Five Years

Just wanted to take a little trip down memory lane.  Can't believe how much she's changed over the past five years.  And what a blessing she is to our little family.
April 2005--days old

April 2006--first birthday

April 2007--announcing her little brother's expected arrival

April 2008--3 years old
(BTW, this is the photo result when you're juggling a camera and a 6 month old chunk)

April 2009--4 years old

April 2010--a goofy 5 year old

**Also, check out the Birthday Blitz post below.  It's been updated with details.  Enjoy.

Birthday Blitz

We've had a very full past few days celebrating the fifth birthday of our little girl.  It's been so fun, but of course, we're all tired.  So tonight before I hit the sack, I'll post some pictures here.  After I'm up and around in the morning, I'll add some more details.  So I hope you'll check back soon.
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Well, I made it back.  Our weekend was full indeed.  We had a great time celebrating our little girl's fifth birthday.  So crazy that we have a 5 year old now.  But at the same time, it's so very fun and amazing to see her grow and develop.

On Sunday afternoon, we had a party for her and her friends at a nearby park.  We totally crossed our fingers and just hoped for decent weather.  All I was praying for was a dry afternoon.  Juneau folks are pretty tough and I wasn't worried that people would stay home if it was a little cool, but if it was pouring down rain or even snowing (like the previous week), then I think we'd be asking a little too much.  Of course, we had a back-up rain plan, but as you can see from the pictures, we didn't need it.  God totally blew away our prayers for decent weather with FABULOUS weather.  Sunshine, warm temps and light breeze.  It was the perfect day to be at the park.  We had a great time with the friends and family that came out for the party.

We went with a strawberry/strawberry shortcake theme for her party and it turned out pretty well.  Here's the kids playing a game.  They had to toss the strawberry seeds (yellow bean bags) into the flower pot.  We also sent them on a seed hunt, aka easter egg hunt.  But these seeds had chocolates and strawberry stickers inside.

Since the theme was strawberries and we were at the park, we decided to have strawberry shortcake for birthday cake.  It was a hit and seriously the easiest birthday cake ever.  I made some old fashioned style shortcake biscuits the day before. Then we topped them with sliced strawberries and cool whip.  Mmmm Mmm!
Here's the birthday girl blowing out her candles atop her shortcake.

Mr. Mischief kept daddy very busy during the party.  In addition to his photographer duties, he was a busy daddy.

Opening presents.  She told us this was one of her favorite parts of the party. 

Monday was her actual birthday and her teacher coordinated her regular snack day to fall on her birthday.  That way we could bring a birthday treat.  So that meant that right after the party at the park, I came home and made these.

They look a little involved, but they really weren't too much.  And no they're not ice cream.  It's a cupcake baked in an ice cream cone rather than a liner.  We found the idea online somewhere and made our own version of it.  So before evening worship services, I mixed up the cake mix (we chose yellow) and baked the cupcakes/cones.  After services and the teen devo, I made the icing and decorated them.  I used an icing recipe that had cool whip in it thinking that would help it seem more ice cream like.  It didn't turn out exactly as I had expected, but it worked--especially for preschoolers!  The hardest part was transporting these to the school.  A few days before, an idea came to me.  I had recently bought some seed planting trays and hadn't used them all.  So I put the remaining trays into an over sized shoe box style tub.  Then put each cone into it's own little spot.  It worked great.  The cones didn't tip over and everything stayed in place during the drive to school.
Here she is enjoying her cupcake at school with her birthday crown.  (Each kid gets to wear/ have one when it's their birthday day.)  She said a couple of the kids thought the cupcake was actually an ice cream cone.  I guess it would have made a good April Fool's snack too!

Since I was already there at school with my camera, and they were headed out for recess after snack, and I didn't have the little man in tow as well, I stuck around and made the most of it.  I used the long range/zoom lens so I wouldn't have to be right in her face to take pictures.  Then the pictures were a bit more authentic, because she didnt' notice me as much.

