Katie's Garden Party

Today we had a little party to celebrate Katie's birthday with her friends. It was a garden theme, which we didn't come up with until earlier this week. (Otherwise we could have done some really cute invitations.) Anyway, we made a vegetable/flower garden cake and it turned out really cute! And it was so fun to make! I had seen the idea a while back in a magazine and tried to find it online but couldn't, so we just improvised. We used a swing from some of the girls Fisher Price doll house stuff that fit just perfectly. Katie liked it so much she said we shouldn't have eaten it!

When everyone got here, they all painted birdhouses. There were some really cute ones.

Then we had a "bug hunt." Katie and Maw Maw had hidden some bug stickers on the swing set and we gave everyone a few minutes to see who could find the most. Then the usual--presents, cake & ice cream, and lots more playing.

Katie's first scrapbooking supplies. She has been asking since February when she could start scrapbooking with me. Now she's ready.

Katie insisted that she needed to have 7up for her 7th birthday. I don't normally buy soda, but it was such a cute request! How could I say no?

Katie had some special guests at her party.

Maw Maw Mire

Maw Maw and Paw Paw

Some American Girl Dolls--Molly, Emily, bitty baby, & Ivy :)

Her friend Audrey from school. They were also on the same soccer team last fall.

And her teacher Mrs. Chappell--who we all just LOVE!

Check out all of these cute flowers! Hope you had a fun birthday sweet pea!

Fun in the Sun

This afternoon, Katie wanted to try out the "octopus sprinkler" that she got from her friend Kristen, at her birthday party.

We had a hard time keeping the hose connected to the octopus.:( But they didn't mind. They quickly figured out how much fun a water hose can be! Especially with a slide!

And then they decided that I needed to join in the fun. Luckily I made it to the water faucet and turned it off before Sarah could catch me. So Katie went and turned it back on and Sarah chased me into the house. Silly girls!

Birthday Girl

Last night a little after 10pm we got a call from Katie. She was supposed to be sleeping over at her friend Kristen's house, but she said she wanted to come home. She wasn't crying, but I could hear in her voice that she wasn't far from breaking down. And I have to admit that I can completely understand. I used to always call my dad to come pick me up late at night from sleep overs too. So Aaron went to pick her up, and on the way home she asked him a question.

Katie: "Daddy?"
Aaron: "Yes darlin'."
Katie: "Do we grow at night?"
Aaron: "What?"
Katie: "At night when we're sleeping, do we grow if our birthday is the next day?"
Aaron: "You sure do!"
Katie: "I knew it! I knew it! I knew I was gonna grow tonight because tomorrow I'll be seven!

Aaron brought Katie some beautiful flowers today when he came home from work. She loved them! Then we all went to see "Horton Hears a Who." The girls loved it and Aaron and I did too. We went over to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's for dinner, Jo's cupcakes, and presents. (And we watched Carolina beat Washington State!:) It was a really fun day for us all. I can't believe my baby is seven! She's growing up so fast!

Crisis in Youngsville

Much to Sarah's delight, the Easter Bunny left a little green piggy bank in her basket of goodies on Easter morning. She has absolutely fallen in love with it! After all, she has "wanted one all of her life!" She carries it around with her all day, takes it to bed with her, and affectionately calls it "Piggy". Well tonight after we got home from the boat ride, she realized that Piggy was missing. So we looked in all of the obvious places, but found no Piggy. Sarah was devestated, and ran out to the swing set and started to pout. I went out to talk to her and as I was trying to talk her down, I found Piggy. He was up on the ledge of the swing set and she hadn't even noticed!

Sarah pouting with Piggy watching all the while.

"You know where Piggy is? Where? OH! PIGGY!"

Sarah giving Piggy the "always ask before you go outside" talk. Thank goodness the crisis is over and Piggy is safe at home now!

A Boat Ride on Choupique Bayou

Since last Saturday, Sarah has been asking everyday to "go on a boat ride", but it just hasn't worked out until today. Katie stayed at Kristen's to spend the night, and so it was the perfect time to take the boat out since she doesn't really like to go out on it. So I called Aaron on the way home and he was ready and waiting when we got there. When I pulled in the driveway, Aaron greeted a sleeping Sarah with, "You wanna go on a boat ride?" She woke right up and started giving him kiss after kiss and then talked almost nonstop until we finally got to the boat launch. Needless to say, but she was pretty excited!

Choupique Bayou (pronounced shoe-peek) has a special meaning for Sarah and Katie. Aaron made up some characters--"Linda Lou"(a pink elephant) and "Ted" (an orange elephant)--who live on Choupique Bayou and tells the girls stories about them all the time. I'm not sure why he picked elephants. I personally think the obvious choice would have been alligators. But hey--it's his story. Anyway, they just love Linda Lou & Ted stories and every time we go out to Choupique Bayou, they look Linda Lou & Ted!

Tea Party

Today Katie and Sarah were invited to a "real" tea party at Jay & Jolene Sonnier's house with their daughters Kristen, Kassidy, and Kelsi and four other little girls--all of which are daughters of Aaron's good high school friends. (Don't worry mom--I brought some kool-aid for Katie and Sarah.) Most of the girls were dressed up. But I forgot, so my girls were just wearing regular clothes. It was the cutest thing though because Jolene let them use real cups and saucers! She even had little cookies and sugar cubes and a nice tablecloth and centerpiece! They all kept calling each other "Dahling!" It was so cute!!

