Tay's Celebration Continues...

We had planned Taylor's birthday party with her friends, for the Saturday after. She has been so excited to have her friends over! We ended up with another surprise...Allison got to come up for a visit! She got here on Friday and got to watch Tay at gymnastics. We planned on grabbing a movie...what we didn't plan on was, both girls deciding to pierce their ears together! With some sisterly encouragement, Taylor agreed...so off we headed for the mall! As you can see, Allison looked much more enthusiastic than scared little Tay. THEY DID IT!!!

Tay was super excited to show off her rainbow daisy earrings at her birthday party! Ashlynn, Evie, and Emma came to celebrate with her! They created little "Egg Babies", played "Musical Hearts", and then went on a scavenger hunt that led them to their goodie bags. Taylor didn't want Birthday cake, so she had Birthday Brownies and pizza. The brothers all came to hang out with Blake...we chased them down to the basement so the girls could RULE for the partay! The little girls are all so sweet, it was a blessed day!

My Sweet Taylor Turned 7!!!

This sweet girl is 7 years old today! Blake spent the evening, helping me decorate for her birthday. He is such a sweet big brother! The room was filled with pink & purple streamers and balloons from top to bottom.

She couldn't wait for her birthday! LITERALLY couldn't wait...she pretty much kept us up, most of the night! At 11pm, she came downstairs and asked if it was midnight yet, you know...technically her "birthday". You would have thought that it was Christmas morning for her! She finally fell asleep at 6am, we were all a bit tired, but woke up ready to celebrate this little sweetie turning 7!

                              

She requested a chocolate donut with sprinkles for her bday breakfast. She got a Snack-eez cup from Bubby...she has been wanting one for a long time! She got a robot fish, eye spy birdhouse and some new goodies for her baby Allison. It was a quick but wonderful morning.

She got to give out Rice Krispie Treats to her classmates, got a pencil and a balloon from Mrs. Tripamer, and a special sticker from Ms. Byrnes. AND SHE LOST HER OTHER FRONT TOOTH! Such a fun-filled birthday!

Since it's her birthday, she got to choose where to have dinner...she chose "McDonald's with the fish". We ate and she got to play for a bit...I would say that it was a great 7th birthday!

Crossing Over

It took ALOT of pushing, but this boy earned the Arrow of Light and Crossed over into a Boy Scout Troop! The boys in den 19, gathered for their last activity...creating their arrow of light for the ceremony. It was bittersweet, these boys have been together since 1st grade and now will move on to different troops.

 

Blake and Dad got to make an "Out of This World Dessert" for the ceremony. They decided on a "Man on the Moonpie" dessert.

We attended the Blue and Gold Banquet, it was a wonderful tribute to the boys. It almost made me cry, to see all the pictures of when they were little and of all they have accomplished. The Indian tribe came to assist them with the "crossing of the bridge"...the room was dark, the bongo drum started beating, and out they came to silently cross them over, it's an event that I will not forget. They made it very special for them! We are so proud of him, and excited that he decided to give Boy Scouts a chance.

Cub Scout to Boy Scout

These years have flown by...sometimes, while at a pack meeting, I see those little Tiger Cubs walking up for their awards...they look like babies, just like my little boy looked, four years ago...our baby boys....how quickly they grow up.

 

Blake's 11th Birthday!

Blake's actual birthday fell on Tuesday, January 6th...known to most kids as..."the day we have to go back to school after a LONG break" day. We decided to do a family birthday breakfast on the Sunday before. Taylor looked forward to decorating for Bubby all day long! We got everything ready on Saturday night, he got to wake to Aunt Sissy coming over and a cinnamon roll Birthday breakfast. We also gave him our family gifts...he was a happy boy!

Since there wasn't a snow day, he did have to return to school on his 11th birthday. (and since he had choir, it was a cold and very early morning)  I got him some packages of cookies to give out to his classmates and he got to have some donut holes for breakfast! I asked him if he wanted a candle and he said he really didn't, then  he looked at me and said, "well...only if you want to", I grinned and ran to get a candle! lol! He is such a sweet fella! He was being so sweet, in fact, that I asked him what was up with being so darn good and he said that it was his New Year's Resolution...to be better for us...<>  After that, we even let him choose his favorite for dinner...extra cheesy crust-filled pizza from Pizza Hut...I think his little New Year comment worked! lol!

THEN....he got to have some buddies over for a "Minecraft Gaming Party". We tried to keep this simple, but I'm not sure I know how to do "simple". We made special Minecraft "cake" for the event. Blake and Cameron put the pixel cherries on them! He invited Nico, Nick, Seth, Cameron, and Mikey. They had big plans of having a virtual MC party online together, creating a YouTube video of it, but I think they ended up mostly just playing. They had pizza, cake, and ice cream. I gotta say, sitting in the kitchen, watching them all hang out, around the table, laughing hysterically, made my heart happy. Don't get me wrong, they got pretty wild and crazy, but I must say...hearing this bunch of boys laugh and just be happy, was music to my ears!  I just love that they are still little boys at heart, shooting each other up and cracking up over silly animal names...happy ending to a THREE DAY BIRTHDAY.