fabulous job!  It’s not easy to get that many excited little kids organized for a game (understatement), but Mike did a great job.  What an amazing dad he is!

So the first book we used was “Dinosaurs Before Dark.”  The kids ran downstairs, which was now “the time of the dinosaurs,” and they found tons of “T-Rex eggs” (balloons).  They had to work together to destroy all the T-Rex eggs (pop the balloons) before they hatched and destroyed everything.

The next place the magic tree house took us to was “Ghost town at Sundown.”   Here the kids had a cowboy horse race.

Third was from the book “Mummies in the Morning.”  Back in Ancient Egypt the kids got to practice scratching their name using Egyptian Hieroglyphics in salt dough.

Fourth, we traveled back to Ancient Greece in “The Hour of the Olympics.”  Here the kids got to compete in the Olympics by doing the winter biathlon (our version of it, that is).

Last, we used the book “Pirates Past Noon,” and went on a pirate treasure hunt.  When they found where the “X marked the spot”, the treasure was a whole bunch of Magic Tree House books.  Each kid got to pick a book to take home.

Once we were done with the games, Zach got to open presents, and of course he loved every minute of that.

Presents were followed by cake…

And that pretty much wrapped up our super fun magic tree house party.  Zach seriously loved every minute of it and just keeps talking about it.  He’s so excited that so many of his friends came, and he’s convinced it is the coolest party he will ever have.  I’m so glad that he had so much fun!!  Now I need to get all rested up so we can do it all again next Saturday for Preston!

To wrap up Zach’s birthday festivities we had dinner at McDonald’s (per Zach’s request), and he got a couple more presents from us… books and a new bike!!

Wow!  How did my Zach get to be 7 years old already?   Time goes way to fast in my opinion – especially when it comes to my kids growing up!  But on the positive side, it is so fun to watch him go through new things, learn, grow and experience life in a new way.  He’s at that point where he thinks about things in an older way, and can carry on conversations in a more grown up manner.  (I know what you’re thinking – Zach was born thinking and talking like a little adult…  but even his “little adult” ways have become more grown up).  It’s kind of strange at times, but it’s very fun.

Zach is also very compassionate and thinks and cares a lot about others.  He’s so sweet, is very sensitive, and always wants to do what’s right.   He’s one of those kids that every parent would love to have because I know that he really wants to do what’s right.  I know I can trust him.  If I ever have to “get after” him about something all I have to do is explain that reasons why and I know he’ll try to follow what I’ve asked. He’s VERY responsible, and helps me and his brothers a lot!  I don’t know what I would do without him!

The other day he told me that he was sure his best friend Aiden doesn’t go to church.  So he has a plan to get pass along cards from the church and put them in a lot of Aiden’s things at school so Aiden will see them and want to come to church.  Because Aiden is “really cool” but would be happier if he went to church. I though it was nice of him to even think about such things.  He’s such a good kid.

He loves school, and is so stinkin’ smart!  He loves to read, read, and read some more (especially at night with a book light).  Academic things just come so easy to him… he’s definitely blessed.  He’s also very responsible, and I know I can always count on him.  He loves High School Muscial, and wants to be like “Troy” when he’s in High School (who doesn’t?), and thinks it’s cool that his name is Zach also.  He loves music and loves to sing and dance as long as no one is watching him. :>   He also loves legos, video games, computers, sports, “boy toys”, adventures, playing with his brothers and cousins, being silly (he says I should write being crazy), and being and active energetic 7 year old.

That’s a very short and sweet birthday post for Zach, but it’s time to go and get ready for his super fun birthday party!  Hopefully he makes it!  Zach was up for hours last night because we made the mistake of letting him watch the 2nd Harry Potter movie after finishing the book.  Big Mistake!  Neither he nor I slept much between 1 am and 4 am.  Already you can tell he didn’t get enough sleep and he’s a little (and at times a lot) emotional today.  So keep your fingers crossed for us!! :>

So Preston has a clip board all set up so he can “judge” the Olympics.  He made a grid, and came up with different marks he will make for gold, silver, and bronze.  He also gets to decide what score to give each competitor.  He generally gives the US 1000 points, and the other countries 100 points.  He keeps updating us on where everyone stands, and what score the last competitor got.  He’s so stinkin’ cute!    Check out how he keeps his pencil over his ear when he’s not using it…  I love it!

**notice the shorts?  We got everyone electric blankets for valentines day, so preston’s decided he can now wear shorts to bed every night!**