Servin' Up Some Birthday Fun!

E is turning 8 next Sunday! Today we celebrated her birthday with a backyard carnival! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa H for all of their help. You sure do need a lot of help to pull off a carnival for 15 girls. I think E's highlight was getting to serve Kona-Ice treats to her friends from inside the truck. A big thanks to Eric W and his Kona-Ice franchise....visit http://www.kona-ice.com

Here are some pictures and videos from the celebration!

The Invitation...

Greeters...
Games... Carousel Cake...
Presents... Cold Treats... Here are 2 videos of the fun!

Ding Dong...

the brass birdcage is gone!

I usually don't blog about home projects or crafts but this one is just all too exciting for me. The people who built this house had a love affair with brass and I'm personally not a fan of the man. This foyer light was the highlight of the relationship. R wasn't bothered by this light so I had to find an inexpensive solution to my problem. I bought a new light fixture at my neighbor's garage sale, spray painted it darker and found 2 guys that would brave the height and hang it for us!

I have never seen a ladder so tall and wide...

Mission accomplished...

Can You Guess What's Missing?

Yes, K lost her first tooth! She was so excited to find it loose last week and then to soon find a 2nd one loose! Then, on Monday she came up to me saying it was very loose and asking if she could 'twist it out'. As she was showing me the tooth, her tongue pushed it right out into my hand. Such a big girl she is now!

Here is the 'I'm so excited I can stick my tongue through the hole pic!'

G.N.O.

...that's Miley Cyrus for 'Girls' Night Out'

and E sang that exact song at the cutest birthday party tonight. It was a ROCK-themed party. The girls came at 5:00 for the 'pre-party' which was pizza and cake. Then, the girls had their make-up, nails and hair done, made t-shirts and practiced for a performance. Parents came back around 8:00 to watch the big video-taped performance which was on a stage in their basement complete with karaoke machines and lighting. It was so cute.

The group performance...

Some 'after the show' pics...

Here are 2 videos of the fun!

Happy Father's Day!!!

There are many reasons why we love our Daddy and our Grandpas but here are some of our top reasons.

The Top Reasons We Love Our Daddy!

He does fun things for us

He brings me to softball and soccer (E)

He takes us to restaurants

He gives me fun stuff for our birthdays

He takes us out for icecream

He is nice

He mostly doesn't put me in timeout anymore (K)

He doesn't take out our braids at night (K)

Because I love her a lot (A)

The Top Reasons We Love Our Grandpa H!

He cooks us pancakes

He is nice

He's going to take us to the Magic House

He visits us

He has a big basement full of toys, stickers, and puzzles

Because I love her a lot (A)

The Top Reasons We Love Our Grandpa B!

He gives us donuts

He taught me how to play solitaire (E)

He is nice

He has a lot of toys in his toybox

He visits us

Because I love her a lot (A)

Swings & Snuggles

Last night after dinner we went out to the backyard to play. We felt that W was old enough to check out his swing. He seemed to really enjoy it after getting used to it. While out there, A mastered the art of rock climbing and K swung the night away with her TWO loose teeth!

Since E was away spending the night at a friend's house, I invited K to a slumber party. W also joined us as we watched some late night tv and made jewelry out of yarn in bed. Then, our little snuggle bug fell right asleep there with us before we had to move him to his bed (in our room, of course). He seriously loves to snuggle! He is constantly trying to find a hand, arm, finger....something to snuggle up with.

....and I have to add....

We were headed out to dinner tonight for Father's Day. I was taking pictures and then asked K to take a picture of R and I. This is what we got....and somehow....I love it....I think because it was taken with excitement and giggles! At the end she said... "I think I got atleast one where I didn't cut off your heads!" Do you think she knew that taking it a bit crooked adds some interest to the picture?

Rain, Rain...Don't Go Away!

Last week we were playing outside and it started to rain, well sprinkle. Instead of packing up all the fun we embraced the sprinkles with some umbrellas.

Roller Coaster

I'm not so sure about this roller coaster thing...we're getting higher and higher...

It's a long way down there...

It could be fun though...I better hold on tight...

Up, up, up to the top!

We're almost to the very top...I just can't wait any longer!

Look ma! NO HANDS!!!!!


Uh-oh, I better hold on...starting down the hill!



Ahhhhh!!!!!!! So fast!!! So much wind in my face!


So fun!!!!


So very fun!!!


Now, THAT was EXCITING!!!!


Hope your weekend is filled with fun and adventure!

Sweet & Silly Boy

Our sweet and silly boy is officially 9 months old...3/4 of a year! I remember when he turned 1 month, I joked with R that he was 1/12 of a year old already! Now we are only 3 months away from the BIG ONE.

Yesterday I took W outside to take pictures of him in the yard. He was so very cooperative and had the best time as you will see. Mommy had fun pretending to be a photographer also...just pretend the pictures are all technically correct. What I love about these pictures is that they capture so many of his true expressions.

There were so many pictures I loved and I really had to try hard to get it down to just these.

One from inside...


Our sweet boy...


"I think it's time to get silly..."




"Hmmm......what's next?"


"I'll just wave hello..."


"Ummm...just pretend mommy didn't do this to my hand."


Our serious boy....actually he was just watching the neighbor boy on his motorbike.


"This was so much fun! K and A you crack me up!"


Check back soon for the 'Roller Coaster Series' from this photo shoot!