“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013.”
kiana: has a stomach bug, and has been in bed or on the couch watching re-runs of gilmore girls.
myla: has been hooked to her iphone watching dance academy this week…
kj: four days home from school sick this past week – he had the stomach bug first, and he’s just starting to feel better.
sela: likes building little beds out of leaves for her miniature dolls.
my son kj requests birthday parties that are true to his interests. when he was two he asked for a choo-choo party, he turned three surrounded by family and his passion for baseball had began, his fourth birthday party was one of my best-planned-parties ever and this is the only picture i have to share! (he loved the movie “cars”, husband built a homemade race track, the guests all made race cars out of potatoes, with pit passes etc. we raced all afternoon – it was so cute – maybe i’ll scan photos in one day since it was pre-blogging), he loved transformers when he was five, in a galaxy far far away KJ turned six years old, when he was seven his obsession with the military began, at eight years old we indulged in his love for video games, last year we celebrated with a neon influence…
and this year, for his tenth birthday, he said he wanted a glow-in-the-dark sports party. he follows in his dad’s sports-loving-ways. i used a simple invite that was emailed out via evite. we celebrated with all of the fourth grade boys from his school and because the party was going to be held at an event/kids academy, there wasn’t much else i had to plan {bonus!}. so, i focused on making a couple of details extra special and enjoyed the simpleness of not having to be in charge of anything else!
for the party – the kids were each given a white glow sports tee, glow necklaces, and painted their faces with glow paint. for seventy-five minutes they played glow-in-the-dark dodgeball, football, had a fort-building competition, then had a battle from those forts in the dark, obstacle courses, and much more! to say they had fun would be an understatement. i couldn’t stop smiling, and i was just observing.
this boy of mine is such an original gem. he is so sweet, incredibly thoughtful, 100% boy, and becoming a young man/gentleman that i am so proud of. definitely a glowing light.
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party details:
glow-in-the-dark-hat: i used the party hat template linked to here, and colored it with a glow-in-the-dark marker. it was so bright!
for the “10″ sign: used the same marker on felt fabric.
to download & print the “happy birthday” water bottle labels, click here. print on full page labels, and cut.
to download & print the “glowing thank you” labels, click here. print on full page labels, and cut. i used brown wax paper sandwich bags which can be found at whole foods market.
for the cake toppers, i used water balloons, filled them with tiny glow in the dark sticks and when the lights were off – each child had a glow-in-the-dark balloon on their chocolate texas cake!
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this weekend we will have our traditional family breakfast party, and i’ll sulk in the fact that my kids are growing up.
{all photos and party plans by me, Jane Rhodes. labels designed by lovely lindsay for seejaneblog}
from seattle we took a ferry and headed up to Sequim where my sister lives.
our kiddos were fascinated by the ferry’s that you actually drive your car on, park, and cruise across the water.
our first morning in sequim {pronounced s-q-w-i-mmm} we headed out to graysmarsh farm to pick berries. picking berries was a big part of my childhood in the pacific northwest. however, we didn’t ever go to farms to pick berries. my dad would find good patches of wild blackberries, then i’d spend my weekend picking till my hands were stained purple. We would keep some for ourselves, and the extra berries i would sell to the local berry shed for about 25 cents a pound. it was child labor at it’s best. and i think i made a whopping ten dollars a summer.
we relished these fresh berries. i can’t even describe how fresh, sun-warmed, and delicious they are.
we picked logan berries, raspberries, black berries, and blue berries. the only problem: we were not supposed to pick and eat. so, we just paid extra at checkout. our bellies were stuffed with berries – totally irresistible.
aunt sue with our kiddos. {look at the lavender field in the background!}
and! the fruit of our labors:
it was so fun to pick the berries, and have my kiddos help to bake a fresh berry pie. pie was also a big part of my childhood – i have so many memories of my mom making pies, specifically rheubard pie {which was NOT my favorite.} perhaps i am bias, but i also believe the northwest to be the home of america’s best pies. almost every restaurant serves fresh pie, probably due to the incredible, local fresh fruit. i tend to only make pies at Thanksgiving time, you?
we enjoyed our warm berry pie a’la mode over a long game of Risk…
{husbands favorite board game.}
this turned out to be one of my favorite vacation days, ever.
have you been to sequim? while there i found out one of my seejaneblog readers lives in my sisters neighborhood! how cool is that? {hello nancy!} small world.
