I Love Everybody

Yesterday, was Devin's Birthday Celebration at school.  Her class does a very special ceremony, to which the parents/grandparents/friends are invited.

But, Devin was MOST excited about getting to make her crown and wear it all day.


We brought a picture from each of her life so far and talked about what she was like.



For each year, she takes a walk around the candle (the sun) and we sing a song.  "The Earth goes around the sun tra-la-la, the Earth goes around the sun..."


At the end, she blows out the candle to complete the ceremony.


I made these fruit Kabobs for the class, which were a BIG hit.  We got super-lucky at Costco and found some delicious watermelon and huge strawberries for my creation.  I used baker's "cake pop" sticks from Michael's.  (I was worried about 24 3-6 year olds with wooded skewers)





I found a great website that makes these personalized treat bags...she loved them!


I found this card upstairs the other day.  My friend said, "If you ever wonder if you're doing it right..read this card."  I cherished her saying that, as we wonder all the time if we're doing this parenting thing "right."


Speaking of parenting "right," we watched our Robin family this spring raise 4 little Robin babies.  Both parents work tirelessly to feed and the keep the babies warm.  But, this little bird would not leave the nest.    He/she stayed 2 days past when the others flew away...and the parents didn't mind.  They continued to feed and take care of this reluctant fledgling.

I wonder if the other Robin moms were like, "OMG, I can't believe she's letting little bird stay in the nest that long!"  Later that day, little bird did make the big leap.

A Perfect Pony Party

Although not actually 6 years old until next week, our Pony Party was last weekend. Therefore, we had the week of Spring Break to make silly, fun things like these below. Thank you Pinterest!

I helped with the hot glue gun, but Dev did most of the rest. We took each step one day at a time, until the bags were ready for the party.

This year, we decided to bake our own cakes for the big Birthday. Dev's pretty picky about her icing...she detests the store bought, "fake tasting" icing. So, we made several batches of buttercream frosting and tested for which ones we liked the best.

There was a horse head Wilton pan on Amazon and had to get it. I also purchased their beginning cake decorating kit, which actually helped a lot. We did a "practice" cake for Easter, so I felt ready. Baking 2 cakes from scratch, making all that icing, dying the icing with food coloring and actually piping it all on, gives me whole new appreciation for professional bakers. It's a TON of work that takes precision and concentration. By the end of baking and frosting 2 cakes, I was ready to sit still and stare for about 3 hours.

This was a vanilla cake recipe and I used Wilton's Buttercream frosting recipe.

This cake was chocolate, but I stuck with the vanilla frosting. Mainly because I was too lazy to try and make a good chocolate icing.

At the party itself, I didn't take too many pictures. The lighting in the stables is tough for pictures & obviously there's no flash photography allowed. But, the kids had a blast riding the ponies and getting a chance to jump in hay and run around.

Happy (almost) Birthday!

Spring Has Sprung

The good news is, we had a great trip to Peoria to see Papa and Grandma PLUS Aunt Meghan and her boys. The bad news is, I forgot my camera. I also forgot to grab Devin's suitcase on our way home, but remembered just a few blocks away. The trip was quick, as we had a busy weekend planned.

Dev absolutely loved this martial arts Birthday party. The instructor was ultra high energy and seemed to really enjoy his job. Since the party, Dev has been answering us with, "YES SIR and NO MAAM!"

We had a relaxing Easter morning & actually ended up watching The Sound of Music. The children and music really caught Devin's attention, plus Miss Karen has been teaching the "Do, Re, Mi" song at school. Once it was warm enough, Matt hid some eggs in the back yard.

That afternoon, the winds were gusty enough to try and fly our kite. Only in my wildest dreams did I picture Matt proudly trying to fly a $2.00 Barbie kite in public.

If you've never watched a 6 year old fly a kite, you should. It's hilarious.

We got Barbie to soar for ages.

After kite flying, we decided to take a quick nature walk. Guess who insisted on wearing a bunny mask into the woods?

This picture is a good depiction of her 6 year old frame. She's just over 47" tall and 52 lbs. You can see her long arms and legs...tennis anyone?

So, we came to a creek with just enough dry rocks to make it very tempting to try and cross. For whatever reason, Devin was fascinated with the idea of trying to get across and drove us crazy asking. Of course, Matt thought it would be fun and "good for Devin" to try.

We all made it across, dry and safe. The weather has made it hard to stay inside lately...we're spending this week (Spring Break) outside as much as possible. Our attention now turns to Devin's Birthday Party this weekend. It's a Pony Party and the big shocker is...I'm doing the cake.

I've been practicing with my new Wilton kit:)