Farewell to the James Family

Our dear friends, Mark, Stacy, and Alyssa James, are officially moving tomorrow. We were glad to be able to spend some time with them this past weekend. They came over Friday night and Aaron grilled some delicious food. And they also came over to share our Easter Dinner with us on Sunday. We have enjoyed hanging out with them over the last few years and have made lots of fun memories together. Aaron and Mark have become really close. In fact, they call themselves "brothers from another mother." They really are a lot alike. We will miss them terribly, but wish them all the best in their new home in Kentucky. I don't think it will be too long before we see them again though. . . .Aaron and Mark have already started making plans for a hunting trip!

A Day at the Park

Yesterday two of Katie and Sarah's friends spent they day with us--Danni and Alyssa. It was such a beautiful day that they just wanted to stay outside--and I really couldn't blame them. They played on our swing set for a long time, and then I mentioned going to the park for a picnic. Of course they all thought that was great idea. So we packed some sandwiches and snacks and headed to McMurray Park. I was very surprised that the park was empty-- so we had it all to ourselves. We sat in the grass and ate lunch, and then the girls played while I laid in the grass and read my scriptures for a few minutes. I seriously think I could have fallen asleep in the perfectly warm sun, but just when I was about to lose consciousness, the girls came over and asked to go to the trail and ride bikes and scooters. I love park days in the spring!

Spring

Spring is my favorite season! I love to wake up to the birds singing. I love the perfect warm sun (not too hot like the summer sun). I love to see all of the beautiful flowers and trees blooming and the wonderful smell that they release into the air. I really love all of the flowers that mark the beginning of spring, like tulips, daffodils, and azaleas. But oh how I wish they would bloom longer! I've taken some pictures of a few of our neighbors azaleas (ours just don't have as many blooms as most other azaleas around). They are all such beautiful colors, I can't decide which I like most!

Creole Nature Trail

Saturday we made a trip down to the Creole Nature Trail, which is just a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico. We have been there many times, but our last trip was a couple of years ago after Hurricane Rita had devastated that area. It was a sad trip then because everything was brown and dead and there were very few signs of life. This trip was quite different however. We still didn't see as many alligators as we normally do, but there were many signs of life. We saw 2 nutria rats and lots of babies (didn't get close enough to count!), fish, 4 monarch butterflies, many varieties of birds and ducks, 4 alligators, some flowers, and lots and lots of green. We love to go down to the nature trail to see and appreciate the beauty of THE BAYOU STATE.









If you look close, between the grass where the water is, you can see the back and head of one of the alligators that we saw.

Easter Sunday

This morning we woke up to Katie telling us that the "Easter Bunny" had been and we needed to get up and come see what he had brought. So we all got up and found two baskets full of fun things and shiny eggs hidden all over our family room. After a few minutes of checking out the new things and munching on some treats, we talked about the true meaning of Easter and how it isn't really a celebration of bunnies, eggs, or candy, but of the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to have a knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that he once lived on this earth, was crucified, and then rose again three days later. I am so grateful that He loved me enough to die for me. I know that if I live according to His teachings and follow His example, someday I can return to live with Him and my Heavenly Father, which is my greatest desire. I am grateful that each day as I strive to be like Him, and continually fall short of this seemingly impossible goal, I know that He still loves me and believes in me. I am also grateful for my good husband, who also continues to love and support me despite all my of all too obvious flaws. And my two little princesses--I feel so blessed to be their mother. Especially when many times during the day they are teaching me about how to be like the Savior, instead of me teaching them. I also have been blessed with two wonderful parents who have taught me all my life about the Savior and to keep His commandments. I really admire the good parents that they are and hope to be able to instill in my children a love and appreciation for the gospel like they instilled in me. My life is very ordinary, but I am truly grateful for all that I have been blessed with!

Daddy's Girl

*Last week.

Sarah: "Daddy, do you 'member that time we went on a daddy/daughter date?"
Aaron: "Yes."
Sarah: "That was lots of fun! We should do it again sometime."
Aaron: "Okay."

*A few days ago.

Sarah: "Daddy, when I get big, can I marry you?"
Aaron: "Yes!"

Gotta Love a Good Kool-Aid Smile!

Katie's Easter Party

About a month ago, I was wondering around Michaels and found the cutest bunny cookie cutter. I really don't make sugar cookies a lot, but I just wanted it because it was so cute--and it was only $3. So I bought it. So when Katie came home last week with a note from her teacher asking for treats for the Easter party, I remembered my cute cookie cutter and visions of cute bunny cookies started "hopping" in my head! So I made the cookies yesterday before Katie got home and we decorated them after I picked her up. Well, just like life, they didn't turn out like I had envisioned. I wanted white bunnies, but I guess I put too much vanilla flavoring in my homemade icing, because it wasn't white at all. So I just added some cocoa and made it chocolate icing. And then I made the pink darker than I really wanted it. But we had a fun time decorating them--and that's really what's most important!

So today Sarah and I went to Katie's class party. We were the first to get there, so we got to hide the eggs....well I hid the eggs while Sarah played on the playground. I thought she would be sad that she didn't get to find eggs, but she was just happy to be there at school with the "big" kids. And Katie was just as excited that Sarah was there. They were so sweet together. Katie took Sarah around and introduced her to her friends and they played together on the playground for a few minutes after the hunt and the games. I hope they will always be so sweet together!

Each kid had six eggs with their name on them. So they could only pick up their eggs. Katie was the second one to find all of her eggs and she won a new jump rope!:)