Miss M's 5th Birthday

Miss M turns 5 today!
It's amazing to think how I just blinked and she became this old. Or did I become that old? Hmmm.

I went completely girly this year. Yes, completely out of my comfort zone. But that is my daughter. She is ALL girl. Loves to shop, play dress up, play house and loves pink and purple. So I went with a small tea party gathering. Complete with time for dress up and jewelry making.


No birthday girl would be complete without her crown. Or in our case, an upscale version of a birthday hat.
The whole day was centered around dress up, which she loves. Most of the girls came in one of their favorite "dress up" dresses and then they spent a good amount of time changing outfits, creating new ones, etc.


Their tea table


Each girl got to select their own tea cup to keep. This is Maya's choice.


Another one of my favorites that I found.

Side note- as girly as I claim to NOT be. I love collecting tea cups and tea pots. There is just something fun about it. It's fun that now Maya will have one to display.


Our guests.
I purposely kept it small. It was actually the first time we have had multiple friends over at one time. I think it worked well.


We selected mini bundt cakes as our dessert. Sort of fits with the tea theme.



5 years old, Miss M!
I pray you have an amazing year! Lots of new adventures on the horizon. You will try lots of new things, begin Kindergarten and hopefully increase your love for learning. I love that I get to observe you being kind to all your friends. You are giving and careful to include those around you. You have a quirky side and love to laugh. Happy Birthday!!!!

Zion National Park

I know it's been a really loooong time since I posted anything. I have a good excuse, really! Just can't think of it at the moment.

However, I had some time today to finally post. And something post worthy. We went on a family vacation. The first one in over a year! Yay!

Some friends of ours have gone to Zion during Thanksgiving week for the past 3 years. They are always raving about it. So this year, we booked a trip. WELL WORTH IT! I have never been to Zion, so I was super excited. And honestly, it was something we could all look forward too. Zion did not disappoint. The only bummer (aside from leaving with a head cold), we could have used a few more days there.


The weather was absolutely perfect. This was the view from our lodge. Seriously, could it get any better? Talk about getting to witness God's amazing handiwork up close and personal! I am now wondering how we could get a job up there.


The mornings started out cool and crisp. Wonderful hiking weather. Our attempt at a multitude of family photos was in full swing. It's been a long time since the 5 of us were in a picture (and looking in the right direction, and smiling) at the same time.


My hiking gang did a fabulous job. So proud of them. The boys wore their own packs and carried most of their own gear. Lots of layers and then de-layering were required each day. Miss M was a trooper and never said a word. She had a friend with her and that definitely helped.


Can't tell in this photo, but we are kneeling at the edge of a cliff. Such an amazing view. There really wasn't a bad view to be had. I wish there was a way to capture it on camera.


"I just completed my 2nd hike of the day!!!"
"Mommy- chipmunks!!!! Can we have one?"
- If you know me at all, my answer would have totally been yes! But I am not sure where to put it. Already have a dog, a bird, 2 guinea pigs, and a frog.


Our second day gave us the greatest adventure. Due to my friend's fear of heights, she willingly watched 4 kids while the rest of us tackled Angel's Landing. So.Much.Fun! There is absolutely no way to capture it or explain it right. I'll just say this- almost a 1500 elevation gain, cables, lots of rocks, cliffs on both sides, crazy adrenaline pumping through my veins, and LOVED every minute of it!!!!


Our staged hanging on the side of a cliff photo op. Loved the views at the top of Angel's Landing.


Another family photo spot. Had a few more- those will actually make it into the Christmas card this year.

I cannot wait to get back out onto the trails again. I'm lucky that we have a good amount of open space and trails right outside our front door. But nothing compares to really getting away and visiting one of our National Parks.
So thank you to my friends for allowing us to come along on your yearly adventure. It just may become ours too. There is so much more to this park, that we didn't even get to see.

Always up for an adventure

Mr C is generally always up for an adventure and he LOVES anything science related. So our VBS this year was perfect for him. Balloons, rocket launchers, gooey stuff on the nose, etc.


So this was a hover craft. An absolutely perfect craft for him. Of course it lasted about 10 minutes once we got home, but he has since turned other household items into a hover craft.






Team relay races! I thought this was a cute idea. That and now his nose won't get chapped.

Hi

Happy 4th of July....a little late.

Something about moving, end of the year, etc. that has kept me away from blogging. Actually it was a great break. no complaints.

Story on this photo:
So our new neighborhood posted a sign a few weeks ago stating there was a picnic in the park. I thought that was cute, everyone brings a lunch, a blanket and pretends we are some mid-west town and be friendly.
The picnic was NOTHING like that! Oh no, that simply will not do.
There was a bike parade for the kids (which we missed, since we knew nothing about it), then there was free food, games, face painting (thus the hello kitty on the arm of Miss M), music, bouncy houses, train rides, cotton candy, photo booth (thus the photo)...you name it. One giant massive free block party! It was so much fun. Met 2 new neighbors, so at least we met someone.

So if you happen to be in town for 4th of July, come on by! It's a yearly event.

M.I.A

Seriously, where did the past 2 months go?

We are still living at my parent's house, while my amazing hubby is working on our new house. My mom casually mentioned (well, may not have been casual, but mentioned)that I have been lacking in the blogging world. I really had great intentions of keeping up with the antics of the past few months.
So, with our move happening this coming weekend (hooray), here are the top moments from the past few months (in no particular order):

Breakfast time
This has to be the number one vote of all children in this house. I can't really complain either. Our normal routine prior to moving here was perhaps a bowl of oatmeal, a crust of bread, green smoothies, or sometimes an apple in the car as we race to whatever we are late for. But here....oh no, that simply will not do! The kids have grown accustomed to various types of egg dishes, hashbrowns, freshly squeezed OJ, toast...you name it! I think there was even a few doughnut runs too!

Bothering Pop-Pop time
Need I say more!?

Sharing a room
All three kids have been sharing a room. It took a bit to get them to adjust and actually go to bed at nights, but the stories, whispering and other adventures that take place are hysterical!

Lizard catching
My mom's yard is full of lizards! I have never seen so many before. All 3 kids have taken to capturing various lizards. You can also include snails in this category too.

So many more that I can write down, but I need to feed the kids....again.