Purple (& Pink) Pride

Last weekend we attend Uncle Pete's Vikings birthday party. It was the first time we all donned our gear for the season so, of course, this meant a family photo op. Rylee loves her new Peterson jersey (like mine), but noted that it wasn't purple like the Vikings are supposed to be.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time she's ever complained that something was pink!



 

Jace doesn't really understand smiling for the camera when we use the automatic timer. :)
 

 

Labor Day Weekend

A little out of order here, but I never had the chance to post these pics from Labor Day weekend when we invited some of Rylee's friends over to try out the redneck waterslide.  Whee!

Rylee...

 

 

 

Norah...

Caleb...

Miller...

Mason...

 

 

Jace got to open a belated birthday present (and Rylee got an early one) from Miller and Mason.

 

 

Jace still doesn't know how to say thank you, but I think this face sums up his reaction perfectly!  Vroom!  Vroom!

 

14th Wedding Anniversary

Since I didn't get in front of the camera at all during Rylee's birthday festivities, Jon took some shots of the kids and me on our anniversary. Here are some of the keepers.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

It was quite the anniversary celebration: dinner at Applebee's, looking through our wedding scrapbook and photo album, watching the highlights of our wedding video, Rylee demanding to see me in my wedding dress, slow dancing with a t-shirt and shorts clad Jon in the living room while Rylee serenaded us with her favorite Taylor Swift song and Jace pooped his pants in the corner.  Good times, good times! 

 

Seriously though, we had so much fun: Rylee loved seeing how young everyone looked in the photos, Jon and I told funny stories about the day, after Jace got a clean diaper, he got to dance with the family, and then we ate four day old birthday cake for dessert.  I'm not sure how we're going to top that for our 15th celebration next year. 

MLP Party - The Rest

After the games and crafts, the girls played inside until lunchtime. Then we squeezed in a little swimming before cake. I got video, but no pictures of the big cake moment. I blame the heat. My brain was melting like the rest of me!

 

Most of the girls had to leave at this point, but a few stayed to watch Rylee open her presents. The lucky girl scored some great gifts!  The rest of the day was pretty relaxing.  Rylee played with everything and watched some of her new movies.  And, of course, ate more cake...

...and posed for more pictures...
 

...with Venessa and baby Madison.
 

 

You can tell by the smiles that it was a great 5th birthday!

MLP Party - Stations

Each girl got a ticket that told her what station to start at and order of rotation. 

 

Twilight's Ring Toss:  Jon painted two caution cones (that I had for my daycare kids) to make unicorn horns and I used ribbon to cover some rings (from a twister game) to look like wedding bands. 

 

 

 

 

 

Pin the Cutie Mark on Pinkie Pie:  The same as pin the tail on the donkey, but I didn't get any pics of the kids playing this game.

 

Fluttershy's Cutie Mark Parlor: The girls used markers, glitter glue and gems to decorate their wooden pony.

 

 

 

Rainbow Dash's Pony Spa: Rainbow colored nail polish and tattoos for the little fashionistas.

 

 

Rarity's Pony Bead Boutique: The girls made pony bead bracelets or necklaces. 

 

 

Applejack's Sweet Treats: No real pics of the snack spread, but I did try to make it "applelicious" with items like apple crack dip and snicker salad.  :)

 

The girls (minus Lily)...

 

MLP Party - Birthday Girl

A few more cute pics of the birthday girl and her friends...

 

 

 

...and her brother.
 

 

 

Jace loved the photo backdrop.  He started getting in all the photos as the party progressed.  We left it up all week and he continued to spontaneously pose in front of it daily.  I finally got a couple of pics of me with the kids on my anniversary, but that's another post.  :)

MLP Party - Guest List

With such a girly theme and activities, we decided to have our first girls-only party (with the exception of Jon and Jace, of course).

Jess & Norah

 

 

 

Emily & Alexa

Katie & Elizabeth

Hana & Lily

Danielle & Liliana

Jenny & Caitlin

Olivia, Ava & Kaila

 

My Little Pony Party

Rylee picked a My Little Pony theme for her party this year. She actually decided on it back when we were in MN so we both used our summer for crafting party decor. I made six ponies out of plastic canvas and she colored at least 30 drawings.  Add in a few balloons and streamers and we were all set. 

The party had six stations (ie game or activity), one for each of the ponies: Twilight's Ring Toss, Pin the Cutie Mark on Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy's Cutie Mark Parlor, Rarity's Pony Bead Boutique, Rainbow Dash's Pony Spa & Applejack's Sweet Treats (if you consider eating snacks and cake an activity!).

Here are some pre-party photos...

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, the simple-but-cute cake I made with a painted wooden barn (birdhouse from Michaels), some MLP figurines, candy letters and pre-made candy flowers.  The best part was Rylee actually got to eat the same cake as all her guests this year!

 



 

Rylee's 5th Birthday!

We had a great birthday weekend here.  Rylee turned 5 on Friday.  I still can't believe it - 5 already!She had the day off from school on Thursday so she entertained Jace while I cleaned the house and then helped me decorate for her party on Saturday.  What a big girl (and truly awesome big sister) she's become. 

Friday morning, Jon and I both woke her up as is our tradition.  After Jon left for work, she weaseled a present out of me.  I picked the one she should open since I knew it would keep her busy that afternoon (I had a lot of pre-party baking that I needed to get done). 

I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to bring cupcakes in at school or not (long story), but when we got there in the morning, I was given the okay.  Jace and I dropped the birthday girl off and then went to buy our cupcakes before their snack time.  It turned out not to be as easy as an endeavor as I had hoped (another long story - let's just say poor Jace was in and out of his car seat 13 times between 8:30 and 12:00  - what a trooper!), but we made it back in time with cupcakes in hand. 

Jace and I got to stay for Rylee's school party which was fun.  It's the first time I've really seen all her classmates together.  The kids were very sweet and cute and they loved the cupcakes (the ones I bought ended up looking almost exactly like the milk-free one I made for Rylee so that was nice).  She was loving all the attention. 

During Jace's nap, I got a jump on my baking while Rylee colored her craft gift that she had opened.  As soon as Jon came home, she wanted to open the rest of her presents of course.  Here's a photo montage of present opening:

Posing for a quick picture...

 

 

 

Present opening...

 

Jace - amusing himself by eating his snack chicken-style
(I wish I could say this was his first time eating like this)...
 

A spontaneous hug for the Octonaut gift Jace picked out for his sister...
 

I don't know why this picture cracks me up...
 

FaceTime with Gaga and Papa...
 

The overall consensus about her gifts....
 

Ahhh, love...
 

 

 

That night Rylee got to pick her favorite dinner (Jon's homemade grill pizza) and of course sang and ate cupcakes and all that.  I got some video, but not any photos.  I remember Jon and Rylee had Jace laughing hysterically during some cupcake antics!  All in all, it was a great night.

We love you so much Rylee!  Happy 5th Birthday!