kelly lynn creations

Nerf gun birthday party

We survived yesterday's Nerf gun party - and I'm happy to report there were no injuries, major meltdowns or fights among the team members. I owe a huge thanks to the inspiration for this party. While we were searching for ideas on Google, my son came across Michelle's blog. As soon as he saw it he knew that he wanted a Nerf Gun party. Thanks again Michelle!

Every kid got the exact same Nerf N-Strike Maverick Rev-6 gun which came with suction darts, but we bought the velcro dart tag bullet refills to use for the party.We enlisted my Mom and her crafty-ness to make felt vests for the kids so the velcro darts would stick to them. It was a great way to identify the teams and it was a nice addition to their goody bags. Here they are during one of their games: 

Every time I turned around a kid was speeding past me!

We made a quick trip inside to sing happy birthday and snack on cupcakes. I was a little terrified to have a dozen kids running all over the house so we quickly directed them back outside. They managed to invent a few more free form games before their parents came to pick them up. They also did some relaxing in the hammock!

I love that my husband was able to capture the joy on our son's face when he was surrounded by his friends singing him "Happy Birthday". It was seriously priceless!

big boy birthday party

Over the years we have managed to get away with very low key birthdays for our son. Last year was one of my favorites - he invited a friend up to the cabin for the weekend and they had a great time. This year, our son made it very clear that he wanted to have a bunch of boys over to the house for a party.

OK, that seems reasonable. In brainstorming for the party, my son and I went online and searched for ideas for his birthday. We found a bunch of great themes: Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, etc. In the end it was a no brainer - the kid saw a fully detailed Nerf gun party and he was all in. "This is amazing".

I'd like to say everything came together without a hitch, but that has not been the case. On Saturday morning, my son and I drove all over researching where to get the best deal on a Nerf gun. He was a great researcher. He had a list of what we needed and when we went to the different stores he would note what they had. Check him out: 

(He managed to get a fat lip the day before - as you can see in the photo, thankfully it healed fairly quickly.)

As soon as we dialed in on the Nerf gun we started driving around collecting 15 for all of his friends. This meant driving to 4 stores to get enough Nerf guns. I should have known we had a problem when he was opening the gun to test it out on our way to store number 2. The darts were jamming and he was getting frustrated. I assumed it was because he was in a hurry so we continued on our way and resolved to check it out later.

Once we got home, hubby got involved and found out that there were a lot of negative reviews online for that particular Nerf gun. Argh!!! At this point, the invitations had already been sent out. Here's the photo on his invitation - there was no turning back at this point! 

Luckily, we were able to find a replacement gun that had much better reviews. Thankfully I found all of the guns at one store. I'm crossing my fingers we don't have any issues during the party. The thought of a bunch of 8 year olds running around with broken Nerf guns is not a sight I care to see!

Full details to come...

the kid is a mole

Last weekend the kid and I spent some time at my parent's. My parent's neighbors have 2 boys that are close in age to my son. They were all very excited to spend some time together. I'm still shocked my Dad cleared this activity! The kids decided that they would dig a hole under the fence so they could crawl through to each other's backyard. 

Here's the hole:

That took some time on both sides for them to be able to get through the hole. Here's the kid - very proud of his accomplishment:

And there he goes!

They went back and forth for hours - it was a riot! 

passport around the world

Last week at school the kids worked on a project that took them around the world. They came home with a suitcase full of all of their souveniors. It was a fun project and the kid was super excited to share it with us.

They worked together in groups traveling to various countries and documenting what they saw. Hopefully we'll be able to take him to all of these exciting destinations in person some day!

test riding a new bike

This past weekend we went to a few local bike shops to test drive a bike with gears. This is a big step for all of us! I can't believe the kid is moving up to a 20" bike with gears and hand brakes.

He actually did great, once he got the hang of the gears and which brake is best for a slow stop.

cupcake challenge

Today the kid and I participated in a cupcake challenge. Every year there are a variety of community functions to attend to help raise money for all of the "extras" at his school. I have to say, it was one impressive party! To start with, each team received the following supplies: 

• 3 vanilla cupcakes
• 3 chocolate cupcakes
• Blue, Green and Pink frosting
• 6 toppings (sprinkles, chips, colored marshmellows, red hots, jelly beans and jelly bellies)
• pencils to sketch out ideas
• knife
• 2 colored straws

After a little training from an expert on the art of frosting - we were off and running:

The first phase was the speed competition. Next up was the secret ingredient - which turned out to be Oreos. 

The final phase was picking 2 "extras" from the creative board to use in the final cupcake. 

Here are the kids masterpieces for the judges review. He ended up winning "Best Alien" - which actually upset him because isn't it clear that one of his cupcakes is the Death Star which is Star Wars - not alien! I thought it was great that everyone "won"!

This was one of my favorites - a hamburger! They cut the vanilla cupcake in half and used the chocolate cupcake as the hamburger. They used red and yellow fondant for a tomato and a slice of cheese. To finish it off they put green frosting on it for lettuce. Very creative!

the cardboard arcade

If you haven't seen this video on a 9 year old's arcade built out of cardboard - I encourage you to take a look at it!

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

 My son wants to go to Caine's arcade! He was totally mezmorized by it. 

field trip study

This year I joined my son's class on the field trip to one of my favorite local parks. They were going as part of their Native American study tour. As it turns out - it absolutely poured for the entire outdoor outing. I mean - soaking wet, take a look:

And yes that is a grumpy face - one that I saw for most of the outing. The kid just wasn't excited about this particular field trip. As it turns out the first summer camp he had was at this same location - and he didn't have a very good time and he hasn't forgotten!

 

native american studies

This year my son's 2nd grade class studied Native Americans. A few weeks ago we were invited to the class for a "Potlatch" to see the results of all their hard work. The kids worked in groups to create their tribes. Take a look:

Here he is explaining what they built for their villages:

The mask was a very elaborate project that the kids worked on with their art teacher. I helped the day that they were painting the base colors of the masks and I know that was only one of many steps to the final project. It was very involved and the kids were all very proud of their masks!

Each child was asked to write a story about the origin of a tradition. This was my favorite piece of my son's project. I absolutely loved his story! What do you think?

That kid is creative! It was fun to see the kiddo get so excited about all the work they put into their project. You could tell he was proud of his work when he was so careful with how he transported it safely home. It's on display in his room - come take a look!

the boys on Spring Break

Over the years the kid and I have gone on several road trips - Montana, the beach, Seattle, etc. This time it was Dad's turn to road trip with the kid (while I stayed home and worked!). The plan was actually to have me get caught up and enjoy a few days on my own. Unfortunately Dad came home from a business trip and managed to pass his germs to me and I've been fighting a cold ever since. 

Here are some pics from the boys road trip:

Enjoying his favorite - chips and grilled cheese!

A view of the Astoria bridge from their hotel room - they know how to travel :)

Enjoying the coast, even if they had record rainfall the day they were there...

Checking out Fort Clatsop among others. Good thing they brought the right gear.

My favorite photo from the trip - truly relaxing with his Dad!

All he has been talking about since they got home. Watch out - it's a super soaker.

Glad to hear the boys had such a great time. I love that the kiddo gets one-on-one time with both of us. Apparently the scoped out all the great spots in Astoria and Long Beach for when we all go back this summer. Works for me!