Ally's Friend Party

This year Ally turns 8!  Wow!  How fast it has gone!!  Last year I made an executive decision that Andrew and Ally will take turns having friend birthday parties each year.  On the year they don't have a party, they get a night out with Mom and Dad, unless on a year they get a party they want to go out with us, we always trump parties.  Since Ally and I went out last year, she got a friend party this year.  When we sat down to write the invite list wasn't too bad.  I figured I could handle 5-6 eight year old girls for a couple hours.  Then she started adding people she forgot and the list got longer and longer.  Like 14 girls long!!!  What?  Really?  How am I going to keep those girls entertained enough that they aren't running around my house screaming and yelling?  To Pinterest I went.  There is this super cute 'fairies in a jar' project that Ally and I both loved and the instructions were pretty basic.  Perfect!!  Now I just had to come up with a few more ideas.  She wanted a mock sleepover so the girls were coming at 9 for breakfast.  After a conversation with my neighbor who we carpool to gymnastics with I quickly realized that Ally had her party all planned, why was I stressing?  She wanted the fairy jars, nails painted, and a coloring contest.

The girls all showed up and we had a breakfast of waffles and fruit.

Then it was time for the super cute fairies in a jar.

Aren't those so cute!?!  I couldn't wait for the girls to make them.  Once we started making them I realized these things were going to be an epic fail!  The girls enjoyed them but they sure didn't turn out like the picture.

Not quite like the picture are they?  I was extremely disappointed.  Luckily the girls didn't have high expectations like I had.

After the girls did a little screaming and running thru the house we opened presents.  Ally loves to have the girls spin a bottle to see who gets to give her a gift so they formed a circle and got started.

She was spoiled rotten and loved each and every one of her gifts.

All the cute girls! (Luckily only 10 of the girls showed up ;))

And one crazy pic!

After the present fun it was time for painting nails.  Thankfully my sister Kelly was there to help me so it take an hour to paint all of their nails.

The little fashionista got a pair of sunglasses from her school friend so they had to get a pic together!

We still had a little time left before parents were coming to get the kids so they all ran out front to play with bubbles and get some of their energy out.

It was such a great party (even with the darn fairy jars).  Ally loved each and every minute of it.  She is so blessed to have such fantastic friends who are so kind and loving and great examples for her!

She's a Princess

We've always known V was a princess in her own mind but today she took it to a whole new level.  She was in all her glory in her carriage with her servants taking care of her.

And yes she has the crown to go with it!

She's a Monkey

She's more a monkey than little girl.  All these fun things to climb and slide on and she chooses to climb the pole.

How Do I Get One for My House

I decided I need a giant cage like they have in the McDonald's playland. 

Vanessa loved it up there.  She was singing and dancing and having tons of fun up there.  It would also be very nice to have a place to contain her every now and then.

Apple Faces

Vanessa created a funny apple face the other day during our snacks.  Of course the second I pulled out my camera she very quickly hid her cute apple face.  Ally and Andrew were more than willing to create apple faces for the camera though.

What's Behind Your 3 Year Old's Dresser?

The other day I was doing some deep cleaning in V's room (thanks to the stupid mice that have decided to take up residence in our house).  I pulled out her dresser to vacuum behind it and found

That is one massive pile of clothes!  I have been looking for those zebra striped leggings of hers for months now.  So glad to have all these clothes back, it's like she has a brand new wardrobe.  Now if only I can find my missing shirts.

I Made a Pie

Yep, you read that right, I made a pie.  All right, I need to clarify, my father-in-law made the crust and I made the filling.  I got the easy part, yes but I did make it extra pretty.

Our young women had a dinner and auction for their fundraiser this year.  Jim volunteered us to provide something for the auction but just listed TBD.  I couldn't believe it.  I had no clue what to do thus the reason I didn't sign up.  He and I really need to get on the same page. 

After a little brainstorming we decided to make his dad's famous Black Bottom pie.  I was good with this idea as long as his dad made the crust.  I really want to conquer the art of pie making but did not want to practice on pies that would be going for auction.  At piano lessons his dad made the crusts and then sent them home with me to fill.  He made three large crusts and one small one.  I made a strawberry pie with the small crust and then made three black bottom pies.  We took two to the fundraiser and saved one for our family to enjoy. And enjoy we did.  The pies we took to the fundraiser went for $12 and $20. 

We really enjoyed the fundraiser and auction and spent way too much money on things for our family.  It's so great to be able to support our young women in such a fun way!