Princess for a day!

Today was Lacey's birthday party. It was a PRINCESS party. All the little girls came in princess dresses and looked so cute. We played a few princess games. We put kisses on a frog like pin the tail on the donkey, then we played princess, princess, dragon, like duck, duck goose but using a wand to tap them on the head, and then we played music and had them dance and then when I, being the wicked witch, waved my wand and turned off the music, the last girl to fall to the ground asleep from my spell was out. They were adorable to watch. We then ate a castle cake that really looked more like the Oakland Temple and opened presents.

Lacey had a great time with her friends and loved all her presents. The girls received a tiara, a wand and some jewelry to take home. I had taken a picture of each girl individually and made them a card like this one to take home. They were just so beautiful.

I love doing fun birthday parties for my kids. We get excited together and can't wait for the party to arrive. It is work but it is so worth all the effort. My mom always had super parties for me and I loved them so much. I mean who can top Tifferella. I can only do these types of parties for so many years so I am going to take advantage while I can!

First Day of School............FOR ME!

(Ryan made me take this picture I guess to get me back for all the pics I take of him.)

I went to school today, to middle school to be a substitute teacher. This was my first time subbing and it was for 8th grade pre-algebra and science. What a way to start. I was so nervous. Middle schoolers can be a little intimidating and especially for my first time EVER. As I got to my classroom I just started to laugh out loud. I couldn't believe I was doing this. Then when the students arrived reality set in. The kids were okay overall. I mean they had a sub and they acted like it. I didn't have any major problems though. I just let them know my boundaries and they did pretty good sticking to them. It was so weird to be around them though. I still feel like those days were just a few years ago but then seeing them, I so don't relate anymore. I found myself looking at the teachers and seeing them as my peers. That was weird and just evidence that I AM old. What was weird too is that the same social dynamics that existed for me in 8th grade still exist. There are the same typical groups: popular, flirty, jocks, cheerleaders, nerds etc. You could tell who they were. It made me think back to who those people were to me back then. I just wanted to whisper to some of them that none of this social mumbo jumbo matters. You change when you graduate and you become the real you and most of these people will never know that person. My heart aches for teenagers. It is such a hard time, critical, emotional, and rebellious. Some mistakes seem worth it at the time but are so juvenial and immature in reality. Anyway, I did see some kids from my ward and it was fun to see their puzzled faces as to why I was there. It was a good first day and I think I will just get better. Ryan did a good job playing mommy but at the days end, we were both exhausted.

Random thoughts of gratitude

At preschool today Lacey learned about a happy family. She made a door hanger for each member of her family listing why she was thankful for them. Here are her answers.

Daddy: I'm thankful when daddy takes me out to dinner.
Mommy: I'm thankful when mommy plays "babies" with me.
Aidan: I'm thankful when you let me sleep in your bed when I'm scared of Santa.
Cassidy: I'm thankful when you give me the remote control when we watch T.V. You're a really nice sister.
Family: I'm thankful for my family! I like it when we go swimming together at the YMCA.

So which one made you laugh?

Happy Birthday to Lace Lace Pretty Face

She is FIVE this very day. She was four and a half according to her as of yesterday. We tried to explain the half stuff but she didn't get it. She is just happy to actually be five. She planned most of this day. We started with donuts, chocolate with sprinkles. Then she went swimming with daddy. Corndogs for lunch and the out for pizza for dinner. We went to Toys R Us so she could show us the three things she DIDN'T want out of that whole huge store. She was game for everything. Well, we did pretty good. She was so excited to pick out stuff and use her $3 gift card from the store. Ryan took her out to the car while we picked the final present choices. We enjoyed dinner at Hometown Pizza and then off to Cold Stone. I had signed her up for the free birthday treat so she had a coupon for a free ice cream. She is starting to love coupons as much as me.

We opened presents when we got home. She ended up getting PINK legos, 2 Pet shop stuffed animals, a Snow White dress and shoes (that I found for $6.50 total), princess playing card, and some jewelry.

She enjoyed all the phone calls she received today. She was surprised everyone was calling for her.

Halloween

We had a relaxing Halloween morning. The clouds continued to blow out of the area that left for a promising Halloween night. We carved our pumpkins together. The kids actually participated more this year. Ryan made them pull out all the "pumpkin guts". They didn't really like that part. We didn't get as extensive with the carving this year. We played it simple but they turned out good. A ghost pumpkin and a heart pumpkin.

So this year we had Tinker Bell, a gypsy, a cheerleader and Karate Kid. The kids didn't know what a gypsy was so I just said they stole kids. My mom always said growing up that if we weren't good she would sell us to the gypsies.

The kids were very excited to start trick or treating. We went to our usual neighborhood and met up with some friends. Aidan and his buddies ran from door to door and the poor girls just couldn't keep up. Cassidy just stayed in her stroller and we would only take her to the people sitting in their driveways. So she did drive-thru trick or treating. She loved it. She ate like 40 suckers that night. We had a great night with no rain and lots and lots of Candy!

Trunk or Treat

This weekend has been much awaited and much planned for. Friday night was our Ward Trunk or Treat that I was in charge of. I spent the day decorating and Ryan was my errand boy, a cute one at that. Everything went really well for setting up. I had 2 of my friends help me decorate and I swindled the missionaries into setting up my tables and chairs. I even had time to go home and get me and the kids ready for the night.

The party went really well. We had soups and chilis and homemade rootbeer. Oh, it brought back so many memories. We had lots of people come. We had invited 3 families and they all came. I was so happy. Ryan had to take on the role of host to them while I was busy managing everything else. I was so glad he was willing to do that even though it isn't always his forte. He played the role well.

We had about 7 games that the kids had fun playing. Bowling, golfing, ring toss, dart board, coin toss, and even a plinko game THAT I MADE ALL BY MYSELF. (If you don't know what plinko is you need to go watch the Price is Right) After the games we did our trick or treating. Unfortunately it was raining and gusting wind outside so we had to resort to the classrooms around the building. I was very disappointed because the trunks are always fun but I figured I had used up my don't rain on my activity petitions on my 4th of July activity. It worked out fine just the same.

It was a great night! Exhausting but Great!

Ode to Florida

Our trip to Orlando was great! We spent a week there with Ryan's parents in a great condo. Here are our highlights



Visiting our old ward and good friends.

Seeing our old house. The trees have grown a lot.

Visiting the beaches both Atlantic side and Gulf Side. Clearwater Beach was gorgeous.

Feeding the alligators (a standing tradition)

Swimming. Lots and lots of swimming. The pirate ship pool was so fun.

Going to the Tampa Zoo. The kids fed a giraffe and rode a camel. How cool is that?

Playing mini golf

Eating gelati at Frozen Gold

Eating Hot Fudge sundaes at Girhadelli

Going to Downtown Disney. Loved the Lego store and could spend days in the Disney Store!