Celebrate McKenzie.

We only do parties for our kids every 4 years or so.  McKenzie's last one had to be skipped because I was on bedrest with Viviana....   So this was her first party since she was FIVE.... 

Let the celebrations begin!  And I don't do small scale and simple when it comes to celebrations.   We had a ridiculously slim budget to work with.  

Feast your eyes.  It was so much fun to plan.... 

A delicious glitter party with a 

yummy cabochon accessory project.

They played a fun icebreaker game... there were about 20 questions written on that beach ball... they toss it, and whomever catches it has to answer the question their right thumb is sitting on.

Foozeball tournament

Playing "I never"

Happy Birthday, Kenz!

Girls Club Rocks

McKenzie's first day of middle school starts in August.  Soon a new kind of anxiety will be introduced in her life... a whole new world of crazy, and hopefully exciting and new experiences.  But we know that middle school can be a major transition and a world of cruel too.  She isn't moving up to the same school as the kids from her 5th grade year.... and so that's where Girls Club fits in.  

Last year a friend of ours had the foresight to start this club for these 12 girls in surrounding schools that are also members of our faith.  Since last September they have rotated being 'host' and hung out once a month so that on that often cruel, awkward and nerve-wracking first days of middle school they have several friendly faces ready to help each other through the exciting and crazy of it all.  

Our turn was March... and we hosted a fabulous & fun scavenger hunt... and then made homemade pizzas and ice cream cookie sandwiches.  

A Trick and Lots of Treats

Cute pumpkins, Cute costumes, Cute kiddos

Do my witches look familiar? below: 2008, above: 2009

home by 7:30 ... Happy Momma

funny story... (The Trick) Brayden stayed home to 'man' the house and hand out candy. He decided to dress all spooky and try to scare the kids. So he gets under my car in the driveway (he has this grand plan in his head). It backfired with his first trick-or-treaters. A whole bunch of teenagers came and he tried to scare them--but then couldn't get out from under the car fast enough as they took the WHOLE big 5 lb. bowl of 'the good' candy and dumped it ALL into their bags. Bad teenagers. Nice, plan, Bray..nice. So all we had left inside to hand out was the sucky lollipops. Where is the humanity with teens? Seriously. I'm sure they laughed about the boy under the car all night long.