Emily's 12th Birthday

We started Emily's birthday celebrations Wednesday night, by baking a round of cupcakes for her to bring to school on Thursday.  She ended up sharing them with her teachers, since she didn't have enough for all of her classmates, and she didn't have anywhere to store them until lunch to share with just her friends.  

That night we took one final picture of Emily as an 11-year-old. = )

Friday morning, we woke up and celebrated our newly minted 12-year-old with cake and gifts!  The three little ones had school that day, though the big girls were off, so I got to spend the day with the birthday girl!

Friday night we were hit with a snowstorm, and Saturday morning we woke to a heavy, wet snow, that needed to be shovelled.  Luckily, we'd made the (third) birthday cake for the party the night before, and cut the vegetables, so we shovelled while Billy went to get the chick-fil-a! = )

Grace helped hang the packing balloon butterflies, that Aunt Rocky made, on the porch. = )

Emily got to invite friends, new and vintage, and I think they had a fun time playing games, visiting and snacking. = )

I must admit, I am liking this 'middle school' style party: I put out food, and they entertain themselves! 

I think our Emily had a lovely day visiting with her friends and playing with her siblings.

Happiest of Birthdays to my favorite 12-year-old!!

later days

you can see her party crafts post here.

and her 12-year-old survey here.

3-24-23: backdated for continuity.

Emily's 10th Birthday and Birthday Party

We celebrated our Emily turning 11 this year!  

The night before her birtdhay, we took one last picture of our 10-year-old Emily. = )

She started her day with birthday cake but had to wait until after our school day finished to open her gifts.

It was a Thursday, so we didn't have as much planned as say a Monday, and the kids worked hard so that Emily could open up her gifts.

She was so happy to open everything and particularly loved all the fidget toys that everyone had picked out for her.

A few days later, we had her BFF Abby and (most of) her family come over for the day.  We ate and chatted and had a nice day celebrating the birthday girl.

Abby got to spend the night, which meant that the fun continued on to the next day too.  I think they all had a wonderful time!

later days

You can see the answer to Emily's birthday survey here. And read about her birthday from last year here.

Edit: written 4-10-22, backdated for continuity.

March 18th, "Staying Home, Staying Healthy" Day 5, Day 3 of School at Home

The expected high for today is 48F.  It is quite cloudy, and we are expecting rain this evening, but it isn't a gloomy cover this morning.

This morning the kids were a little slower getting started, but they were mostly hard at work by the time the school day began.

Emily's birthday package arrived from amazon.  She picked out some scrunchies that she shared with Juliet, who also grabbed the bubble wrap as a 'veil.'

I also received a surprise package of M*A*S*H DVDs from a friend. = )

Our recess alarms are set for 10:30 and 1:15 and the kids had a good time both breaks = )  The twins finished their work before the first recess!

For lunch we had BLTs at Alice's request.

And William kicked his day into high gear and might actually finish before dinner tonight! = )  He enjoyed watching a video of his teacher reading a story on youtube.

And Emily made some cards for Avia to send to her friends.

We had a BBQ beef sandwich dinner (with apples) a little ahead of our regular dinner time.  Alice watched a little of the Cincinnati Zoo home safari with me.  Today's animal was an ocelot!

Week one has been good so far.  I am enjoying having everyone home.  The kids enjoy "recess" time outside.  I'm thankful for the favorable* weather so far!

Our rations are holding up, and I've been working on my Sam's order for Monday (assuming society rules don't change between now and then.)  Even if I am able to make the run, I will have to supplement with a trip to either Kroger or Carl's since I'm not able to get bleach (I just opened my last bottle, and can't follow my pattern of ordering when I'm out) or eggs or vitamin D milk at Sam's as of today.

later days

*it hasn't rained or been bitterly cold

Emily Answers Her Birthday Survey: 9-years-old!

This year Emily typed up her own answers. = )  

I am 9 years old.

My favorite color is:purple
The coolest person on earth is: everybody
The thing I do best is: smile
If I could change my name, it would be: I wouldn't change my name

My favorite toy is: my American girl doll

When I grow up, I want to be: a teacher
I like to watch: netflix
My favorite song is: frosen 2 Into the Unknown
My favorite book is:the book with no pictures
3 words to describe me are: kind,happy,and amazing
When I was little, I used to: make mud pies
My favorite season is: summer
The food I like most is: potatoes
One food I really don't like is: onions
My best friend is: Abby
For my birthday I want to: go to Zap Zone

My best memory is:Jellystone

She only requested my help for what her "best thing" is and how to spell onions. = )

I think she's pretty amazing, and am so happy to celebrate her newest year!

later days

Emily's 8th Birthday Party

At the tail end of the last school year, Emily attended a birthday party at District 5.  She had so much fun that she wanted to have her party there this year. = )

The invitations were a PDF file, which is an unusual style for us.  She passed out the invitations during her valentine's party (which I had intended to do, then ended up celebrating with the twins. = ))

Her cupcakes were chocolate with purple vanilla icing and cute little fairy toppers.

She handmade the tags for the lollipops she gave as parting favors*.  I love the caption on this one.  She varied what the message was.

They were expecting us, but it took a while to check in, since I had to redo the waivers that I had filled out (over a month ago) and even had a confirmation email with barcode that did not redirect appropriately in their system.

Aside from that one hang up, everything was ideal.   The room was ready to go and the kids were out to bounce from the word go!

Some of my shots could best be described as 'artistic' and worst described as 'awful' but I managed shots of all the party guests. = )

 

Big Emily & Alice about to battle!

Juliet threw a ball at me!

William had a hard blow at the party.  One of the trampolines was for 7 and up.  This translated to almost all of the party guests (except the twins and Aubrey) getting to do something he wasn't allowed to do.  He managed to find fun elsewhere though.

Emily's birthday tiara lit up!

Emily had opened the card backward and thought it was particularly funny.

Tyler was the only one who got a hug.  Maybe it's because he gave her Robux?

It was a good time.  I think everyone enjoyed bouncing around.  The only thing I would have changed would have been more time to play.  = )

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate our favorite almost 8 year old!

later days

*I don't like giving people "stuff." I want it to be intentional or utilizable.  In this case consumable was acceptable, especially since my little Emily was so excited to personalize them. = )