Being on the playground was sort of nice, especially on such a beautiful day.  It brought back memories of doing playground duty when I would substitute when I was pregnant with this little lady.  I always heard funny questions and comments from the youngest students.  And this day was no exception.  One girl asked me why I was having a baby.  Hmm.  I answered her with, "Just for the fun of it!"  And then there was the little boy who I just tried to ignore.  He kept hanging around me talking about pistols and .22's.  And he asked me how many .22's I had.  He could hardly believe me that I didn't have any.  Hmmm.  Better keep an eye out for him as he grows up.  Not sure what that little conversation says about his future.
Her future looks pretty good though.

Snack day also means, being the helper, line leader, and doing show-and-tell.  Here she is helping her teacher do the calendar activity for the day.

And then sitting down in circle time after her show-and-tell items had been passed around.  She decided to bring some pictures of our chickens and a few small things that she received as birthday presents.  The "few small things" were a bit of a surprise to us.  I thought Shawn had let her pack them in her backpack, but he knew nothing of them.  So she slipped them in herself.  Sneaky!

Then Monday night we had a family party at home.  She chose spaghetti for dinner, but was a bit bummed that I used moose meat rather than bear meat.  What a little Alaskan for ya!  And I guess we were on a big strawberry kick, when we chose her cake too.

The best part about this cake is that it's way easier than it looks.  It's one of those glorified cake mix recipes.  Just a white cake mix with a dash of lime juice.  Then a simple strawberry icing, some sliced strawberries for between the layers and then whipped cream for the sides.  This would be a great cake for a summertime potluck or BBQ.  We chose 5 strawberries on top because we were celebrating a 5th birthday.  I can post the actual recipe later if anyone would like it.

Here's one of those moments that blew me away over the weekend.  I was busy at the other end of the table, piling up some other presents for her to open, when I realized she was actually reading her birthday card from my sister and brother-in-law.  A few words were not right and I think she was mostly just guessing correctly, but still she was doing it all by herself.  Then daddy leaned in to help her with a few words she couldn't get.  I was truly amazed.  Who taught her to do that?  I think the answer is: she did.  She's just a sponge lately and is so eager to read and write. 

What a blessing a happy and healthy child is.  And this little daughter of ours is truly a blessing to us.

April Snowman

We've had some crazy weather so far this week.  It all started with 2-3 inches of fresh snow for Easter morning.  Then it snowed all morning long on Tuesday.  So the kids and I suited up and played in it.  I don't think I've ever made a snowman in April, but it was fun.  Especially since it's the most successful snowman build we've had this season.  Now, it's definitely melting, but it was fun while it lasted. 

I for one am ready for this crazy weather to change and for the sunshine to come back.  My memory at least, tells me that April is supposed to be a month of melting and sunshine.  So I'm hoping that the forecast for the rest of the week is right and that we don't get any more precipitation for a few days.
Enjoy the surprises April brings your way.

Easter 2010

This week has just been flying by for us.  I've been meaning to post a recap of our Easter festivities for days now, and here we are on Wednesday night already.  Oh, well.  Hope you enjoy the look at how we celebrated the day.

Here's the precious little yayhoos in their Easter finest.

 This was the first year that I've made an Easter dress for the little girly, and come to think of it, it's basically the first garment I've ever made for her.  I was pretty careful to choose a pattern that would be as easy as possible for me.  So that didn't leave her with much choice, but she did pick out the fabric.  Then I decided since patterns were on sale, I'd go all out and make a necktie for the little man.  It really wasn't hard, just a bit more time consuming than it should be for the amount of body surface that it actually covers.  Anyway, I'm really pleased with how their outfits turned out.  In fact, the little man's pretty much came together the day before.  I had completely forgotten that someone from my hometown had hand-me-downed this adorable sport coat to us months ago.  Good thing I was talking to my mom the day before so she could remind me of it.  I think it really makes the outfit.  In fact, it's possible that I just might have had thoughts along the lines of "I hope we're having another boy because then he could wear this outfit too".  That possibly may have gone through my mind.  Maybe...

Anyway, Easter morning discovering their baskets.

And then diving in

We also made Resurrection Rolls for the first time this year.  I've seen some ideas for this on the web and our church did this for a VBS snack a few years ago.  So I decided to give it a try this year.  As I suspected, the little girly thought the whole idea including the symbolism was great, and the little man was happy with some sweet bread.
First we took two refrigerator biscuits and put a large marshmallow on one.

