Happy Birthday Hadley!!!

My baby girl is growing up.  7 years of laughs and snuggles and loves.  Hadley requested her party be an "all grown-up girl party with fancy everything."  Can do.  A tea party it is.  We tried to go smaller this year (last year we had 45 people at the house) and it was so special.

She is into posing...not sure where she picked it up but as you will quickly be able to tell, she has mastered it.

Nana and Papa came to help and it was wonderful.

First things first, decorating tea-cupcakes.  We found these cupcake holders at Walmart and HAD to get them.  And they are silicone so they can be used as many times and we want!  Perfect for a tea party!

Then we place a few easy games...the girls had to find (hidden around the house) things you need for tea...a cup, saucer, tea bag, sugar cube, and spoon.  Hadley is posing with hers...

Then we played a sugar cube toss game.  Easier said than done although a few girls did it.  

And presents too...

Then they had to get ready for the tea party so inside the piñata were white gloves, tiaras, bracelets, pearl necklaces, fans, and rings.  We made a pull the string piñata since this is a tea party with sophisticated ladies and it would be completely unladylike to hit things with sticks.

Before they were "ready" for the party...

And after...

We had real tea in real tea cups and we serve some fruit, cheese and crackers, veggie pizzas, scones, yogurt parfaits, and cupcakes for dessert.

I found this on Pinterest and thought it turned out pretty good.  They had used a watermelon but there were no watermelons left at the end of September.  

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!  And thanks to Nana and Papa for helping!  Love to you all!

4 Months Worth

Our summer of travel included 9 states, 19 days driving from point A to point B,  and a record breaking 8,666 miles!!!  Whew.  

Back in June when Andy had his 2 week class in Louisville, the girls and I spent a week at Nana and Papa's house in St. Louis.  We had fun and played and ate and had fun and played and slept and had fun.  Our outings included the Magic House, which is an awesome Children's Museum, the zoo, and the Transportation Museum.  

 They had a China exhibit while we were there...a pretend Chinese restaurant was the favorite.

Like a pro...

 and the zoo...

 And the Transportation Museum...this was a library bus.

and EVERY night we played our new favorite game, Qwirkle.  Hadley is amazing...it's like Scrabble but with colors and shapes.

And when asked what their favorite part about the week was, they said THIS....going shopping for groceries with carts their size....seriously?!  They wanted to go shopping EVERY DAY!  I seriously contemplated investing in one of these for our shopping trips at home.

The summer of travel including celebrating Grandma Marge's 80th birthday in Worland.  Everyone was there which was amazing but we only were able to stay 2 nights.  It was worth it.  :)

 We only stayed a few days in Worland because we had to get back to take the Youth Group to South Dakota on our annual mission trip.  The Youth planned and taught a week long VBS, we did work projects, and had 2 community meals to 2 outlying villages that no one visits during the year.  

When we got back and our trips were over (praise the Lord for save travels during our crazy summer...for the amount of time we spent on the road, God's protection was clear).  These last few are random things since being home.  We did our last visit to Lego Land before our membership expired!  It was fun year...THANK YOU NANA AND PAPA! 

 Hadley started 1st grade and Joni started Kindergarten!

 Going to a Pocahontas birthday party...

 harvesting our crops...LOTS and LOTS of tomatoes and okra and a few giant zucchini!!!

 Award trip boating on the lake...

 and CAMPING!!!  We love camping in October in Kansas.

 Petting caterpillars climbing a tree...she's my bug girl!  

Our summer was full of blessings and visits with family.  Hadley turned 7, yes 7! (post to follow)  We enjoyed quality family time in the car and hope your summer was wonderful too.  LOVE TO YOU ALL!