{photos by me.}
i am writing this as our family is en route from vegas to boston. husband let me have his first class seat and he is sitting with all four kiddos in coach – sigh. he is the best! so, with laptop out – i am switching from travel/vacation mode to serious-momma’s-got-a-lot to do mode! our kids will be out of school in a couple of weeks and i must finalize our summer plans.
today at boston mama’s i am discussing 8 summer activity ideas for kids – check it out here. {please share other ideas you have at Boston Mama’s – i’d love to hear your advice!} Are you ready for summer? kids or no kids, summer is a season of rejuvenation – a great time to motivate yourself to do things you maybe skipped in the colder months.
there are also a few extra fun things i am preparing for…
first, if you went to the utah bloggers meet’n greet in february — we are planning the next event! Mark Tuesday, June 26th on your calendars – for a fun evening at Soel Boutique in Provo, Utah. If you were a blog sponsor in february and you are interested in being a sponsor again – or, if you missed the event in february and would like to be a sponsor this time or participate hands-on, please send me an email jane@prolook.com – we are accepting sponsors + looking for an ambitious, positive team to help with the next event!
second, we are moving! {deja-vu, right?} the home we’ve been renting for almost a year in boston, has been for sale while we have been occupying it. well, it sold a couple of weeks ago – and we are set to move the end of June/early July. perfect timing with the kids being out of school. between husbands work/travel schedule, my moms visit, and our unexpected trip to nevada we squeezed in house-searching and by the end of this week we should know if we will be set on a new home. we will remain in the same suburb we are living in, and we’ll still have space for guests! most people would be dreading to move a family of six again, but i’m actually excited about the move. if we get the home we are hoping for – we will have A/C + a garage for the next phase of this adventure. woo*hoo! plus, i thrive on having a new canvas to decorate. my mind is already making plans for the new space.
third, i have some fun party-posts coming up in the next couple of weeks. i’ll be sharing ideas about how to plan fun-affordable details for a birthday party + barbecue, hopefully something you can implement this summer!
that’s all for now – come back soon – i’ll have more to share! xo.
{the images are from our time in vegas, see more on my instagram feed, @see_jane summer officially started for us this week in the hot desert sun!}
design{a}fort is a series here at seejaneblog.
on most friday’s i feature YOU + YOUR forts!
it all started here. if you would like to participate, read below*
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before we head in to this three-day holiday weekend, i want to introduce you to my friend kristina from my love nest. she is so beautiful, with the most amazing eye for style. recently she posted a picture of this darling fort on instagram and instantly i was hoping she would let me share her creation here! lucky for all of you, she obliged!
check this out, drool over these photos – and then spend some time with those you love this weekend.
build a fort. and cherish the moment. xoxo.
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When Jane asked to feature my little fort on her blog I was so flattered! She is a true inspiration to me in all aspects!
My inspiration for this fort came from the movie, The Holiday. I fell in love with the Fort that was in the little girls room and knew I wanted to make something similar for my girls. Years later I finally had it in me so I gathered some old curtains, a sheet and a vintage tablecloth that I added Pom poms to. I surprised my girls originally on Christmas eve, complete with Christmas lights. As soon as I saw the blossoms on our backyard tree, it was time for a tea party with friends.
{images via.}
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*to submit a design{a}fort post, email me: jane@prolook.com with photos & your story. if photo-editing is your thing, my blog posts are 670 pixels wide. i will review the entries and possibly share yours on an upcoming friday. xoxo.
My kids are all asleep, and husband is in the philippines. which means i have a very quiet house minus the animals attacking my garbage cans outside my office window. I have been up late packing for an unexpected trip. On thursday morning I will be taking the kiddos to Nevada, where we will meet up with husband and attend my father-in-laws funeral on friday. He passed away yesterday – on May 21st. Technically, he had a stroke that caused serious damage. But mostly, it was the end of a health battle that had gone on over the past few years.
