Sydney's Birthday Part 2

Sydney had a Hannah Montana slumber birthday party with friends on the 23rd of May. This was her first slumber party at our house. She has had friends sleep over and has spent the night with her friends as well as going to their slumber parties. This was also the first time she had a pinata at her party. We had one for Tyler a looong time ago but have just never had one for Sydney for some reason. This pinata was shaped like a guitar! If you look in the background, you can see a poster of Hannah Montana on the wall. We used this to play pin the microphone on Hannah. By the way, Sydney is not a hard-core fan of Hannah, she just likes her. We don't have cable tv so Sydney has only seen a few episodes of it. When the girls got here, we had pizza and pop as well as veggies. Then we played pin the microphone on Hannah. Next we headed outside....... Outside the girls played on the trampoline and swingset as well as hitting the pinata. They put the candy and toys in their treat bags. After eating candy and jumping some more on the trampoline, we went back inside to open gifts. Sydney loved all that she received from her great friends.

Next, the girls wanted to go outside again for a few minutes. This gave me time to set up the next activity. They came inside and made beaded braclets. This was a great winding down activity. But silly me, I got out the birthday cake and we sang to Sydney. This wound them all up again!

Soon after eating cake, it was time to get ready for bed. Sydney got the Parent Trap movie starring Lindsay Lohan and wanted to watch that before bed. This last picture is of the girls watching the movie before going to bed. Although sleep didn't come until after 11:30 pm. The next day the girls played up in Sydney's room and ate breakfast. At 10 am the parents showed up to take them home! Sydney had a great time with her friends! Dallin loved having all these little mothers to play with and Tyler helped me with the games and took a few pictures. Ryan teased the girls and hung out with us until after the presents were opened, then he retreated to the basement to do some more work. It was a fun, busy evening!

Sydney's Birthday Part 1

Happy 9th birthday Sydney!

This was to be the first party in a weekend of parties and get-togethers with family and friends so I chose to make cupcakes since we would be having a couple of different cakes over the next few days. She turned 9 on May 22 and we had a small family mini-party with one present from mom and dad. Of course it was a gift that she could play with right away.

She has been wanting more Littlest Pet Shop toys and I found a great deal on ksl.com for a bunch of accessories and pets! She was so excited and played the rest of the evening with them. She is a caring, thoughtful person with a strong personality. I learn so much from her and how she deals with life. She is among the tallest in her class. She picks her friends carefully and doesn't like those that are showy and like to hurt others feelings. She doesn't have to look "perfect" to feel better about herself. She chooses friends who like her for her personality and not because she has the latest clothes or toys. She tells me that I don't need to wear makeup to look good. She will still do makeovers with her friends though so she gets to practice putting it on. She is just not afraid to be herself and that is a testament to her strong personality. I love you Sydney!

Dallin contemplating his next adventure..........Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?!

Handy tip of the day

Do you have a chainlink gate that you want to keep little ones from exiting, but don't want to totally lock it or don't want to mess with a pad lock because it takes too long to open? My solution was to get a little carabiner type thing and put it through the hole. The little kids don't know how to undo it but the bigger kids can get out if they want. Also, it is much faster to unhook than trying to remember a code or mess with a key. Of course this is not super safe, but what 4 foot fence is anyway?

Mother Natures Feather

Curiosity

Ever dream only to realize you were awake?

Ever watch a cloud turn into recognizable shape?

Ever touched a cheek that was warm and soft?

Ever felt the wind as it blew a feather aloft?

Curiosity......

Ever kiss a toad then watch it hop away?

Ever hold your breath till you gasped and swayed?

Ever jump into piles of crisp fallen leaves?

Ever danced for joy when good news you've received?

Curiosity.....

by Julie Hoyer

Katherine's Paintings

Many people in my family are curious to see the art work of my Sis-In-Law Katherine. When she stayed with us for a while this winter she had a mini studio in her room. Here are some of my favorites that she has photographed in order to sell. Since moving to a bigger place in town, she has been trying to establish herself among the galleries in Utah. Enjoy looking at her artwork! If you are wanting to purchase one of these paintings or see more of her work, just email me. She said recently her style has improved even more in a couple recent paintings.