Memorial Day Weekend

 What a fabulous Memorial Day weekend we have had! On Friday night we had our dear friends Chris and Chuck (their kids Nico and Marlee) and Shawna and Mark (and daughter Bentley) come over for a grill out. The kids played the night away in the back yard, jumping on the trampoline and just playing make believe, while the adults chatted about our lives- very relaxing, very nice. Before we knew it, it was 10:30 and our kids that usually go to bed at 8, where starting to show signs of needing to go to bed. :) I wish I would have gotten a picture or two, but I was having too much fun to take any.

On Saturday, we went over to Jay and Julie's house for another BBQ. Jay is master of grilling chicken and steak; he seriously has an art to it. So good!!!!

 Bella was in love with baby Grayson. This was his favorite place to sit when he was tired which was about 1 percent of the time. The girls wore their bathing suits as Braelyn bought a Slip and Slide with her money earlier that day. We let the kids go on it after super. They played in their bathing suits on the swing set until then.

 Victoria was the first to wipe out, but Jeremy, yes Jeremy, had his fair share :)

 I found this rock circle in our back yard and asked Victoria what it was. She said it was a rock garden for the Little People. She had painted some of the rocks and tried to make a road structure so they could "enjoy the park." She reminds me so much of me at this age. Love it!

 The next day after church we met Carol and Dick for brunch at their place. Carol made Victoria's favorite cinnamon bread with extra icing.

 AND they got chocolate ice cream that they had to eat on the patio, which made sense since Bella's broke in half and almost fell to the ground, had not a watchful Cindy scooped it up in her hands.

 On Memorial day Monday we went to the last day of the Scarborough Fair. I had been there in college, but it has gotten a lot bigger and the costumes much more fancy and in some cases reveling. The first thing we did was ride an elephant- I had never done that before. Basically it's like riding a horse, but a lot smoother and slower.

 Bella found a Maid Marian hat that looked adorable on her.

 The clan posed in front of a dragon that looked really neat, but the photo doesn't do it justice.

 We saw some jousting.

 Our shoes were caked of mud since it had been raining all morning and night; luckily it stopped during our visit- I'd like to think my fluorescent pink umbrella that I toted around the whole time warded the rain off.

 All of the carnival rides were hand operated. The girls enjoyed a ride were they spin your cart, then spin all the carts by hand. Bella waves like a true princess.

 This was the primary reason for going (how Jer lured us to the Fair)- the turkey leg!!! It was amazing! Easily Victoria and I's favorite food.

 Brave Bella climbed the rock wall by herself 3 times (although with the harder ones she didn't make it all the way up.). She knows no fear! And her courage is one of her best attributes.

 We went to the restaurant 3 Stacks afterward to eat supper. I would recommend the food, but the waitress wasn't as good. However, it was a wonderful weekend and I am so blessed to live where I do. I know I owe a great deal of gratitude to the men and women who fought and died so I might enjoy it. Thank you!!! Happy Memorial Day!

Victoria's 9th Birthday

Victoria and Bella were supper excited to get changed into their "birthday dresses" and wait outside for their friends to arrive.

We were expecting 12 to 14 kids at the painting party so I prepared the furniture with drop clothes. I think I used every chair in my house.

 The art chandelier- I saw something similar on Pinterest.

 Victoria wanted cookies instead of cupcakes (she's never been a real fan of cupcakes), so I made/bought the good frosted sugar cookies from the store, took off the sprinkles, reapplied some white icing, put some M&Ms on them, and dipped pretzels into melted chocolate for the paint brushes.

 The first guest to arrive was Laila.

 We played Red Light, Green Light in the back yard until all the guests arrived.

 Thank you to my special friends Chris and Dan and hubby Jer who helped make the party run smoothly.

 This was hilarious- the pizza man must have been smoking something or have a great sense of humor. Marlee asked for a piece of pizza. Jer asked if she had a big appetite...

 Check out that face.

 

 A couple of times throughout the night the girls broke into the theme song from Frozen. Everyone, (except Austin) sang as loudly as they could and danced around.

 She was so happy. I wonder what she wished for :)

 The balloon drop.

 I asked the kids to help me out by popping them afterward. They had so much fun!

 Victoria puts on her artist smock and pretends to be an elite artist with a mustache.

 

 Works in progress

 I know Victoria had a great time. She had a smile on her face the whole time. I love her so much!

 

 I was so proud of how wonderful all the kids works turned out. It made me really miss teaching art. However, I certainly don't miss the prepping and cleaning part. BTW- THANK YOU Chris and Julie for helping clean up afterward! 

 We played Red Rover until the parents came to get the kids.

 I told Victoria that she could have three friends spend the night; she choose our old besties who we don't see as much anymore since we've all moved- Kate, Abby, and Braelyn.

 Good friends! Many laughs!

 After Victoria opened the gifts, the girls decided to play, not with the gifts, but with the wrapping paper and bags that they came in. They were burying each other in the mess then pretending to be a mummy rising from the ground and chasing each other around. So I guess kids don't outgrow the phase of playing with the box the toy came in when they turn 9 :) They even took some of the box lids that I had for paintings that weren't dry to be taken home in, and built a fort.

 (It was the first party we didn't open the gifts with all the kids- we just didn't have the time. In fact, I was quite surprised that everyone finished their painting on time.)

I was finally able to put all the girls to bed by 11:15! This is the first time it's been that late. I was really shooting for 10 or 10:30 at the very latest. I sat outside the kids' rooms and kept shushing them every once in a while. The little kids were the last to get some sleep after they changed sleeping arrangements 2 times and learned it wasn't a good idea to sleep all together in the same bed. I was so tired by the end- I'm getting old. I let Jer do breakfast in the morning while I slept. They woke up by 6:30! I predict an early bedtime tonight.