Gen Con 2015

We loved Gen Con so much, we came back for a second year!  We went on the family fun day because that is the best day, cheapest day for us to go.  A four pack of tickets is $35, which is way better than the one-day passes that are approx. $40 per person.  We got there nice and early in the day and didn't have to wait too long in the will-call line for our badges.  Then it was time to explore.

We found a giant stack-em game with colored buckets.  Pretty fun.

A talking dalek in the exhibition hall.  A proud moment, that all my children know what a dalek is.

Lots of cosplayers to see.  Ewan, Liam and Kella all wore costumes, too.  Ewan wore all black, a black cape, batman shirt and yellow belt.  Liam dressed like a power ranger and Kella wore purple and a purple Batgirl cape.  I love Gen Con because it's a safe place to express yourself with your costume.  No one is laughing or making fun of you.  You can dress up or not.  And, it's cool to see how creative people are with their costumes.  It's a fun place to be yourself and enjoy yourself.

We got some games.  The big boys got a chance to trial this one before buying.  Let's see, We got a game called Spellcaster, a new Pathfinder adventure, a game called King of the Beasts and everyone got an overpriced lego person.  Kella and Liam also each got what I would call a bopper-like a stuffed sword.  Everyone likes those things. While we waited for Andy to go the the car and get our lunch, the boys got to play their new game.

We walked around later, looking for an exhibit that was not there.  But, we found the Mayfair sheep.  Time for pictures.

We stayed almost the whole day.  We were tired, hungry for dinner and ready to go home.  But, you can't go to Indy without getting your picture taken with the NDY letters.  Ewan played along.

So did Marcus.  

Is it sad that I am already excited for Gen Con next year?  Making a list in my head of different things to do.  I heard there was a game library where you could go and check out games to play (for a price).  There are also lots of events that require registration and tickets.  Some of those looked neat, too.  Hopefully, in a year, I can remember this.

Till next year Gen Con!

the final hours...

 The last thing to do before school started was to visit the boys' classrooms, meet their teachers and drop off their school supplies.  And, take a couple pictures.  Because, you know, I am that mom.

The littles love seeing the husky dog every time they come into the primary building.

Liam, 1st grade, super-pumped to have his own desk this year.

Cale, 5th grade, couldn't believe I was taking his picture but smiled quick before I made a scene.

Ewan, 3rd grade, I don't know, he looks happy.

Every one has 2 teachers: one for math and one for english and everything else.  With 4 kids right now going through the schools, we are starting to see some of the same teachers.  Liam's math teacher was Cale's 1st grade teacher.  Ewan's english teacher was Marcus's 2nd grade teacher.  Liam's english/other subjects teacher knew who the Shaffers were even though she has not had a Shaffer in her classes.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

The night-before-school dinner.  Too tired to cook, we ordered Chinese to the delight of all the kids, especially Cale.  We ate at our displaced table, all together (except for Kinley-the-no-eater), listened to music and enjoyed some family time.  This was my favorite part of the day.

School starts Tuesday.  Here we go!

this past week

So, this happened...

Kinley is done with bottles.  And, we are done with having bottles.  This bottle was the last one and Kinley managed to chew a hole into the nipple so that the milk would just pour out.  So, out with the bottles and in with the sippy cups.  Kinley only threw the cup down a couple of times before she was on board with the idea of drinking out of sippy cup. The end of an ere at our house.

Also, Andy has started tiling the kitchen area of the downstairs.  It's looking good and going down fast.  Maybe because the tiles are so big, 18x18.  I think the color is called Mesa Rust.

Farther along in the project.

And, this is where we are at now.  Andy has tiled and grouted the kitchen part and my stove has been put back in its place.  Next steps are tiling the remaining part of the eating area, the pantry and the closet.  

Brace yourselves: more reunion photos

And, now, here are more reunion photos.  Lanny and Courtney took photos too, that I downloaded from Facebook.  These are mixed together, so I don't know who took what, although I know Lanny always takes really good pics of the kids and that he is responsible for the group photo in this mix.  

Ethel's birthday cake.  So cute.  She likes to paddleboard, which explains the decor.  The cake was supposed to be a surprise, but no one told Andy and in conversation about where he had gone, he mentioned going to get the cake.  Spoilers.

Kella and Abby.  Behind them is the tent city we didn't use since it looked like some heavy storms were coming through later that evening.  No complaints from me.  I like sleeping in air-conditioning and Ewan had already informed us that since he had already been to camp and slept in a tent, he was not doing it again. 

Me, being bossy.  What I do best sometimes.

Kinley, post sun exposure.

Ewan, red like his clothes.

bunches of cousins!

Having fun in a deflated pool.

Maddie in the tent.

The elusive Jacob.

there's that snake again.

helping Grammy

Although it killed some of my kids to get their picture taken, I think this photo turned out pretty well. 

The kids' table.

Kella.  Bossy, like her mom.

Kella found someone to play dolls with.

Grown up time.

more corn hole.

The fish fry.

Xander

Brace yourselves-family reunion photos coming

Long ago, in July, Andy and Marcus came back a day early from Boy Scout camp so we could have them immediately unpack and repack and get in the car to go to Grammy Pammy's reunion extravaganza.  Everyone was going to be there, everyone. 22 people.  11 adults, 11 kids.  12 boys, 10 girls.  We came from Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Indiana and Georgia.  Even Joe's girlfriend and her mother drove up with Joe to experience July near St. Louis.  We spent 5 days at Grammy Pammy's in July.  For one of those days, the entire family was together.  Crazy. Busy. Fun. We all took photos.  Here are some of mine from the all-together day.

Welcome to the family fun!

The water slide was a big hit.  My kids got cooked playing outside all day.

Just hanging around.

Time to eat!  There was so much food!  I did no calorie counting that weekend.

Look at these cookies.  Courtney's friend made them.  First, they look amazing.  Second, they tasted great.  Grammy was wise to portion some out for every day or they would have been gone at once.

Afternoon time=game time=Ticket to Ride time.  Ethel, the game newby wiped the board of everyone else.  Andy, only made one person (Cale) cry.  A good time overall.

Cousins.

Found a snake.

Time for corn hole.

Eric supervised the fish fry.

Maddie carted around the littles.

My attempt to capture a pretty sunburst.

The Spielman sibs-in backwards order.  Plus Kinley, who couldn't handle being left out.

A nice pic of Jim, Courtney and the boys.

One of my favorite on-the-fly pics.  Courtney chasing Jacob almost down the street.  At least Jacob wasn't streaking...

The cruising buddies-Joe, Ethel, Mom and Annie Ruth

Lanny and Mom

And Ethel and Joe.