Adelynne's 6th Birthday

July 8th, 2011

Good Morning Birthday Girl!!! This might be turning into a birthday tradition at our house-- making an age number pancake for each girl. The girls get a big kick out of this. I just love Adelynne's big smile, she was so excited for her birthday.

Amy got one too.

For Adelynne's birthday, we let her have a sleepover with her best friends, Minnie and Aubree and Aubree's little sister Sabrina (who happens to be Amy's best friend). The guests arrived and we began the night with dinner, (Adelynne's choice was chicken chili). And then we let Adelynne open her gifts.

Here is a hug from Minnie

A hug from Aubree:

The trio, reading a birthday card:

And just what Adelynne wanted for her birthday (well, almost). Adelynne had been asking for an "oopsie dog" since just after Christmas. She wanted a toy dog that walked and pooped because she had seen one in the store. Dustin and I had been telling her that she would have to wait until her birthday, so for 6+ months she waited, and talked about the "oopsie dog" that she wanted so badly. Well, her birthday was coming up and Dustin and I could not find the "oopsie dog" so we started asking Adelynne if another one would be okay, and she pointed out different options that she was okay with. So this is the one Dustin and I settled with. And now if you bring up the "oopsie dog" she is actually a little embarrassed about having wanted a toy that pooped. So she is happy with her little walking, yapping dog.

After presents the girls went outside and did a little slip n' slide and running around. Then our friends the Anderson's came by for a visit and we got out sparklers and fire crackers left over from the 4th. We actually had a lot leftover, and the kids were bored with them after a while and went firefly catching.

The crew: Aubree, Minnie, Adelynne, Sabrina, Amy, Luke, Kate, and Jessica holding Aurora. I don't think that I need to point out Dustin.

After firecrackers and fireflies, we went inside for some birthday cake! This year I let Adelynne pick out her cake from Walmart. It was very yummy!

After cake and ice-cream the girls settled down for a movie and popcorn. The girls watched Tangled which they have all seen before, nevertheless, they all laughed through the movie.

And just as they were all ready to settle down to go to sleep I got them all up for a crazy dance to the credit music. It was fun to see all of their happy faces. They eventually fell asleep sometime after midnight.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate Adelynne's birthday, and I'm so glad she got to do it with her wonderful, sweet friends because sadly this will likely be her last year celebrating with them. Aubree and Minnie have been in Adelynne's life since we moved here, she has been so blessed to have them as her friends!

Once upon a time...

We went to a far off place called Fairytale Land. Fairytale Land is right across the street from the Sacramento Zoo. In my opinion if you happen to be in Sac with the kiddos, take them to Fairytale Land (or maybe its called Fairytale Town, now that I think about it). It is much cheaper, and its like a giant playground! It really isn't a huge place, but big enough to keep you and the kids busy. There are not any rides, just things to climb on, slides to go down, and tunnels to go through, more use of the imagination. Plus lots of fairytale stuff! My girls LOVED going, and we will go back again when we are back visiting the grandparents.

Three princesses in the pumpkin coach:

Amy driving the coach:

My pretty princess! (Just in the wrong fairytale)

There are mice in the cheese! I was super bummed that Amy wouldn't participate in this series of pictures, but Adelynne and Aurora were adorable.

I LOVE THIS ONE!

This is such a cute picture of Adelynne, I just love her so much!

And P.S., it was a hot day, can you tell? But the Sacramento heat is much more bearable than Indiana heat!

water play

After playing at the park in the heat, we went back to my parents house to play in the water. Aurora did not want to participate, but Brek and everyone else did. The water was very cold, but Brek did not care. He played in the water until he was shivering, and then he played some more, until his momma had to drag him out of it to let him warm up. I am quite proud of my sister for getting in the water herself, she doesn't do cold.

This was a fun little sprinkler. You put the balls in the orange part and they spin down to the bottom where the water shoots them out. The kids loved it!

Someone's feeling a little left out?

Slip n' slide!

Sunbathers. These two prefer warmer temperatures. When they were drawing with chalk I wanted to snap a picture of them and I told them to smile for me. Katie turned her back to me and stuck her behind up in the air. I did take a picture, but I didn't want to put it on the blog. It was really funny, she's such a stinker!

And this cute little bug. She didn't care for the cold water, but she wanted to play with the big girls.

I love when we visit with my parents and my brother's girls are able to come and play with my girls. (And when my sister comes with Brek too)! Cousins are so much fun and they make the best friends. I grew up playing with my cousins and I have so many wonderful memories with them, they were my best friends, and still are. I still treasure the times I get to spend with them, and I look forward to my girls making memories with their cousins.

Cuties at the park

My parents finally had ALL 7 of their grandchildren together so of course it was picture opportunity, hence the cute match-y outfits. After pictures we took the kiddos to the playground, where it was VERY hot, but fun. It was very difficult for me to narrow down the picture selection, so you get to endure this large gallery.

Aurora:

Annalies:

Brek!

This one is blurry, but I had to put it in anyway. These girls are just too cute!

Katie and Amy:

Had to put this one in because, well, do I have to explain myself?!

cute babies! Aurora was still learning to do all that standing, but now she is a pro. Oh how I love her roll-y legs!

Baby girls:

Why is there always a boy in the way?

Beautiful girls Adelynne and Heather:

And ending with one more shot of this adorable boy:

strollers and popsicles

My nephew Brek was learning to walk and loved pushing the doll strollers, but they just didn't have enough weight to hold him up, so we fixed that problem!

Its a little blurry, but so cute!

So much fun!

My brother's youngest daughter, Annelies. She is so sweet and quiet. She just walks around the house, following around the big girls and silently getting into trouble. She barely makes a peep, unless her daddy leaves.

The four-year-olds: Katie and Amy. They look so sweet, but watch out! Trouble is their middle name!

The big sisters: Heather and Adelynne

Disneyland 2011

This year Dustin and I made the decision to just go to California Adventure Park at Disneyland. We had a great time, but we definitely learned a few things. Neither of us had ever been to California Adventure and we figured we would change things up by going there instead of Disneyland Park itself, just to do something new with the girls. Some tips for the future: only go to C.A. with a park hopper pass. When you only have one day to do Disneyland, don't spend your money and your day at C.A. There is not as much to do at this part of the park, but there are some fantastic rides and shows.

When we first arrived the girls did some marching with army soldiers:

Then we saw Mr. Incredible!

And then the girls saw this building and they thought it was a haunted house. Both Adelynne and Amy went on the ride, but the biggest surprise of all.... Grandma went on it too! Both girls were UNpleasantly surprised at discovering that this was a terrifying ride. But we all survived, I never want to do it again, actually none of us do. But we survived The Hollywood Tower of Terror! And I wish we had bought the shirts to prove it.

Kitty!

Notice that Amy is not in any pictures of the characters. She was too scared to go see them.

But she wasn't scared of Goofy! Aurora was not impressed or interested in the characters.

Bugs Life "teacups"

And I just couldn't leave any of these pictures with Pluto out.

High Five!

After this shot, Pluto noticed that Aurora wasn't in the pictures, so he grabbed the stroller and wheeled her over for a picture, (see next photo).

Aurora was not so sure about being this close.

What's going on?

Oooh. She was excited about the whiskers, but she panicked when he reached his paw over to her.

Love this.

Carousel Ride! Amy was excited to ride the seahorse, and Adelynne loved riding the dolphin.

Disneyland is always so fun. I love seeing the joy on my girls' faces. I hope we have the chance to go again in a few years.