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!

Agate Lake Bald Eagle

One last MN story (I think!).

I forgot that the weekend we came back from Cedar Crest was really weird: unseasonably cool, windy and rainy.  I looked out the window and saw the bald eagle sitting about six feet off the ground in one of my parent's trees.  I've never seen the eagle so low.  I took a few photos from inside and we all took turns watching it with the binoculars. 

 

After about a half hour, I got bold and tried to sneak out onto the patio to take some outdoor shots.  The wind was blaring and carrying my sounds away from the eagle so I thought I might be okay.  Wrong.  The first whir of the camera scared it off.  Bye bye, eagle!

 

 

MN - End of Trip Recap

We were back on Saturday (since we left Cedar Crest early) so we got to visit with Jon's aunt and uncle, Linda and Steve, and see Grandpa Chip.

That Sunday was my parent's 40th Wedding Anniversary!  Congrats again, you two!  We celebrated with a big breakfast and dinner at Rafferty's.  I know I'm a bad daughter.

Monday was hanging with the ladies (Kathy, Lilly, Kelli, Kari) and Rylee's last MN dance class. 

Tuesday we baked cookies for Big Grandpa Bob and Rylee bravely went swimming off the pontoon with the ladies.  I say bravely because I wasn't there and because it was freezing!

Wednesday was the last summer library session (a musical one to boot - Jace was a riot!) and dinner with Kathy, Lilly and Sara.

Thursday, my Dad and I took the kids plus Megan and Max to the Fair.  The kids had a blast on the rides even though we missed the cutoff for ride bracelets by 5 minutes (don't get me started!) and Rylee got knocked down and skinned her knee (which required band aids and a $5 pink monkey from the balloon/dart pop game to soothe).





 

Heather, Vern and my Mom met us for dinner and more rides.  It was an expensive trip, but very fun in the end!

 

Friday's highlights were a visit with Big Grandpa Bob and a ladies only pontoon ride (me, Rylee & Gaga).

 

We spent a lovely morning and lunch with Grandpa Chip and had one final happy hour with the "Cedar Crest crew" minus Dave and Tanya.  Max and Rylee were again King and Queen of happy hour.  I even saw Max bow and take Rylee's had when he thought no one was looking!

 

Sunday and Monday were mostly packing days for me.  Howard and Lilly came up so Lilly could play with the kids and have one last goodbye.  Sara came to keep me company and have dinner one last time too.  My parents put the bounce house up for the kids to play in and we all took one last pontoon ride together.  It was a fitting end to our fabulous trip. 

 

I am truly thankful to Jon for letting the kids and I go Up North for so long.  It was a truly magical time with my Dad retiring, my parent's new house, and all the family and friends that we were able to reconnect with.  Love you, Jon! 

 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

CC Phone Pics

I found these cute Cedar Crest pics on my phone and had to share a couple more.

Beach Bum Jace...

Snuggling with Megan...

 

The girls in their matching pjs...

 

A little blurry, but the whole gang...

 - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cedar Crest

Not only did I skip blogging for a couple of weeks, but I never finished blogging about our MN trip. Oops again! I'd like to catch up prior to Rylee's birthday. We'll see...

We left for Cedar Crest on Saturday morning (July 20th). At the first stop light in Brainerd, we pulled up next to Vern and Max. Max gave us the pumped up arms and we were off. We bumped into them again and Bart, who was towing the boat, at Burger King in Staples. It was fun leap frogging with them on the drive. When we finally arrived, Rylee and Max disappeared immediately and ran around the resort and in and out of the lodge for two hours. This gave the rest of us time to unpack. And we have a lot of stuff to unpack. For just our family, it's two vehicles worth!

All in all it was a great vacation as usual. The weather wasn't as nice as in years past. We had some cooler and rainy days, but we managed to hit the beach as many days as possible even though no one swam quite as much as on other trips. Jace was excellent. A little bit of a handful when we were up on the hill by the cabins so he wore his leash or sat in the stroller. He loved walking laps around the building! And he loved the beach and water of course! He and Rylee shared the room fine, he took his regular naps, and Rylee even babysat during a couple of his nap times (watching this year's 'vacation movie' Wreck it Ralph with the walkie talkie so I could hang out at the beach or another cabin).  Rylee especially loves vacation. It's a week full of fun with Megan and Max from morning till night. Who wouldn't love that?! 

Happy hour remains our favorite part of the day. Rylee and Max even declared themselves the King and Queen of happy hour (lets hope she doesn't share that with her teacher). One day in particular, Max had a whole thing planned with several tables for different card game stations (Old Maid, War, Crazy Eights). He spent like five minutes explaining the set up and the rules. When he was finished Rylee adds, "What he said!" Too funny! Now that I think about it, Rylee was crushing on Max while we were home in MN. Maybe I need to remind her of that and see if I can get her away from Brendan. If she's going to be in love with someone, I'd rather it be Max. He's got a crazy personality so I know he makes her smile and laugh too. :)

Anywhoo, here's a quick look at our week with a few photos thrown in (I've been horrible with taking pictures in general and I didn't take many at CC this year)...

Sat - unpacking, happy hour, dinner at lodge, visiting

Sun - breakfast at lodge, swimming, happy hour, dinner at lodge, fishing off dock

Mon - breakfast at lodge, non beach day (bad weather), early happy hour, girls road trip scouting out restaurants (the lodge food wasn't as good as in years past), bingo night, grilling for dinner, game night (Catch Phrase - always a staple for our crew)

Tues - breakfast at lodge, swimming day, happy hour, fish fry, game night (I think it was called Things - hilarious and fun!)

 

"Max Toss"

Megan throws the football, Dave launches Max,

Max tries to catch the ball, all without drowning!

 

 Wed - breakfast at lodge, swimming day, dinner in town, game night (cards)

 

The girls in their matching dresses...

 

 

...and matching nails!

Thurs - breakfast at lodge, girls shopping trip (and Laundromat trip) in DL, grilling for dinner, movie night (Vacation)

 

 

 

Fri - breakfast at lodge, and for the first time ever, we packed up and left a day early (the weather was awful and everyone else had to leave early this year so we decided to go as well).