Inaugural Zoo Trip!

For their birthday, Bill and Brenda bought the twins a Zoo Membership!  They were so excited to go see all the animals, even though it was c.o.l.d yesterday.

Because it was so cold out, we had the run of the zoo to ourselves!  There was one other pair that we passed a few times, and a field trip showed up just before we left.

The camels were hunkered down against the cold, but apparently didn't like the looks of us. = 0

The petting zoo is closed for the season, which made the twins quite sad.

The had their hair done with "giraffe horns" in honor of our zoo trip.

The feline & primate house was sooooo warm. We spent quite a while warming up.

The tiger was not happy to see us.

It was so warm, we shed our coats!  I gave Grace and Juliet each a dime to toss into the fountain.  Juliet didn't want to put hers in (and she wouldn't give it back.)  She was so sad after she tossed it in.  = (

They were either 'reading' or 'conducting,' I'm not sure which, but they both had sticks in their hands as they pointed to the signs.

We normally avoid the quiet area, since we are not a quiet group, but since no one else was around to be bothered, the twins each enjoyed a 'ride' on the elephant.

This peacock was trying to impress someone, but not us.  He kept turning his bottom my way!

I did finally get a shot of him facing the camera!

The zoo has several peacocks and peahens that have run of the zoo. It's really neat to see them milling about. They even climb up on the roofs and fences of the buildings!

The girls really enjoyed the giraffe statues, both times we passed them. They still hadn't grown enough during the day to mount them as we left.

After lunch, we went into the nice warm reptile house to warm up.  It was nice to thaw out again, and we were able to search and find every animal, except for the gecko. = (

A field trip came in, so we cut our time just a minute or two shorter than we might have stayed, but it was time for us to go watch William!

We stopped by the gift shop on the way out, so that they could plan how much of their birthday money they needed to bring on our next trip to pick up a special souvenir!

Grace and Juliet loved their gift, and are already talking about our next trip!  The big kids were slightly jealous to have missed out, but we will be back, hopefully when its a bit warmer!

later days

Grace Answers her birthday survey: 5-years-old

Please enjoy Grace's 5 year old answers!

I am 5 years old.
My favorite color is: pink and purple
The coolest person on earth is: William
The thing I do best is: play and craft
If I could change my name, it would be: Grace
My favorite toy is: Hello Kitty
When I grow up, I want to be: a Doctor
I like to watch: Hello Kitty on my computer
My favorite song is: Hello Kitty (a song she made up.)
My favorite book is: Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boyton
3 words to describe me are: hungry, nice, kind
When I was little, I used to: drink a bottle of milk
My favorite season is: warm
The food I like most is: spaghetti
One food I really don't like is: potatoes
My best friend is: Juliet
For my birthday I want to: get hello kitty dolls that have buttons.
My best memory is: going to school.

You can see her answers from last year here, and Juliet's answers from this year here.

later days

Grace and Juliet turn 5!

I cannot believe that 5 years have passed since these little babies joined our family!  On their final night of being four-year-olds, they thought it was terribly clever to stick their tongues out while I took pictures, but I did get some genuine smiles. = )

Before bed on their final night as 4 year olds:

And then they were 5!

I know it's just a number, and they are still my babies and pre-schoolers and my little girls.  But I feel like a chapter has closed.  We have no more diapers or strollers or bottles.  In just a year's time they will no longer have a "T" behind the number in their clothing.  And it all happened so fast.

I'm so proud of their social & academic growth in the past year.  And seeing them interact is everything you would think it would be.  Many of their recent conversations end up with "you're not the boss." Which always makes me giggle.

They love to do the exact same things, which is amazing and terrible, depending on the minute.

Happiest of birthdays to my favorite twins in the whole wide world! You are so loved.

later days

You can see their birthday survey answers here & here.

Grace and Juliet 5th Birthday Party

This year, the twins agreed to have their party at Chuck E Cheese.*  I'm pretty sure that I picked out the Doc McStuffins theme for them, but they didn't complain. = )

Most of the pictures are mine, but some of them were sent to me by my mom or party goers!

The cake was from Kroger, and it didn't disappoint.  Marble with whipped icing. Yum!

