Princess Sparkley Turns 10!

PS really wanted this baby to be born on her birthday.  B was hoping the ultra sound was wrong and we could give PS a baby sister on her birthday.  There is only about an hour and a half left in the day, so it doesn't look like that is going to happen. 

When I went in to wake he up this morning I told her happy birthday and she told me that Buddy, his blanket and stuffed animal dolphin, Splash, had already been in to sing to her.

For some reason, our kids think you get to open birthday presents almost first thing in the morning.  Like it's Christmas or something.  I get it... they don't want to wait, but it makes the day sort of boring for me because there isn't as much to look forward to.

Here's PS opening her presents:

She got some earrings, a Snoopy shirt, magazine subscriptions,

a book she wanted (on the Kindle), a Lego Friends set, her ears pierced, sandals, etc.

She also got to watch a movie of her choice (Ella Enchanted) and we went to Barnes and Noble to get her free cafe dessert.  We also went to Petsmart (her choice) and picked up a Red Velvet cake (her choice again) for her at the grocery store.  I got a couple of good recipes from friends, but was never sure if I'd be in a position to bake a cake today.  It turns out I could have, but B kept telling me not to stress over it and just buy one.  So we did.  She also chose Alfredo noodles for dinner.  Then cake...mmm.

 

 

B-day ?s:

1. What is your favorite color?  Purple

2. What is your favorite toy? I don't know.

 3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples?

 4. What is your favorite tv show? Phineas and Ferb 

 5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Cracker Sandwiches

6. What is your favorite outfit? My purple shirt and purple plaid shorts.

 7. What is your favorite game? Candyland, Tell Tale.

 8. What is your favorite snack? Poptarts, crackers, yogurt, candy, does dessert count?

 9. What is your favorite animal?  pandas, dolphins, whales, dogs, cats, guinea pigs and horses.

10. What is your favorite music?   Weezer, Killers and Taylor Swift

11. What is your favorite book? I have A LOT!  The Sisters Eight series, Half Magic series, The Royal Diaries, etc.

12. Who is your best friend? I have a lot of those too: Grace, Ruth, Audrey, Ella, Lizzy, Emma, Amanda, Jojo, Bryn, and Melanie.  I have more though.

13. What is your favorite movie? Star Wars, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, The Muppet Movie.

 14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swim and ride my bike.

 15. What is your favorite drink? June Bugs

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas (not just because of the presents)

 17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Normally I take Rachel Mei, but I take my other stuffed animals too.

 18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? A fried egg sandwich.

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza bubble, alfredo noodles, ravioli.

 20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A LOT of stuff.  I actually have a list.  Some of them are: a dolphin trainer, a singer, a director, an author, and an artist.  I know I am going to be a mom.

 

Pierced Ears

We always told Princess Sparkley that she had to be twelve to get her ears pierced.  Then I started rethinking that.  With a baby that is supposed to be born this week, her birthday celebrations were limited to just family.  And this year is her Golden Birthday (turning ten on the 10th) so we wanted to make it sort of special for her.  Then my siser-in-law mentioned moving the ear piercing thing up to ten years old for her daughter (5 month PS's junior).  There had been sort of an unspoken agreement among all the aunts that ear piercing happened at twelve.  Since there are only four girl cousins on the M side (two on the L side, but they are both already over 12) and one of the M cousins is only two while the others are closer in age, we rediscussed and agreed that we'd move ear piercing up to ten.  Thursday, two days before her birthday, Princess Sparkley and I made a trip to the mall and she got them pierced.  She looked terrified as it happened, but was very brave and said it barely hurt at all.

Above: before earrings
Below: after earrings

Close-ups of each ear.  She chose a purple titanium ball earring.

Buddy is 8!

Buddy wanted an army or camping sort of theme to his family birthday celebration.  Mainly, he wanted army and I found some cute camping party ideas.  All that really happened was some decorations and a cake.  The cake doesn't technically make sense since it's army guys battling with a giant campfire between them.  Sort of a combination of two different cake ideas I saw on Pinterest and couldn't decide between.  It's also supposed to be camouflaged if you can see the green and brown sprinkles.

He got to do whatever he wanted to do today so this was our day: he woke up at 7AM and played the GameCube for a long time.  Then breakfast.  Then presents.  Then waffles for an early lunch.  Then building new Lego sets.  Then a trip to some of his favorite stores which included H.H.Gregg (he apparently loves the fridge section of the store), a brand new tractor supply store's grand opening (which included a free hat, and seeing baby goats, sheep and pigs).  Then he finally got to go to Toys R Us to spend his hard earned money (and a $3 gift card they sent for his birthday).  He bought more Legos.  Then a party store for army balloons.  Then home for English muffin pizzas and his cake and more Lego building.

Pics from my phone at H. H. Gregg

Little Guy is 28! In Dog Years.

For Buddy's 6th birthday, we had a dog-themed party.  We basically copied that party and just changed things up a little.

The invitation.  I used a similar invitation idea for Buddy's 4th birthday party. Each bone had party information on it.

