Gabby wanted a rock star party this year, so we did our best. The celebrities/guests all got to walk up the star studded entry and onto the red carpet, where they were greeted by the paparazzi.
Instead of birthday cake, they got to decorate their own star-shaped cookies (P.S. Kids + sprinkles= empty bottles of sprinkles, my apologies to their mothers). They played dress up games and chased the paparazzi aka Robert and danced and sang to plenty of Justin Beiber songs.
Thanks to all of Gabby's Rock Star friends who made it a fun and special day for her!
Poor girl, right after she got to school she barfed and had to come home. She ended up sleeping the day away and woke up just as the bus came to drop the kids off (in the middle of a hail storm!) She woke up feeling much better and was soooo excited to try out her new...
bike, complete with a bell, streamers and baby seat for her dolls. The girls had fun riding in the cool weather and if you look closely, you can see their hair standing up from the electricity in the air. (Carter insisted on riding through the gutters and splashing the muddy water all over herself, it was fun though)
So, even though the day got off to a rocky start, it ended up being a good day afterall. Happy Birthday Gabby. 5 years old! Wow!
Here's some of her favorites right now:Nate is just a funny boy. Here's a few of his latest quirks...
-He thinks a giant lives in our entry way by the front door. He will run away screaming sometimes but he claims it is a nice giant who likes macaroni and cheese.
-He thinks hiccups are so funny and he hates hangnails.
-After he drinks a big glass of water he will say, "Woah, I a thirsty guy!"
-He loves the ABC's. LOVES them!
-During the girls' soccer practices and games he will yell, "No hands!"
-If he sees a picture of himself he will comment on how handsome or awesome he is.
-He sings this song so much that I had to record it and put it up here...
Carter is right in the middle in this shot with the ball coming her way...
Gabby's team, the Blue Sharks, lost 1-3. However, their team scored 2 of the other teams goals. That pretty much means they won, right? ha.
Here she is throwing the ball back in to play and practicing before the game.
The best part was that both girls gave their best effort and didn't complain about the scorching heat, not even once. It looks like it will be a fun season for them both!
....okay here is, crossing the finish line.
He did awesome! 
Carter was sooooo ready for the first day of school to get here. She walked into her classroom yesterday and drooled at all of the books her teacher has for them to read. She also has a good teacher, very kind and matter of fact, perfect for Carter.
Carter was a good big sister making sure Gabby knew where to go and had a friend to play with. I also heard her say that she would pick her up after school. Way to go Carter.
...and now, we just have to wait until school's out to hear how it all went!
There was a crazy afternoon monsoon storm last week that my kids just had to play in (and so did all the neighbor kids too!). It rained so hard and fast, it filled the park up with water in no time. They soon ditched their umbrellas to go "swim" in the muddy lake/park and had a blast. It was like going backwards 20 years :)
Pioneer Day was a lot of fun. The girls got to be on a float in the parade (which was much better than the 4th of July parade!). Carter is above and Gabby is below.
It was kinda weird to only have to look after one child during the parade. That never happens.
After that we all walked down to the football field to watch fireworks. This is one of my favorite pictures from the night, even though it's blurry. Our neighbors sons are always playing with Nate and Nate adores them. During fireworks, Dylan sat with Nate and made "boom" sound effects to entertain him. It was very sweet.
They wore their most authentic pioneer costumes while they sang a song from the Children's Songbook.
They even made a covered wagon and campfire with some wildlife.
It was very cute. The Dads even videotaped it for posterity :)