When you receive a phone call with bad news – first, someone is calling who you don’t usually hear from – or, they call late – or, there is a pause immediately in the beginning of the phone conversation and whichever one of these happens. you know. i received the first call like this on sunday evening, and have been reflecting on our papa’s life ever since.
Alexander Forbes a.k.a. papa was an extraordinary man. Tall. Strong. In my memories he’s always wearing a white or black track suit. He was mr. Vegas – with style and a beautiful head of white hair. I met him on my very first official date with my husband. At the time i was living in Cedar City and attending Southern Utah University. Dusty asked me to meet him in St. George where he was playing in a mens fast pitch softball tournament with Alexander. I showed up, met Alex, and was instantly impressed with the mans athletic ability for his age! At the time he was 57 years old, and was playing baseball just as good as all the twenty-somethings on the field. He was kind, jovial, and competitive.
My husband didn’t grow-up with Alexander, he was raised by a Step-Dad who was another great man. Yet, over the years as I came to know Alexander – it was fascinating to see how similar Dusty and Alexander were knowing they didn’t spend any time together as Dusty was growing up. Those Forbes genes are mighty fierce! These two handsome men shared an interest in entertaining – always the life of the party, wherever they are. I’ve never known anyone else who could become best friends with strangers quicker than these two. They both sing in the shower, sing around the house, sing in the car, sing to everyone around them. They share an unparalleled competitiveness that could sometimes use a little bridling. ::smiles:: They have a common interest in entrepreneurial business. They both share a deep appreciation for the opposite sex. ha! I could guarantee you that if you were with either of these men, you are having a good time. It’s as simple as that.
Husbands step-Dad died over seventeen years ago, and his mom died a few years ago, and now his real father has passed away. There is a certain sense of orphan-ness that settles in my soul when thinking about this. We all keep the family lines going with our own children, and yet we have such legacies to carry when the torch is passed. Because my own father has also died, I think i’ve held myself together pretty well this week. Yet, our kids have had consistent moments of tears and heartache. We had been planning to have our papa visit us in Boston soon, and they feel disappointed that that trip will not happen. As i’ve tried to explain to them that papa was so full of life, that he lived every minute with zeal, he would not want us to be unhappy – he would want us to remember his joy. remember his teasing nature. He would want us to rejoice in the beauty of life, work hard – play hard – and most specifically, to be winners. ::wink::
The thing i keep thinking about the most, is a print Alex gave us a few years ago in our last home. There is a picture of an ivory bone and in Maori it says:
Kotahi te Koowhao o te ngira,
e kuhuna ai te miro maa,
te miro pango, te miro whero.
I muri, kia mau ki te aroha,
ki te ture, me te whakapono.
the translation is:
There is but one eye of the needle through
which the white, black, and red threads
must pass. After I am gone, hold fast to
the love, to the law and to the faith.
- Pootatau Te Wherowhero
This framed print hangs near our front door, and as if Papa knew what was ahead – we will hold fast to the love.
you can read Alexander’s obituary here.
More posts with our papa here, and here, and here.
{photos by me.}
{new to see jane blog? catch-up on happy friday’s here.}
friends, it’s may! we are almost half-way through the happiness project for 2012! for this month, Gretchen Rubin focuses on “Be More Serious About Play.” Leisure. what better month than may to focus on play? enjoy springtime! i’m keeping this short this month after my word-y past couple of months.
one of my favorite paragraphs from this chapter says,
Studies show that in a phenomenon called “emotional contagion,” we unconsciously catch emotions from other people — whether good moods or bad ones. Taking the time to be silly means that we’re infecting one another with good cheer, and people who enjoy silliness are one third more likely to be happy.
thoughts for this month?
go be silly. xo.
{photo by me. husband and i dining sans kids on newbury street.}
plan a food truck party!
build mini sandcastles!
time to barbecue!
homemade fun!
© 2013 jane rhodes.