Earlier in the week, Emily helped me cut out stickers and make up goodie bags for the party.  We used the rest of the book pages that we didn't use to make the invitations.  They worked out really well.  They were big enough to hold tickets/prizes for the guests.

I don't know who likes Chuck E Cheese more: Billy or the kids.

Alice is very much at home in the midst of the arcade.

Grace, Jolene and Micah.  I don't know if I trust these three to drive around...

It makes my heart so full, seeing a table full of people that love our girls!

Our host was awesome!

There were 3 other parties going on with ours, and two of them were also celebrating 5 year olds! It's a good year to turn 5. = )

Dancing.

They were feeling a little shy around Chuck E.

The twins each got to do the ticket blaster twice, and could bring one person with them.  Grace picked Emily.

Juliet picked William.

And then they picked each other. <3

It was crazy busy at the restaurant, so we opened gifts at home.  They loved everything!  For anyone that I asked, I told them that we were trying to do a fiver party.**   So they opened a few gifts from people who enjoyed shopping for them, and lots of awesome cards from their friends!  They haven't yet decided what they want to spend it on, but I know they will be very happy once they do.

I am so thankful for all the people who love our girls near & far.  They had an awesome day!

later days

You can check out pictures from their 4th Birthday Party here.

*Should they ever stop agreeing, we will have to come up with some sort of compromise. = )
**Everyone brings $5, and then the birthday girls can spend it on something big that they really want.

Grace and Juliet: 5th Birthday Party Invitations

In just a few weeks we will be celebrating the Twins' 5th birthday!!!

We'd collected Doc McStuffins books since last summer.  I repurposed the book pages to make them some invitations to pass out to their classmates.

I ironed some wax paper onto the outside, to make it look more like a bandage wrapper.

Hopefully they will have a fun time with their friends at Chuck E Cheese.  As twins, they do have to agree to a common venue.  So far it's not been a problem, we'll see what the future holds. = )

later days

William Answers His Birthday Survey, 5 years old

Yesterday we so busy, we didn't have a chance to answer them, so we are doing it today!

I am 5 years old.
My favorite color is: Green
The coolest person on earth is: Me
The thing I do best is: Play
If I could change my name, it would be: Chase
My favorite toy is: Skye
When I grow up, I want to fix things
I like to watch: Paw Patrol
My favorite song is: Paw Patrol theme song
My favorite book is: Paw Patrol - Pups plan a surprise party
3 words to describe me are: big, crying, falling down the stairs
When I was little, I used to: be in mama's tummy
My favorite season is: fall
The food I like most is: chicken
One food I really don't like is: broccoli
My best friend is: Zia
For my birthday I want to: go on a helicopter
My best memory is: Going to the store to pick out toys

See his answers from last year here.

later days

William's 5th Birthday!

Yesterday, William turned 5 years old!

He went to bed on Friday a 4 year old:

and woke up Saturday morning as a 5 year old!

His first request was to open another present (we allowed him to open one small one the night before) before Billy and I were even out of bed.

He got three hundred darts to go with his Nerf gun.  Who thought that was a good idea?

Not long after, he lost his gun because he was shooting people in the face... = /  He threw a fit, and took a nap on the floor before his party.

It was finally time to load up and go to the bowling alley*!

Out of William's class of 15, we only received four RSVPs, and only two yeses. = (  Of course, when you have four sisters, it is always a party!

He sure was happy to have the two that came though (and a tag-a-long little sister)!

Juliet, William, Nolan and Bridget

Before we were able to secure a child rail ramp, it took a loooooooooooooong time for the twins to get their balls down the lane.

Juliet

One loved little boy:

At the tail end of his party, they turned on the black lights, so we were all glowing!  Of course, William ended up opening up his gifts in the dark = )

We all had a great time, but sure missed the cousins!

later days

You can see William's invitations here, and his answers to the birthday survey here.  And what his party looked like last year here.

*totally unrelated, on our way into the bowling alley, someone had dropped their slushee.  However, instead of being a blue puddle on the ground, the slushee in question was frozen into a weird, unnatural solid mass.  #michiganproblems