Escape the Party!

We threw Abby a pretty awesome Escape Room style party this year.  The girls had to solve puzzles, do an escape room game, complete challenges, and make music within the 3-hour time period in order to Escape the Party.  We even had clues they had to solve within the invitation in order to get all the details for coming.  It was a lot of fun.  Abby has some amazing friends and I only embarrassed her a little when I did a short  mom speech to tell them thank you for being her friend and to remind them to be kind and loving to each other always :)

Each of the activities we did was something that Abby loves.  They each made a journal, played Escape the Room, had to catch cheeseballs in their mouths, perform Happy Birthday on handbells, eat brownies and ice cream, perform a play using props and costumes in a bag, solve a jigsaw puzzle, and play charades.  Since I was the party planner/executor/baby holder, I didn't get tons of pictures, but here's a sneak peek at the party:

Each girl had to catch 11 cheeseballs in her mouth.  

They were working to solve a puzzle.  They were having fun, but they were definitely focused on completing each of the tasks.

Roy was the victim they had to release.  Each girl had to complete one puzzle challenge to get a key that led to the next challenge.  

The girls made journals with scrapbook paper, modge podge, and glitter.  So much glitter.  In fact, it's been a month since the party and I'm still finding glitter.  

Abby really has a wonderful group of friends.  I'm really grateful for that.  I'm also really grateful for the wonderful girls she has surrounding her in our church Young Women program.  She has surrounded herself with others who are builders--people who support, strengthen, and encourage each other.  Abby is a builder of people as well and I'm grateful she has found others who do the same.  Not only will they do great things in the future, but I am seeing them do great things right now and I am so grateful to be part of it.

Bon Voyage!

Roy's parents begin their 2-year humanitarian mission to Amman, Jordan tomorrow.  We are so excited for and proud of them!  They will do so much good in a place and for people who really need an infusion of goodness and love.  This has been something they have talked about since I met them and I am so excited for them that their dream is now their reality!  We went up to see them and say goodbye a few weekends ago and got to meet up with 3 of the cousins.  The cousins are all so fun and I'm grateful that my kids get to be part of this happy crew.

Group hug!  This is now becoming a tradition for big events :)

We did a very merry unbirthday party to make up for a couple years of missed parties.  We didn't go all out because I only have so much energy after throwing an Abby party and gearing up for a Sam party, but we did have a blast going bowling, eating Hawaiian haystacks, and having all the kids blow out candles on their brownies.  And we HAD to go boys vs girls (plus Roy).  I must document that the girls won, but it was Lydia with the decisive victory points who won the day.

Also, Nora ate her first piece of bacon this weekend.  That's a pretty big deal too :)

We are thrilled to have grandparents going on a mission.  We will miss having them around, but I know that is exactly what they should be doing with their time, energy, and love.

Sam the Wolf

Although Sam finished his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts quite a while ago, we finally had Pack Meeting for him to be recognized.  A couple hurricanes, a snowstorm, the holidays, and balancing other events on Wednesday nights can delay things quite a bit :)  He was thrilled to receive his badge, have his face painted, and collect the rest of his belt loops.  Sam is doing awesome with Cub Scouts.  I'm so proud of him!

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

So much catch up to do!  It's all worth it, though, especially since the catch up will mostly be fun pictures :)

One of my favorite spaces in our house is this wall.  Bathtime is always so fun, especially once the baby can sit up alone.  We have a picture of each of our kids when they are 7 months old and I love to see the similarities and differences in their faces.  Each of the pictures has been the result of several nights of coaxing smiles, lots of splashing, and a few hundred pictures.  So worth it for this happy wall!

Lydia wrote this letter to her Baba Z, who is retired from the Army.

Lydia and Abby both competed in the school science fair this year.  They had fun, but Abby was a little disappointed to not medal.  Lydia was disappointed too until she realized that her good friend got a medal and then, with her usual Lydia enthusiasm, she was bouncing around and barely containing her squeals.

Andrew got invited to a really fun bug-themed birthday party in November.  This spider lasted a lot of the day and he still talks about how much he freaked out neighbors at the bus stop because of the spider on his face.

