Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

Who has two thumbs and is NINE years old now?

This guy!!!

That's right! Our Mancub turned 9 last week! 

There is most certainly an update post coming, but Isaac's birthday is the most exciting going on at our house!

Jack Sparrow and his Girly Pirate Crew

Ahoy!

And, Happy Halloween me hearties! 

ARRRRR!!!

Crazy Hair Day!

We love Crazy Hair Day at our house!
 Mags and Isaac wanted half white/half black hair.
Daisey opted for flaming neon pink!
Aren't they cute???

The Desert Cottontail Rabbit

Daisey is in fourth grade and she just did her first report on The Desert Cottontail Rabbit. She asked for help with a couple of things but did most of her project all by herself.!

 

It turned out great and she got 100%! We're so proud of her

Get ready, Get set, Get well!

Valerie is recovering from gallbladder surgery this week. She's miserable and she's sore but I think she's feeling better then she has in a long time!
I had my gallbladder removed when I was about her age. I guess it runs in families. While I'm not glad that she had to be in so much pain, I'm glad that the doctors found the problem and that she won't be in pain anymore.
In the mean time she's eating lots of jello and parking on the couch with an ice pack.
Daisey made her this little monster to cheer her up. She's quite the little crafter!

And, she warned me not to post this pic but it's so cute I can't help myself! Plus, she never reads my blog, so she'll never know! Unless you tell her. So don't!

A Very Minnie Birthday Party!

For months we've all been hearing about Daisey's upcoming birthday. Seriously, she's talked about nothing else. Well, the day finally arrived. At 6:30 am on September 19th I woke up to,"Mawwwww-ommmm! It's my birthday! Ten years old DOUBLE DIGITS!!! Bring me breakfast!"
I said,"Happy birthday. Go back to sleep and we'll celebrate with breakfast at a reasonable hour." I know, I'm so mean.
An hour later I made breakfast for the birthday girl. I asked her if she felt any different. "Totally!" she said. "I'm a pre-teen now."
Wow! I feel so old! How did ten years just fly by like that???
For breakfast Dais requested scrambled eggs AND fried eggs. Weird, her daddy hates eggs but she loves them, except for boiled eggs. Apparently they smell like fart.
On Sunday night as Daisey was going to bed she said,"Mom, I’m wearing my pink shirt tomorrow. Will you make me a new bow to match it? And, make it special so everyone knows it’s my birthday?”
As you wish, my child.
Normally I don't give in to her demands but it was her birthday, so I caved and made her a birthday headband, perfect for the little diva that she is!

I think she likes it! For a full headband tutorial go here.

She was bouncing off the wall with excitement and couldn't wait to open her presents. As you can see there are three presents, one from Maggie, one from Isaac, and one from Mom and Dad. Maggie and Isaac spent a good hour picking out just the perfect present.

Maggie picked out the perfect Ken doll. There were quite a few to pick from but she thought Daisey would really love his bow tie.

I love that the pre-teen still loves Barbies. I'll be sad when she decides that she's too old for them.

I love this picture! When they're fighting I'm going to remember this moment. Maggie and Isaac were truly happy for Daisey and they were so excited to give her the birthday presents they picked out.

Isaac gave her a Rubik's cube, just what every 10 year old girl needs.

They've enjoyed "testing out" her new toys for her.

A tiny box inside the big box? Whatever could it be?

Daisey has been wanting an iPod for a long time. She's had a MP3 player, but she wanted to upgrade. We got her an iPod Shuffle.

Isn't it cute and small?

For lunch she requested that Robert go eat lunch with her at school,

 and that he bring McDonald's. Cute, huh?

Daisey came home from school and told me all about her wonderful

day of birthday wishes and the new feeling of being 10  years old.

For dinner Daisey wanted to go somewhere fancy where they served you fancy food. That place was Village Inn. Fancy, huh?

Grandma Marilyn, Grandma Diane and Grandpa Kent went

to dinner with us. Thank you all for coming, by the way.

It made Daisey feel really special.

On Friday Daisey had a birthday party with her friends

at the Fun Park. She wanted to have a Minnie Mouse party

AND a bowling party, so we combined the 2 ideas.

Look at that smile! She could barely contain her excitement!

Bowling with 10  little girls. They were a riot!

They're dancing! And screaming! And laughing! Oh my!

I was really proud of Daisey for inviting her sister.

Maggie was in heaven being a part of the party!

Isaac didn't want anything to do with this girly party!

He hung out with his cousins, Andrew, James and Daniel

while we were at the bowling alley.

Wooo!

STRIKE!!!

The winner got the coveted bowling hat! Daisey found it here

and I tried my hand at crocheting one.

Aren't they cute? Robert and I got a kick out of watching these

girls laugh and play and talk about boys together!

Daisey was very involved in the invitations and party favors and other details of this party. It had to be perfect!

Wanna know what's inside those cute little bags?

The girls were very excited!

Daisey was not very excited about her cake. She wanted a

Minnie Mouse cake but the bowling alley didn't

allow any outside food. It's too bad because there are a lot of

cute Minnie ideas out there.

Daisey improvised and made her own cake decoration.

Can you believe she drew this?

Happy Birthday Dear Daisey, Happy Birthday to you!

She wished for a puppy. Good luck babe.

Maybe, someday when we don't rent our house.

I LOVE Maggie's face in this pic!

 Yay, presents!

She got a lot of "older gifts" like lotion and jewelry.

And, some "little girl gifts", as well.

Again, I'm happy that she still likes Barbies.

I'm fine with her staying young for just a little while longer.

The party was a success! Everyone had a great time,

especially the 10  year old! Driving home with 6 little giggly girls,

suddenly made our 3 kids seem pretty quiet in comparison!

We're thrilled that Daisey is growing up and we're so proud of the young lady she's becoming.

She doesn't want me to embarrass her by writing her a birthday letter on the blog, so I'll just say Happy Birthday Daisey! We love you!

Wednesday,September 19,2001 (11:03 P.M.)

Exactly ten years and 26 minutes ago Robert and I were welcoming our sweet, little (6 lb 13 oz, 19") princess into the world. She had us wrapped around her finger from the very beginning and our lives have never been the same.

Happy Birthday Daisey Elaine!

Water Fun!

I wanted to share some fun pics from about a month ago. Our good friend, Brynn had knee surgery, so her kids got to come hang out with us while she was at the hospital. Daisey, Isaac and Maggie just love playing with Marisol and Omar! They get along great and have since day one. It's pretty cool!

It was still warm and sunny at the time so we spent most of the day playing outside. Ari was there that day too. The more the merrier!

The next day Brynn was tired and still in some serious pain, so my friend, Clarissa and I took the kids to the new Splash Pad.

They had a great time! It's too bad we discovered it at the end of the summer. I think we would have spent a lot of time there! But, there's always next year. I think even if Aunt Clarissa didn't always have fun toys and yummy treats and let the kids play with her camera, I'm pretty sure they would  love her all the same. But, it sure doesn't hurt! They ate all her candy and used up all the bubbles in her bubble wands. She's awesome!

So fun! Summer really wasn't long enough!