The guests arrived (4 guests since he turned 4).  They decorated their good bags, made 

doggy headbands and collars. 

We read the board book, Doggies, by Sandra Boynton to decide what dog bark was going to be ours and practiced making all the dog sounds.

Then we had Doggy Obedience School where the "dogs" learned to sit, lay, speak, roll over, shake and fetch.  They were rewarded with a doggy treat (Scooby snack).

In action at Doggy Obedience School.

We read the book Dog's Colorful Day.  And my sweet husband drew Dog for me.

Our library story time in Kansas did this story and stuck colorful felt circles on a flannel board.  I thought it would be more fun to stick them on Dog.

I told the little kids they could put the dots in the right spots, or just wherever.  After the party, Princess Sparkley rearranged the spots so they were all in the right spot.

We had a little extra time, so we also read Dog's Noisy Day and the kids had to make all the animal sounds.  It was fun.

We also played Doggy, Doggy, whose got your bone?  Sorry, no pictures of that.
And then, since this was supposed to be a Chocolate Lab party, not just a dog party, we had Chocolate Lab cupcakes.

And the goodie bags:

Before going home, the kids got to adopt a dog.  For Buddy's party, I found some Beanie Babies on Ebay, I didn't have time to wait for shipping so these little pups are just from Dollar Tree.

And, it turns out I didn't have any lollipop sticks, so the kids just got peanut butter paw prints.

And frosting the cupcakes took FOREVER, so the doggy bone sugar cookies they got in their goodie bags never got frosted.

They also got Chex Puppy Chow (aka Muddy Buddies), some doggy stickers and a bouncy ball along with their adopted dog.

Little Guy got some great presents.  Legos, which he LOVES!!!  Buddy has already helped him build them all.  He got a super cute dog book called Chowder and a dog puzzle.  And one mom got a Webkinz Lil' Kinz Bulldog (since named Grem) and put it in a little felt bed and made it a collar and a blanket and included a little silicone bowl and a bag of "dog food" which were just chewy Lemonheads.  Super creative.  If we ever do a dog party again (although twice should probably be my limit) that's the sort of gift bag thing I'd like to send the kids home with.

Little Guy Turns 4!

We opened family presents in the afternoon.  He got some Legos, some books, some Cars 2 cars, a Cars 2 water bottle, a Webkinz Golden Retriever named Finn Ice Cream, etc.

Little Guy got this Angry Birds game he saw at his cousin's house after Christmas.  He loves Angry Birds (used to call them Mad Birds) but the actual app is sort of hard for his fine motor skills to execute properly.  This is perfect for him.

Grandma and Grandpa M sent this fun card.  When you open it, the beater turns around and the character in the card yells at you.  We pulled it out while he helped me make the sugar cookies he requested for his birthday "cake."

 Birthday Sugar Cookies!  Princess Sparkley helped color letters and tape them to toothpicks so we could write him a birthday message.

And the next day, his new Sunbeam teacher brought him a giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookie!  And he ate the entire thing!

Little Guy's Birthday List

With help from Princess Sparkley (writing and spelling) and Mom (spelling), Little Guy wrote (!) out his bithday list today.  He was super proudof himself for soumding out ambulance.  In three weeks he turns four!

B's birthday: take two

We celebrated B's birthday a second time with family in Richmond.

B's Birthday

B has a Chick Hicks themed birthday this year.  The first picture with a candle in a sandwich rather than a dessert is a breakfast sandwich we made him.  Then we decorated and invited our friends the Js over for brownies and ice cream with a peanut butter caramel sauce.  Mmmm. 

Grandma's Birthday

We've been lucky enough to celebrate my mom's birthday with her two years in a row.  Yesterday, and then last year they were in Virginia with us for Princess Sparkley's baptism.

We had my brother's family over for dinner Sunday (my sister's family had some sickies) to celebrate.

August 10: Princess Sparkley's Birthday

 After Bryce Canyon the day before, we met my old roommate Tiffany in Duck Creek Village with her two kids, A and C.  They came back to the cabin with us and spent the next day with us before heading back up to northern Utah.

Since this was Princess Sparkley's birthday day (she's 9!!) she got to pick our activities.  We went to Navajo Lake and splashed around in the freezing water.

Then we drove down to Brian Head, looked at the ski lifts and the view, while listening to The Carpenter's "Top of the World" in the car.  It was cold and windy on top of the mountain so we hurried back to the car and Tiffany left with her kids.

 We stopped at Duck Creek on the way back to the cabin in case the water there was warmer to splash in.  It wasn't.

A lot of the Quaking Aspens looked like this.  Rumor has it that the temperature dropped below freezing before all the sap had drained in the trees and they snapped in half like this after making load, firecracker popping sounds.

Our nine year old.  Nine!

I made this banner for our family in April for Buddy's birthday and brought it along to the cabin to make a cabin birthday extra special for PS.  Having a June birthday myself, I know what it's like to be away from home on your birthday.

Chocolate cake, white frosting, sprinkles.  Per request.  Although, I think she said pink frosting and I decided not to worry about food dye up at the cabin.

Little Guy trying out the new zip line.