Blogging, Blahs, and Birthdays

I've been having fun following links around the net. It's exciting to stumble upon good, uplifting, positive blogs and websites that make me want to be a better person. Recently, I've found a whole nest of blogging links and connections among godly, home-schooling, home-keeping women who post about parenting, frugal living, cooking, and running a house. I don't know if I'm the wheat-grinding, cloth-diapering, paper-towel-free kind of woman, but it's still neat to find out about different ideas shared among these sweet ladies.

We are in the throes of preparations for finals. For the past 5 days straight, James has spent 12 hours at UAA working with his group to finish designing a steel bridge. The stakes are much higher than for the balsa bridge he built as a Freshman. This time a couple of boards will be reviewing his bridge, and in addition to a grade, he may receive big awards and a trip to Oregon based on their work and designs. While I don't LIKE being at home alone for as long as I'm at work and having a grouchy and exhausted husband come home to crash and burn, I'm still really proud of him and SO happy that this is all almost over. One more week (plus a day or two) and our holiday will truly start.

In the meantime, I've been going to the birthday parties of my niece, Niqui (4) and brothers, Isaac (10) and Adam (6). Half-Peruvian Niquelina (Niqui) had a traditional party complete with streamers, hats, a pinata, a pretty birthday dress, and other 4-year-olds. Isaac, for the first time in his life, had a "friend" birthday party which he celebrated by conscientiously inviting every single student from his Bible class to the bowling alley for two hours of pizza, cake, and bowling. Next Friday, on Adam's REAL birthday, he will get to do something fun with the family.

Isaac and Adam's "family" birthday party we celebrated Sunday with a cowboy theme. We all arrived dressed for the part. Everything started with a dinner of ribs, fried potatoes, baked beans, and biscuits served in wrought iron dishes onto blue speckled plates and washed down with root beer in bottles! The table was lit by lanterns and spread with red-checked and cowboy-themed print and each person had a goodie-bag of trail mix, cow tails (ha!), and gold nugget gum. Afterward, Mom's beautiful cake was presented which showed a field of cows grazing by a stream (complete with bulrushes, ducks, and river rocks) and a couple of cowboys hunkered under a tree by a campfire. The charred wood (pretzels) and eggs in the frying pan added realistic touches. Then, when the candles were lit, a hidden sugar-cube previously doused with peppermint extract was lit as well, making a little fire for the cowboys to really warm up to!

After this, we were told by the sheriff (a.k.a. Dad) that in order to be deputized to go after some cattle rustlers, we had to pass a series of tests. From there, each on of us were timed in how fast we could lasso a (rocking) horse, shoot a series of targets, aim a bow and arrow, corral and herd (with a broom) a group of cows (balloons), kill a scorpion in a boot with a rock (ping-pong ball), return the cows to their pen (under the piano), and ring the triangle--all to the background music of "Rawhide"! We laughed so hard! Everyone was a good sport and got deputized! Sometimes, I think I forget that I'm 26, but as the average age at the party was 34.25 (I just did the math), I guess I wasn't the only one to forget my age.