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.