birthday festivities

Yesterday morning began with a butterfly 'n berries birthday breakfast!



Then we took a trip to the store to buy donuts to take to her friends at preshool.


It's always fun to celebrate your birthday with friends at school.


That evening we went to dinner at Pei Wei and had a great birthday meal! (Spencer was MIA at a birthday party for a friend)





Today Leda had her first birthday party with a few friends from her afternoon class at preschool and a few church friends. Thanks to my friend Christina (thank you SO much) we borrowed ALL her fantastic princess butterfly decorations. Holy cow was it ever cute and the girls loved it! Chase and Leda couldn't stop turning to look at the mural, it was so great!




The princesses after playing dress up


We played "pass the slipper" to music (like musical chairs) where each girl had a turn to win a flavored lip balm if they caught the slipper when the music stopped!


We had a princess tiara pinata



We made necklaces and bracelets with beads



We ate a meal fit for a princess! (PB&J butterfly sandwiches)



Had to get a picture of me and Leda with the cake I made.


Pretty excited over her cake!


We sang Happy Birthday and dug in!


Opened presents: Leda was only a little excited!


Our annual birthday picture in the same spot each year


And lastly, the annual release of balloons with a birthday wish!




Whew! All of this in 2 hours time and on a strict budget of $45 (thanks dollar tree and Christina)...not too shabby, eh? Thanks always to Grandma and Grandpa for helping out. Her first birthday party was a success I'd say!

Happy Birthday Leda

Our Leda Joy is four today!


Last night at dinner she said, "Mom, this is my last time eating dinner being three!" How funny is that?

What do I say about my little Leda lou? She lights up our home and brings us so much joy, it truly is fitting that her middle name is what it is. One of the most spiritual experiences I've had to date was when she was just a few days old and I cherish that memory. She's such a special and unique spirit.

I love that she is tender hearted...even though she cries and breaks down a lot (A LOT) it shows me that she's passionate and I love that passion and fire in her.

I love her eagerness to grow and learn. She is constantly drawing new pictures, asking me how to spell new words (most recent was "strawberry") and asking me to explain things from the world around her. Sometimes she teaches me a thing or two. Yesterday on the way to preschool we had an in-depth discussion about what happens when a skunk sprays you. She promptly told me that I'd need to soak in a tomato juice bath. She remembered that from a book that was read to her once. She's such a smart little girl.

I love that I have a girly partner in crime around our home with all these crazy boys. She loves to help me cook and make dinner (she's my spice girl and is in charge of all dumping), we love to paint our toes together, and we're good at it too, check it:



and we are starting to shop together for fun. Last week when my sister and I were at the Mall with her in Utah she'd stop to look at something, gasp dramatically and say, "Oh, this is CUTE (and hold said item out)...or this is GORGEOUS Mom, look!" People all around us were laughing.

I also love that she's the only child of mine that has the attention span to sit on a couch with me and watch a movie in it's entirety. She's my little sidekick and she's a hoot.

I also love watching the bond she has with her Dad. There really is something to a daddy/daughter relationship.



The only thing I'm asking myself today is of course, "Where did the time go?"



Leda,

I'm so blessed to be your Mom and I love having YOU as my daughter...how'd I get so lucky? Your eyes have always absolutely always captivated me and I am so grateful to have this opportunity to have you be "mine" and to be with you as you grow.

Happy Birthday my angel!


Love,

Mom

Road Trip

Last week we took our first ever road trip as a family. And I have to say, the kids did just awesome on the ride up. It was a lot of fun and I actually really did enjoy being held captive with my little family! The ride home was a little hairy, but we won't dwell on that.

To pass the time we played, "I spy with my little eye", sang to scripture scouts CDs, watched movies (we've never had a DVD player in our car before), colored with wondercolor markers (I'm convinced these were made especially for road trips), sang a lot of songs and ate a ton of junk!

Here's a glimpse into our life on the road for two days...

Not 15 minutes into our trip, the DVD player we borrowed from some friends broke. Lovely...but don't fret: our friends confirmed that the players were old and told us to not worry and to just chuck them; and thanks to Sears in Barstow we picked up a new set and all was well. Crisis averted.


Spencer got used to having a TV all to himself



It wouldn't be a vacation without the stink eye from our biggest stinker




A slurpy stop in 100 degree weather in Vegas was a must!


Spencer discovered there was street named after him


Just a little bored, but hello gorgeous mountains!


The kids started a game of who could clap the loudest with their feet. Leda won.


It makes me crazy to look back at this picture and see that Leda's five point harness was NOT where it should be...how dangerous! But she was happy as a lark coloring on her My little pony pages anyway:


Aaron and I decided that this guy here was surely trying to compensate for something.


A closer look at his license plate



Each time we crossed a state border we would scream and yell...and on this occasion we were finally in Utah and SOOO excited. Enjoy!




We were happy to arrive at our half way point and relax. Yay for being in Utah!!







And last but not least, I had to share with you our main "in-drive" entertainment. Chase just would not quit! He was loving the "I like to move it, move it" song from Madagascar and would sing louder than the movie. Oi! And what Aaron and I say at the end of this clip pretty much sums up our feelings for our beloved crazy children.

I have a new sister!

Meet Blythe. Isn't she gorgeous?




My brother is sooo happy. It was a perfect, beautiful day! More pictures to come...





...but for now, we're back from Utah and I just had to hop on to brag that I HAVE A NEW SISTER and couldn't be happier about it!

Kindergarten field trip

This past Wednesday, Spencer went on his first field trip with his Kindergarten class. Because I'm one of the room Moms, I was invited to go along as a chaperone. It made me feel so good to hear that Spencer was actually excited to have me there...that will most likely be changing as he grows up. Sigh.



His first bus ride ever and for the record, he wanted to sit by ME!



Farmer Nancy led our group of crazies



Look, he already knows to stand by the pretty girl, Maggie Roberts



The most hilarious pig. I know it looks like she's doing nothing, but right before I snapped this shot, she was pushing this water barrel towards the kids trying to get them wet. Then she collapsed of exhaustion!



Petting zoo


Planting radishes with his buddy Logan Hunter



Super cool oxen (after this Spencer asked, "Are these the ones who helped the pioneers?")



On our way out we got to hold baby chicks. Spencer was especially glad his chic was black and not a "girlie color yellow" ;)




After the trip we were both hot and hungry so Spencer and I had a date to Subway just the two of us. It was such a fun day to spend with my boy. Oh, and here's my shout out to Aaron who made it possible for me to go. Thanks babe!