Then we sandwiched them together and SEALED them closed (pinched the edges down with our fingers).

Then we SEALED them in the oven, just as Christ's body was sealed in the tomb.

After they baked, we opened them to reveal an "empty tomb".  The marshmallows evaporated into the biscuits leaving a hollow space.

The only thing I think I'll do differently the next time, is use crescent rolls rather than biscuits.  Then I'll put one marshmallow in the center of the roll dough and wrap it up.  We ended up having to bake the double biscuit version much longer than we had anticipated because there was so much dough.  I think the wrapped crescent roll would be closer to the recommended baking time.

Since Easter fell on the first Sunday of the month this year, we had our monthly potluck with our church family following our worship service.  The food was very good, and even better, the dessert was too.
After the potluck, we had a big egg hunt for the kids.  Since we woke up to about 3 inches of snow on Easter morning, we had the hunt indoors.  (I know, snow for Easter!  Blah!)  But having it indoors didn't bother my little hunters.  They loved it!

By this time, we were ready to get back home.  I had just enough energy to shovel some snow off my crocuses and take a few pictures of the kids outside in their Easter outfits, before we all took a well deserved nap.

Hope you all had a fantastic Easter and that you enjoyed the many blessings our Father in heaven has given us--most importantly His Son.

Riddle Answer and Winners

So the riddle once again:

What's green, brown, has ruffles, and comes out for Easter?

Answer:

My daughter's Easter dress.  

So to find the winner, I took all the names of those who made a correct guess.  (I included you, Kelly.)  Then I added bonus chances to those who didn't have inside information, like being there when I was cutting out the fabric and seeing the pattern--Dana and Lela!  And no whining ladies, I thought about just disqualifying you.  :)

And according to random.org, the winner of the crayon roll is:
Clint and Marilyn said...

I was thinking Carly's Easter dress too, but looks like others beat me to that.

Here's a sneak peek at it.  It's not quite done yet.  Last night's sewing time after the kids had gone to bed, turned into seam ripping time.  I'm still frustrated with myself for my silly little mistake that turned into an hour of seam ripping.  So there's more sewing time in order today. 

And just because I really enjoyed reading all your guesses, and because I really appreciate everyone playing along, I decided to throw in a bonus prize.  So everyone who made a guess, but wasn't right got thrown into another group of numbers.
Random.org says the bonus prize winner is:

Sharon Thompson said...

Guess #1 - your new maternity Easter dress Guess #2 - Shawn's Easter basket Guess #3 - the aprons the kids wears while decorating eggs I really need those crayons to keep Mom occupied during church. :)

Sharon, I don't think you're going to want the hairbow I was going to give away for this prize, so we'll chat.  I have a few ideas.

And now, something that's green, PURPLE, has a few ruffles, and has come out in time for Easter.  Yay!  My crocuses are up and look marvelous.  This marks the beginning of my front flower bed coming back to life and looking splendid.  Unfortunately it's really the only beautiful spot in our front yard, but at least it's something. 

After the crocuses, tulips, aliums, and I think irises will come up.  I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful colors come out this summer.
Thanks for playing along with my riddle giveaway.  Marilyn and Sharon, I'll get in touch with you sometime later today.

April Fool's Riddle

Well, I'm not feeling particularly clever this morning to come up with a joke or prank to play on the blog for today, so how about a riddle instead?

What's green, brown, has ruffles, and comes out for Easter?

Click on the word "comments" below to leave your guess.
And why not make this a fun give away?

Whoever guesses correctly will win one of these:

A crayon roll made with your choice of fabric.  I should say that it's your choice from my stash.
I really like making these and I could always use a little more practice before I try selling these with my bath towels around the holidays.

And as a bonus, if no one guesses correctly, I'll choose one random winner from everyone who makes a guess.  So what are you waiting for?  Take a stab at it! :)
The game will end at 9 AM ALASKA time on Friday, April 2nd.  That's about 24 hours from now.  Enjoy!

****Riddle Giveaway is now closed.****