So cute!  I love these kinds of pictures!

The big kids had a Fun Run at school on a perfect November morning.  I'm grateful I got to go cheer them on and glad they had so much fun.  Abby has formed such a good group of friends.  They have had their moments of drama, but they have done a good job encouraging each other, creating a positive friendship, and having fun together.

You never know when you might get thirsty...and Sam was always prepared.  This kid cracks me up.  He makes life so much fun.  He also still laughs at my dumb jokes, which I'm grateful for because I know how cheesy they are.  

 

We had some time to kill in between the younger and older student runs so Andrew and I decided he should check out the playground.  He took Nora down some slides and posed for pictures.  Look at that smile.  How can you not just love him?

 Lydia had her game face on and was ready to conquer the 35 laps they challenged her to complete.  She barely made it before the music stopped, but her determination made me laugh.  That drive is taking her to great places.

2018 Review

Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Nora Grace Zwahlen all converged on the Zwahlen home in Chapel Hill in 2018.  Sprinkle in a lice outbreak and it’s been an eventful year!

Nora joined our family on February 21st happy and healthy, for which we are grateful.  Michelle and Nora have been spending a lot of time...ok, all of their time together over the last year as she goes from little baby, to crawling, and now cruising.  She genuinely is the best baby and has a great ability to help grumpy people feel happy as they serve her.

Despite the baby, Abby’s senior status among the children remains intact.  Channeling her father’s inner drama queen, she was selected as Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for her school play.  She still loves to read and works to develop her writing talent through writing stories and taking writing classes. Abby’s sense of justice continues to emerge but in more productive ways as she turned envy over her brother’s Cub Scout award banquet into planning a girl’s achievement night awarding crazy socks to each girl for their hard work in their church goal-setting program.

Sam chose to follow the example of Jesus Christ this year and was baptized by his father.  He joined Cub Scouts after his birthday and he and Roy have spent many Sundays working through his Bobcat and Wolf awards, enlisting a neighbor’s help for the Pinewood Derby (where he won 3rd place), and preparing for the family scout camp in Boone, NC.  He still loves art and his art classes and will happily delay playing video games to create a cardboard box monster or a costume for an excited sibling. He has also kept his humor, which is best exemplified by his Halloween costume ‘the Underwear Wolf.’

Lydia completed Kindergarten and was ecstatic, as she is about most things, to start 1st grade.  She wants to explore as much as possible, joining her brother in art classes and insisting on doing a solo in the school talent show.  Like most girls her age, she has fallen in love with the Greatest Showman. Perhaps less like most girls her age, she also loves the velociraptor from Jurassic World.  Lydia loves to read books to and plan games for her siblings and is animated enough that everyone is entertained by her.

Andrew has started preschool and has taken up the post of senior kid in charge with he and Nora at home most of the day.  He loves sitting next to Nora in the car, sings to her, holds her hand, and helps his mother however he can. He is focused on learning to read, swim, and “run really fast” to keep up with his older siblings.  Andrew loves to do outside obstacle courses, give us math quizzes, ride his big boy bike, and make creations with Legos, playdoh or paint.

Roy and Michelle are just trying to keep up with it all.  We are trying to spend as much time as possible with Roy’s parents before they leave for two years on a church humanitarian mission to Amman, Jordan in January.  Roy received a promotion at work with a new, longer title. He loves his work, his church service, and playing guitar to relax. Michelle continues teaching preschool, working with the teenage girls at church, working on house improvement projects, being involved at the school, and Nora goes along for the ride for it all.  We are grateful for each of you and wish you joy in 2019.

Fearsome Foursome

What life would look like if Abby and Sam switched places:

Trunk or Treat

We had the Trunk or Treat for our church this past Friday and it was so fun.  It ended up being cold and rainy so we did everything inside and it was perfect.  My kids were all very involved in their costume creation this year and it was so much fun.

Lydia the Cat

Sam the Underwear Wolf

Andrew the Green Riding Dinosaur

Abby the Lightbulb

Nora the Pink Dinosaur