Balloons Over Bend

This weekend we got up early on Saturday morning and had a great family outing down to The Old Mill area where the big "Balloons Over Bend" event was happening. It was a bit too windy this year for any of the balloons to actually make it off the ground on Saturday morning, but the girls still loved seeing the big balloons up close. One almost made it, and it was exciting to see it inflate right in front of us (and to watch the whole team hold the basket down while they tried to get it steady). It's still pretty chilly here in the mornings so we were ready for a coffee stop on the way home!

Rosemary's 2nd Birthday Celebration

Rosemary absolutely loved her birthday party! Papa, Nana and Aunt Ellen came from Portland to celebrate and between the balloons, packages and fancy cake she was over the moon. She loved her fancy crown and her sisters helped her put on one of their fancy dresses - that came down to her ankles! We just can't believe that she is already two. She is using new words every day... feisty as can be...loves books... adores her sisters (most of the time!) and thinks its funny when we give her the "coffee" and mommy the "baba" cup. She is definitely keeping us all on our toes and we love every minute of it.

Lauryn's 8th Birthday!

Lauryn celebrated her 8th birthday with a party at home with friends from school. She came up with the brainstorm that she wanted a party with 4 themes based on her four favorite book series quite awhile ago. I put off planning the party... thinking that she would forget that idea and switch to something easier (for me!) by the time her party rolled around... but she stayed true to her first inspiration.
Daddy hosted the "Harry Potter" station where they made wands and practiced spells, Papa hosted the "Magic Tree House" station where they researched interesting objects with magnifying glasses and drew pictures of them in little journals, Nana hosted a "Princess Diary" station (based on that series of real-life princesses and their stories) where guests made crowns, and Aunt Ellen hosted a station based on the "Rainbow Fairy" stories and guests made little fairies out of fairy petals and pipe cleaners.
Nana outdid herself by baking 3 cakes for the occasion... a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling for the birthday girl, chocolate cupcakes with lots of sprinkles (and no peanut butter) for Alana... and an angel food cake for anyone who didn't want or couldn't have chocolate! Needless to say it was quite a dessert feast! Lauryn had a ball and told us it was the best birthday she's ever had!

Alana's 5th Birthday July 2008

Alana's 5th birthday was a great celebration! We had her friends meet us at the park by our house. After playing for awhile they all lined up for a big PARADE back to our house! This was all Alana's idea and it was so cute! They all had hats and signs and noise makers... it was quite the sight to see! We had cupcakes with "birds' nests" on the top (made by Nana with love) for Alana's requested "bird" theme. In the evening we went out for a family dinner to Red Robin and the last picture shows how very tired the birthday girl was at the end of the big day :).

Metolius Camping Trip July 2008

We had a great camping with the scrapbooking gals along the Metolius River. Seven little gals... all 7 years old and younger was quite the camping experience! It was a gorgeous spot, though, and the girls entertained themselves by putting on lots of "performances" for us, doing art projects and exploring. The campsite was very dry so they were all dusty brown from head to toe! Suzann outdid herself with the amazing meals she made (she did ALL of the meals!) including peach cobbler over the fire and blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We were truly spoiled! Barb led the girls in a little "dreamboat" activity which they loved. (Pic above). The girls each decorated a piece of wood with special flowers and treasures that they found around the campsite. In the evening we took them to the river and they each made a wish as they sent their dreamboat floating away - of course we sang a few camp songs, too which made it all the more magical! Next time we get together we will have LOTS of scrapbooking to do!

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year! I've been inspired by a couple of friends who have amazing blogs (here's to you Christy and Candace...) to create a blog of our own in an effort to keep in better touch with family and friends. Our greatest joy in 2007 was found in adding Rosemary to our family on May 17th. We're excited to see what adventures are ahead of us in 2008 with our 3 little gals leading the way.