Cardi's Slumber Party!

So remember that sweet oh-so-awesome kid who had a birthday last week...Yep, the one below.  Well, on Friday we had a slumber party with 13 of the BEST kids ever!  Here is a short recap of the night's events!

I love bright colors! So, John and I decided to make Cardi a spring colored birthday sign. He helped me hang it up...Then....



decided he could do better and set to work!



These two FABULOUS friends stopped by early after school to help set up!



Then less than an hour later, these cute kids arrived home from a busy day at school! 



I love these kids!  They are SO much fun!  Jackson wanted to be in the thick of things all night...He was SO cute!



We passed a shirt around for the girls to sign for Cardi.



Ate lots of pizza!



Opened a lot of great presents.



Posed for some great pictures!  In case you didn't notice, there's Jackson nestled in between all those sweet girls!  He even crept out of bed later on to hang out with them.  They were all good sports and showered lots of attention on him...needless to say...He LOVED it!



Bella got to invite some friends of her own to the party!  Aren't they SO cute?



I even got to invite a friend too! 



Then we decorated bags.



Ate sundaes...



Ate some more...

Admired our artwork!

Played twister...



and charades...



Got all dolled up...



and then played Incan Gold...



Watched a movie...and eventually many, many hours later went to sleep!



Morning came way too soon!



James made waffles and different flavored syrups and of course breakfast would not be complete without ice cream!



Then we said goodbye to all Cardi's wonderful friends!



Courtsey of Bella who had her own sleepover at Sara's house...



We rounded off the day with a mother- daughter date to Subway, 2 book stores, and  ended with a yummy dessert!




Here are 10 Reasons why I love this AWESOME kid ...but I could think of at least a hundred more....
1.  She is always thoughtful of others.
2.  She has such a sweet personality!
3.  She is SO fun to cuddle with!
4.  She is a great writer!  I love to read her stories!
5.  She likes to cook!  Now, if I could just get her to like cleaning up...
6.  She has a beautiful voice.  I love to hear her sing!
7.  I love her beautiful smile!
8.  She is humble.
9.  She makes me laugh!
10.  Without a doubt, she  makes me a better person!

Double Digit Birthday

Guess who turned 10 yesterday?  I'll give you a clue.  It's not the cute kid standing behind the sign.  Yep!  It's the sweet, adorable, oh-so-awesome kid holding the sign!  And guess what else...our little girl is now officially in the double digits!

Yep!  I remember counting her little fingers and toes at the hospital...(10 of each) trying to imagine what she would look like in 10 years.  I just can't believe that those 10 years have already come and gone!

But some things are still the same:

She's still SO kissable!

Honestly, who wouldn't want to kiss those cheeks? 

And of course she still enjoys reading.

But there is no denying that a lot of things have changed.  Next year she will start middle school and in 2 years she will be in Young Women. 

Wow!  I hope the next 10 years goes by a little slower...

Birthday Recap:

Unfortunately, spring break just ended here so after a nutritious handful of Cap'n Crunch  (hey it was the peanut butter kind) the birthday girl and sister are off to catch the bus! 

Fast forward to 11 am and here we are having lunch with Cardi at school.  We even made it in time to have the Loft House cookies we sent to school with her.

Unfortunately, birthdays do not get you out of homework.  In fact, I think they sent home extra.  So, while Cardi and her friend, Jackie, were doing homework Bella and I headed to the store to pick up some milk and ice cream.

We had an impromptu picnic in the front yard...of Cardi's traditional birthday dinner of pasta pesto, rolls, and vegetables.

But we did have dessert inside...

Which we all enjoyed!

Followed by more pictures!

and then roller skating outside...

Wednesday is board game day after school.  There just wasn't enough time to fit everything in and Friday is the big slumber party...which means there will be more photos to come...

Week in Review

Can you tell I am getting lazy?  The last week and a half included:  Cardi's violin concert (I'm hoping to actually be able to post the video soon...I have been having technical difficulties), a babyshower, a girl's nightout with friends, a trip to the park, writing the school newsletter, eating lunch with the girls, Family Math Night, a new pet, and just hanging out.

Cardi had her first violin concert last week.  Three of the four local elementary schools (just the fourth graders) combined for the concert.  They did a great job considering they only have class 2 times a week for less than an hour each day.  The middle school (5th and 6th graders) also performed.  It was amazing to hear how much a difference just a year or 2 makes.  I have tried unsuccesfully to upload the video of the concert twice.  I will try again on another day...But for now here are some pictures from the night of the concert.

Cardi and one of her best friends before the concert.

I just can't get enough of that sweet face!

The girls' elementary school had a Family Math night  last Tuesday which was a lot of fun!  They had pizza and lots of games.  The kids really enjoyed themselves!

Cardi with Mrs. Wilder...can you tell it was a St. Patrick's Day theme?

Hmmm...Can you tell which 2 kids like to pose for the camera and which one doesn't?  (  =

This is Jackson's camera face!

I had to include this picture as proof I was actually there!  Thanks, Cardi for being willing to take the picture or was it Bella!

The kids really got in to the "green" theme!

James was a good sport and took John and Meredith to the car when John had the inevitable meltdown...

Bella has been begging for a dog...but settled on some snails she found in the back yard.  She made them a tree fort which Melvin...or Lucky...or whatever she named it had  fun climbing up (although he could just be trying to escape).

As you can see, she was very excited!

On Saturday we headed to the park.

Some people were more excited than others...

And some people had better hair days than others...

Some people don't like to try new things...

But then they realize they like them...

Mainly we just hung out around the house...This is our laundry room.  I sprinkled fairy dust on the boys' hands to help to turn their hands into "helping hands" ...Apparently, fairy dust doesn't work on boys ...then Jackson suggested I sprinkle "ginger bread" dust on their hands ...which "is what boys use to turn into cleaning helpers...fairy dust is for girls, Mom."  They helped clean up and then built gingerbread houses.

This is John's gingerbread house...

Jackson decided to build his gingerbread house between the chair and refrigerator... The blanket on top is the candy...

We ate lunch with Bella on Tuesday and had to reschedule Cardi's lunch from Monday to Thursday ...because I couldn't find my keys...turns out Meredith had been playing with them on Sunday and they were locked in the car until James came home.  After lunch with Cardi on Thursday,  the boys helped me print off the school newsletter...They were very patient...well, mostly...

We looked at some art while we waited for all 320 copies to print...This lovely drawing is Bella's...whom we got to see on her way to lunch...

My awesome friend, Hannah made dinner for the kids and I on Thursday...

And these lovely ladies keep me sane...  We have a playdate group on most Fridays.  This is at Beth's baby shower (which we all had a wonderful time at).  There was plenty of great food and conversations.  I even got to go out with some other great ladies from our ward for a girl's night later in the evening.