Alice in Wonderland

Ali turned 5 last week so she got to have her first official friend birthday party.  I haven't gotten this excited for a birthday party in a long time.  Consequently I put a lot of work into it.  Her name is Alice so I suggested having an Alice in Wonderland tea party.  I was so happy she agreed.  It was a fun theme to plan.  One of the upsides of being married to a graphic designer is that he agrees to design birthday party invites.  I LOVE this one!!

We went a little overboard with food and fun treats.  The whole family got into the fun of dipping pretzels for the favor bags. They were cute with a little "EAT ME" tag.

Tyson and Johnny tried on the party hats before the party.  They make a very cute Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum.  (Ali really wanted Johnny to dress up as the rabbit for the party.)

Ali enjoyed helping get the food ready in her darling new Alice in Wonderland costume.

We may have gone a little overboard inviting girls, but she had her school friends, her church friends and her ABC Group friends . . .

Blowing out the candles took more than a few tries, but they eventually all got out.  It took every bit of self control Andy could muster to not blow them out for her.

The girls were so cute.  They tried to use their manners and they loved using real china.

Once again, my mind was blown by the fantastic birthday gifts.  She was TOTALLY spoiled.  We are so blessed to enjoy such generous friends!

Her actual birthday was Sunday and we had a fun game night at the Knights.  So fun!! (Her cute friend Taya had a matching outfit.  They were so excited to be twinners.)

I may have mentioned this before but Johnny has refused to sleep anywhere this winter except with Ali. (I think he likes her electric blanket.  He refuses to have any covers on him so I think he likes the warmth coming up from her bed.) She has been so patient with it.  Apparently she got a little tiered studying her Russian this particular night.  

Ali is such a joy to me!!  I can't believe she is growing so fast. 

Kicking off Birthday Season

Caleb never disappoints in his ability to convince us to celebrate his birthday over and over and over again.  This is just one of the two times we ate out "for his birthday."

School was out for a teacher inservice day the day before Caleb's birthday so we took our Boondocks passes from Christmas and spent 10 hours playing!!  We got our money's worth out of it!!

Winter Highlights

We did it.  Three years of cub scouts officially down. Caleb has graduated from Cub Scouts with his Arrow of Light.  Now on to Boy Scouts.

This winter has been incredibly mild.  We have had a couple of ski days including our night ski party.  It is fun to have three of the kids FINALLY skiing a little.  Next year they might really turn to skiers.  We had season passes to the brand new ski resort here in Cache Valley, but they were delayed in opening so we will get to use those passes next year.   

There is so much playing and rough housing that goes on at our house.  Almost an intolerable amount, but it is good to hear happy kids playing.

And he's out . . .

Some people watch football games on the big screen.  This is what my boys use.  No one was complaining. (They could have hooked it up to the TV, but they didn't.)

Is it an indication of too much fun when I see picture of the kids at the Jump Zone, I remember being there, but I have no recollection of why or when we went. They always love time at the Jump Zone.

We went on a fun ice skating outing with our neighbor friends, the Nielsons.

It was 60 degrees on President's Day!!  In honor of the warm weather we went to back yard BBQ. This weather has been amazingly warm, and I'm not complaining!!  The kids have spent so much time playing outside.  

Time is passing quickly, but we are making the most of every possible moment!!