One last celebration

Since Gigi and Papa always go to Arizonan right after Christmas they usually miss Kiersten's birthday. The past two years, we have had vacations planned and Gigi has come home in February, so we just celebrated a little early. This year there were no vacations, so Gigi just decided to come see all the kids. Kiersten always loves to celebrate with her family. Gigi even asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner. She asked for Spaghetti, so Spaghetti it was!

Aunt Cynthia, Uncle Matt, Macy, Colby and Jackson were there. When Gigi is gone, we don't see them near enough, so it was fun to get together. The kids all played while I got to catch up with my mom and brother. After dinner we sang Happy Birthday and Kiersten got to open her last few gifts. She is loved. Gigi is coming back over tomorrow to see us one last time before she heads back to Arizona for several more weeks. We miss her, but look forward to she and Papa's return.

Cute Lil' Cowgirls

We are so absolutely blessed with the Mt. Zion Community Club. They put on such great events for our kids and the parents too! Last year was our first Father/Daughter Dance and the girls had an absolute blast. When the flier came home for this years dance they were all in. And this year Pre-K was allowed to attend, so Hattie was thrilled.

 

After all the time we spend in Arizona we had bits and pieces that we could use to complete the ensembles. Gigi picked up a few pieces and I found Hattie's dress at TJ Maxx.  Gigi got back in town a few days ago. She recently spent a few days in Santa Fe and she brought the girls some beautiful turquoise jewelry. I was excited to help them get ready. And they were excited to have me help them.

I had my own ideas about how we should do their hair...come to find out, they had their own ideas. So after two hours in the bathroom with the curling iron we were ready to go. Okay, well we had dinner, did a little makeup, took some pictures and THEN we were ready to go.

I was a parent volunteer at the dance so I had to be there early. All the dads and daughter just looked so sweet. The girls were all smiling so big. I was at the front foor checking people in. After we wrapped that up, I was helping at the photo booth. It was a hit. Everyone loved it. I even snuck in to take watch them all do some line dancing. The Cha Cha slide was suck a big hit, they played it twice. At one point early in the evening Mitch told me he didn't think he could handle it with all three girls. But by the end of the night, he was a total pro. They had a great time, and I'm so glad we get to do these fun things in our little town.



 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Kiersten!

 Today, my lovely little Bug is 7! I've heard the saying "the days are long, but the years are short." and it feels so true. Sometimes I just can't wait for bedtime. But when I look at how quickly she is growing up, right in front of my eyes, I know I'm going to miss this.

Mitch had to leave town for a work trip so he surprised her at school the day before. He grabbed some Subway and met her for lunch. She loved being able to have lunch with her daddy. This morning she woke up to a donut with sprinkles for breakfast. I even lit a candle and we sang Happy Birthday to her. At school she got to play on the iPad, I brought in treats for her class, and she got to get a gift from the prize box.

After school we had regular routine...We went and got our traditional ice cream cone. It's funny how many people know this is what we do thanks to social media. And since its Wednesday that meant Leah had swim. We dropped Leah off at the pool and I let her pick where she wanted to go for dinner. McDonalds...she wanted a happy meal, so happy meal is what she got. I think she'd say it was a happy birthday. And Gigi is on her way home so we can celebrate this weekend. I love you, Bug...you are so kind and always looking out for others. Love your heart, your smile, your laugh...all of you to the moon and back. Happy Birthday!

Seven is Super!

Oh my goodness, does our cup runneth over?!?! We had a birthday party for Bug this weekend and it was just so wonderful. We held it at Coz's here in Mt. Zion. We got to use their party room, and each of the guests was able to make their own little personal pizza. Kiersten invited so many little friends from school and they ALL were able to make it. Lainie, Jade, Gracie, Lila, Emma and Elizabeth, Ella, Ariel, Camryn and Cayde and then of course our 3! What a wonderful group of well behaved little ladies.

We started out by decorating aprons. They all got to pick a color and decorate with fabric paint. Next we played Pin the Pepperoni on the Pizza. It was fun to watch some of the girls completely miss the board. Then it was pizza time. They all made their own, and seemed to enjoy making smiley faces out of pepperoni. After we ate, we started with Pizza Bingo!

I had the cupcakes and cookies made at Simply Sweet here in Mt. Zion and they were so delicious. The girls all enjoyed them as well. Kiersten requested Cherry Chip and then I had basic yellow cake with chocolate frosting for anyone that wasn't a cherry chip fan.

After cupcakes we played some more Pizza Bingo. I found it on Etsy, and it was a total hit! When all the prizes were gone, Bug got to open her gifts. Lots of Legos and Shopkins...she was a happy girl! A good time was had by all.

#2

This weekend the #2 seems to be popping up a lot. It's two weeks since Bugs accident and what a difference two weeks has made. She isn't 100% but the bruising and swelling is significantly better. And her little spirit has been lifted which is so good to see. She reached a big goal in AR. She hit 50 points and got her second gift card for a free meal at Texas Roadhouse. And then Leah continues to run with Mitch every Saturday. Today she said she hit 2.22 miles. So yeah...#2

We figured the girls definitely earned a trip to Texas Roadhouse. Since we had two free kids meals it seemed like as good a time as any. They loved it. They always get excited when we go to a restaurant. Because we don't do it often. Afterwards we went to MC Sports...new running shoes, equipment for softball which will be starting soon. The weekends are full and we wouldn't have it any other way. I keep reminding myself that my time with them is short, too short.