Star Wars!

The Walton family LOVES movie parties. When we do movie parties, it isn't like grab some popcorn and candy and watch a movie together, we go all out . . . costumes, activities, prizes, games, food. It's awesome.

For this summer's reunion we wanted to do something EPIC, so we chose STAR WARS. Sweet! My Mom was seriously prepping for this party for like a year. Every time she saw some sort of cool Star Wars item at the store, she bought it (think Pez dispensers, yo-yo's, puzzles, games, Darth Vader head Easter eggs, etc.) She had so much stuff that we decided to make a "Star Wars Store". The kids earned tickets throughout the party, then they got to "shop" at the store with their tickets and buy whatever nifty stuff they wanted.

Here's the party run-down:

We let the cousins work on some coloring pages, crossword puzzles, and mazes in the afternoon while the littles were napping.

Then it was time for costumes! I was pretty lazy and just purchased a few things for our costumes (I did make Kaylee and Ashlyn's headbands), but others really went the extra-mile this time.

Yoda #1

Yoda #2
(I smile every time I see this one - Brenna's just so darn cute!)

Princess Leia #1

Princess Leia #2

Princess Leia #3

And Princess Leia #4
(for a movie that only has 1 leading lady, you're going to see her a few times over in our family of 2 grandsons and 8 granddaughters)

R2-D2

The Emperor
(my Gran had never watched Star Wars before this party, but I think she looks pretty convincing)

Darth Vader
(I bought Russ this shirt, and he decided to spice it up with a few additions)

Storm Troopers
(my parents made these awesome masks out of milk jugs)

Ewok #1
(Ewok #2 was equally adorable, but is about 2 years old and wasn't interested in keeping her costume on long enough for a picture)

Darth and a Storm Trooper
(these masks scared Brenna to death)

Princess Leia (on Endor)

Obi Wan Kenobi

Chewbacca

Han Solo
(somehow I missed getting a picture of Bonnie the Jedi - sorry!)

We did our best impressions of Vader's breathing, Jabba's laugh, Chewbacca's . . . whatever that sound is he makes, and Yoda

Jedi training with pool noodle lightsabers, which was followed by some Star Wars trivia

Dinner was all movie themed: Death Star Melon, Yoda Soda, Vader Taters, Obi Wan Kabobies

and Han Solo frozen in (Jell-O) carbonite

After dinner we settled in to watch "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi".

Part way through the flick we took a break to fill up on snacks: Luke Skywater, Wookie Cookies, Jabba the Nuts, Hans Rolos, Dark Side Skittles, and Ewokookies.

It was a great party. :)

12 Months of McKell

Happy Birthday today to McKell!!! Below are 12 photos of the babe, your job is to put them in order. Beginning with August 2012, there is 1 pic for each month. (WARNING: it's pretty hard)

Good luck!

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

Leave your guesses in the comments, or email me if you prefer more secrecy. ;)

Summer Vacation - Part 2 (Indiana)

From Oregon we flew to Indiana, where we were able to spend a few days with my whole family in a couple of cabins near Bloomington.

The kids love to get rides from my Gran on her walker. 

My younger brother built these cool launchers that shoot off soda pop bottles. 

These 3 little girls were born within 2 months of each other. They were so cute together!

We always do a big family birthday party at our reunions. This year my sister-in-law had us create a "quilt cake" together. Such a neat idea! 

Our final day together was spent at a nearby lake. 

Even though we had sand and water and canoes and kayaks and jet skis, all Brenna really wanted to do was swing at the playground. Oh well. 

I just couldn't get enough of these 3 cuties!

My sister and my niece made plans for the kids to act out "The Three Little Pigs" (performed by the 3 little girls) and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (performed by the 4 older kids). They were darling! I guarantee you have never seen a more adorable version of "The Three Little Pigs" than this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRNovg83EBk&feature=youtu.be

Other fun things from the reunion included lots of fun time playing with cousins we hardly ever see, the celebrity game, extreme water in the face, tasty food, highlights of each individual, birthday presents, whip cream wars, Brenna floating away with her pool noodle, and, once again, just being together with family.

We also had a fabulous Star Wars movie party, but it deserves its own post. :)

Summer Vacation - Part 1 (Oregon)

We spent 10 fabulous days in Oregon with the Burnetts to kick off our summer vacation. Here are some of the highlights:

Nana (Russ's mom) had to work the day we arrived, so we surprised her during her shift on our way home from the airport.

Kaylee turned 8 the beginning of June, but opted to wait until we were in Oregon the end of July to be baptized so that more family members could attend. 

She was especially excited to have her cousin Bekah there. Kaylee and Russ flew to Chicago 2 years ago to attend Bekah's baptism. 

We brought our XBox Kinect along so we could play Just Dance with everyone. It was a huge hit! 

We loved eating as many blackberries as we wanted. 

And those 35 lbs of blueberries were awesome!!! 

The cousins got to ride one of the horses that is stabled in the barn on Nana & Papa's property. 

Brenna and cousin Elise had SO much fun together. 

We all went swimming at the Aquatic Center. Kaylee got brave with the waterslides, and Ashlyn went off the diving board about a dozen times. 

The trampoline was a frequent hangout for the kiddos.

As was the tire swing.

 Kaylee got to pick out brand new scriptures and case following her baptism.

Nana's iPad was in high demand. On the airplane going home Brenna was bored and she shouted out, "Does anyone have an iPad?" 

Papa (Russ's dad) let the girls take turns with him on the riding mower.

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing Grandma & Grandpa Foley (Russ's maternal grandparents). They just moved to Oregon from Miami a few months ago. We have only seen them a handful of times in our 9 years of marriage, and this visit was the first time they got to meet both Brenna and McKell.

Other highlights of the trip included: special Nana dates and Papa dates, movie parties, playing in the water at the park, seeing extended family, talent show, playing the piano, blueberry picking, lots of playing with cousins, yummy food, and just the wonderfulness of being all together!