Kindergarten appt...

The kindergarten Dr. Appt brings excitement, apprehension, and even a few tears.

Katie is so excited for her appointment and the impending shots because that means she's growing up and gets to go to school like all of her older siblings.

We are in the waiting room and she is enjoying creating hearts and mastering her newly discovered talent.

No tears yet only smiles, but there may be a few shed later by her (shots).  More than likely I will be shedding tears as another one of my precious gifts grows up quicker than I would like.

Hailey's Swimming Spectacular

Hailey's birthday is exactly one week after Katie's so we had a busy couple of weeks.

Hailey opted to invite less friends and go to a local pool.  It was a much simpler production which was nice for me and she still had fun.
WIN WIN

Cupcakes - I found these on family fun and they were very simple and turned out really cute.

Also I was looking for a new recipe for frosting and came across this recipe --
The Best Frosting I've Ever Had 

It was REALLY yummy (after I picked off the marshmellows).

Amber painted this painting for Hailey's birthday.  

The party was only 2 1/2 hours and that included driving to and from the pool so I decided not to even take a swimsuit and just watch from the side.  I figured Katie could wear a life jacket and one of the older kids could hold Caleb and take him down the small slide (with us watching of course).  The worst that could happen would be that I had to jump in - in my clothes to rescue a child.  Anyway  Dan decided to do the same.  I mentioned that to the lady when we were paying to get in and she informed me that children under 5 could not swim unless a parent was actually IN the pool with them.  I understand why they say this but I actually can watch better from the sidelines.

As a result, these two had to sit in the party room and watch everyone swim through the windows.

There were quite a few tears shed!  We'll just say that Katie may or may not have gotten her feet wet and ventured down the small slide.  I couldn't say if it's true or not.

Happy Birthday Hailey!!!

Katie's Princess Extravaganza

I had two birthdays in March and Katie's was first.  We went back and forth with what she wanted to do and finally decided on a princess party but we had boys coming as well so we found an invite that included knights as well.  Here are just a few of the things that every princess needs at her party.

Royal invitation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hear Ye, Hear Ye,

By order of the King and Queen:

Prince James is cordially invited to the Castle to celebrate Princess Katie’s 5th birthday!!! The royal celebration will begin at 2:00 in the afternoon on the 1st of March 2011 (Tues.).

The King asked that you come dressed as your favorite princess or knight in your most royal attire.   Upon your carriage's arrival, princesses will be greeted with royal wands and gems.  Princes will be given royal swords for bravery.

The royal cook has prepared a feast of goodies for the celebration.  There shall also be festivities including a royal ball (musical chairs), games, and crafts and fun for all.... the excitement will heighten during the defeat of the royal piñata. 

Have your carriage arrive for you at 4:00 in the afternoon when the celebration commences. Please RSVP with the Queen Mom at xxx-xxx-xxxx if you plan to attend this royal gala...The castle needs to plan for your arrival. This is a magical celebration not to be missed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grand entrance

Princesses

Knights

Castle cake

Pinata

Throne

I decorated one of our larger chairs to serve as the gift opening center. Katie and the gift-giver were able to sit in the throne together as everyone watched as she opened the gift.

We didn't want to leave anyone out so it ended up being a TON of kids.

  Luckily my sister and sis-in-law were willing to help.  Thanks for making the long trek up to my house.  I owe you big time.   

Happy Birthday Katie!

They get a pass this time.

As I walked down the stairs after the kids all left to school this is what I found.


The kids are always in a hurry and dump all their old papers out so they can run out the door.  I grumbled and then looked a little closer.  The top paper had my name written out with some sweet things written on them.

I am still leaving the pile for the culprit to pick up but I'm not grumbling anymore just teaching them how to be responsible...

And I still am not sure who's pile it is...

Blogging on my new Xoom tablet!

Just wanted to test out my new toy!

I will try to catch up on my blog tomorrow.  This app should make it a lot easier.

Grandma's Memorial Valentine Party

My Grandma was a wonderful woman who LOVED the Gospel and her family.  She always made sure that we were able to get together with cousins and she often planned cousin camps and parties to make sure that we were able to forge bonds with one another.

As we grew and started families of our own she started having an annual Valentine's party for her great-grandchildren.  Before she passed away she mentioned how important it was to her and that she hoped we would continue the tradition ... so we have.   It is a wonderful time to catch up with our cousins and their families and it is always emotional as we view a video we have of Grandma at one of her last parties.

Here are some of the highlights: