Happy 3?th Birthday Chad!

Happy Birthday Chad!!  The kids were so excited to celebrate their dads birthday.  The day before they had made him cards and helped make a cookie cake.  They were so excited to help him celebrate.

 He was not surprised about his present since it was sitting in the living room the day before.  I still wrapped it, everyone has to open up something on their birthday.

So his cake totally started sliding when I took it downstairs.  It was Chad's favorite Strawberry Poke Cake.

Old Friends and Outer Limits

Last week I was finally able to get together with some old friends.  We had a great time catching up.  Truthfully it is like we have been in constant contact for years.  Candace came down from the Burley area, and Julie lives here in town.  Later in the evening we also saw Shana who came from Arizona and our friend Natalie.  We had a great time and took the kids to Outer Limits.  I had never taken my kids there (not sure why), but they loved it.  It was on my list of things to do during Spring Break, so I am glad we made it.  They have a huge play toy, and then a ton of video games where you earn tickets.  Owen was in heaven!!  It was fun to watch them enjoy themselves.

 Julie and Ava

Julie, April, Candace and Bret

When Grandma and Grandpa come to visit.

It is always fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Farmer come to visit.  The kids look forward to it, and work tirelessly to clean the house.  That is a bonus for me.  This time they came to our house, left and went to Rexburg to watch Amber perform in a few choir things, and then they came back for a few days.  The kids loved it.  Aunt Linda and her dog Macy also came along.  The kids loved having someone else around to play Sorry with.  Chad and I also had the chance on Saturday night to join my parents in Rexburg and watch Amber perform.  I haven't really seen her perform much because I have been out of the house.  I was so proud of her.  I have an amazingly talented little sister.

Happy 7th Birthday Claire!!

I can hardly believe that Claire is 7.  Time really does fly by.  I was excited for her birthday this year because it was a party year, and we had decided to stay home for Spring Break.  We planned a party on her birthday during lunch time.  Claire originally wanted a flower party, which I wasn't sure what to do, so we decided on a tea party with flowers.  It was so much fun.  The girls came and decorated their own treat bag, then they made fancy necklaces before making their mini pizzas for lunch.  During lunch I had made mini cookies, muffins and fruit kabobs.  We had "tea," which was punch, and of course their mini pizzas.  They were each given their own pair of fancy gloves, and a necklace, but we opted to not wear the gloves because we were eating pizza.  After lunch the girls made a candy flower pot, which was so cute but I didn't get any pictures of.  We rounded out the festivities with a pinata, opening presents and cupcakes and ice cream.  It was a fun party, and Claire was so excited. 

 The table right before the party

 Making necklaces

 Eating lunch.  Owen was able to come and eat lunch with everyone, but he had a hard time because it was a party made for girls and he didn't like that much.

 The Birthday Girl!

 Grant wasn't feeling well, but he joined us for the pinata.  He loved it, and was so fun to watch.

 She got some great presents like a new barbie, markers, notebooks, nail polish, make-up and a few other things.  We decided to go with a scooter this year.  She was excited and I think it helped that it was pink.

Happy Birthday Claire!  We love you!

Ava's Face

Miss Ava is making the funniest faces lately.  She is getting 4 top teeth, and I know they are hurting her.  She now laughs with her mouth wide open.  This isn't the best picture because she isn't smiling as much, but she is sure proud of herself because she is pulling herself up onto her toys.

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping and Disney on Ice

We had a great day the next day.  We headed to all the stores we don't have around here.  The older girls had a blast going shopping, and we actually got quite a few cute things for ourselves when we were supposed to be shopping for the kids.  Oh well!  The girls were just ready to get to Disney on Ice, but they were troopers.  Claire told Chad when we got home that we "went shopping, shopping, shopping and then Disney on Ice."  I thought it was so funny.

 Claire and Lilly at the mall.

 So once we got to Disney on Ice, we found our seats.  I was being cheap when I ordered the tickets, and thought we were getting a deal by getting cheaper tickets, but on row one.  Boy was I wrong.  They were terrible, and the ledge scared the death out of us.  Luckily we arrived early enough that we went down to the ticket booth, and were able to exchange our tickets for some better ones.  Much better.  My mom was so kind to pay the difference for all of us.  We ended up on the 7th row.  As we were standing in line a lady came up to us and told us that she had 2 front row tickets that she was giving away.  I told Anjie to take them.  It was so sweet.  I was so happy for her and MaKinlee.  Minnie Mouse even gave MaKinlee her flower during the show.  All the girls had a great time, and loved seeing the princesses of course.  Claire happily spent her money on junk, but I was just glad that she had her own money and could make her own choices.

 It is sure nice spending time with this girl.  We don't always see eye to eye, but it is important to do stuff like this together.  Hopefully she will remember the good times over the bad.

Grandma and her girls.  She sure made their day.

Swimming

Our final stop for the evening was our hotel.  My mom generously donated some of my dad's thousands of Marriott points so we could stay at a hotel.  The girls were so excited to go swimming, and yes we took them at 10:00 at night.  We knew they wouldn't have time on the next day, so we wanted to give them a chance to swim.  The girls had a blast.  I realized how tired I was after spending a few minutes in the hot tub.  I haven't been able to do that in awhile because I am usually pregnant.  Claire is becoming a little fish, and loved to swim and jump out to anyone who would have her.  Grandma usually got that pleasure, but I think she enjoyed it.

 The girls all ready to go!

 Grandma brought Claire's birthday present and gave it to her a few weeks early.  She was so happy.  She loves frilly dresses, and was happy to have another white one.

The Mayan

Our second stop was to take the girls to the Mayan for dinner.  Claire was not feeling well, and had been complaining of a tummy ache at IKEA, so we crushed up a Tylenol and she felt much better after that.  She wasn't sure about the restaurant while we waited for our table, but once we got inside, she was so excited.  They were in the middle of a show, so it was fun to see the little girls eyes.  Luckily it was a little late, so it wasn't that busy and they could stand at the railing and watch the shows.  I was on my liquid diet, so I didn't get to enjoy the food, but the waiter was nice enough to bring me a glass of hot water so I could make my yummy cream of wheat.  It tasted just like Fajitas. :-)  We had a great dinner, and the girls loved it.  As we were getting our coats on to leave, Claire came up to me and told me she didn't feel well, and proceeded to throw up everything she had eaten.  I felt terrible for the waiter, but he handled it well.  The good news was that she felt much better after that, so she could enjoy the rest of our night.

 Lilly, Molly and Claire with Grandma Farmer

 The gang

The guy was walking around after his show.  I was surprised that they all actually stood by him to take a picture.  Claire was thrilled.