Sweet and Sassy 5 year old

Evie wanted to have her birthday party at Sweet & Sassy, which is the same place Kiersten had her 5th birthday party. She talked Ben into buying her this dress the day before, and that's what she just had to wear to the party.

While we were waiting for the pink limo to arrive, I let the girls play with poppers and pull string fire crackers. They had a great time. It was close to 100 degrees, so they were in and out of the house.

But as soon as the limo was spotted coming up the street, they all ran back out there.

They were so ridiculously happy to get into the limo. Little did they suspect that the A/C was broken, and it was roasting inside. They didn't really complain, though. I think it bothered us adults much more than the girls.

Once everyone was buckled in, we were on our way! The girls sang along to every song on the playlist. It was cute. Some of them had awesome dance moves.

Kara brought out a basket of sunglasses while we were waiting, so they all grabbed a pair, and looked pretty cool jamming out in the limo.

Even though it was so hot and sweaty, these girls were all so sweet, and genuinely happy to be there. The energy was very excited.

The arrival at the mall was very dramatic. I tried to get a shot of each girl exiting. There were a few I didn't quite capture, so I made sure to get good shots of everyone in the salon as well, so I'd have something to share with parents.

Evie insisted on being last out. It was a pretty big moment for her.  

Once in the salon, they all got to pick out a fancy dress, and then waited to get their hair done.

They all waited so patiently. I thought for sure that at least one of them would complain or throw a fit, but they were just happy little angels.

Even Kara was a pretty good sport. She didn't really want to wear a crown, but she went along with everything else.

No one was upset about getting their hair done/pulled. They also got to pick out nail polish, a glitter tattoo for their cheek, and lipstick and eyeshadow. They were oh so lovely.

Evie got to wear a birthday sash, so that was pretty special.

I forced Kara to wear the crown for at least one picture. Of course she chose black eyeshadow, which made her look too grown up.

I didn't make her cake for about the 3rd year in a row. I'm a horrible mom during the summer. Maybe next year I'll get my act together.

After the makeovers were complete, they all got to walk the runway. Kara wasn't super into that, but did it anyway.

Of course Kiersten soaked up every second of the spotlight she could. She's got some killer poses in her repertoire.

We had 4 or 5 girls that all picked out the same dress. My friend and I were surprised when we looked in the closet and saw all the options they had. I figured it must have been a closet full of Elsa dresses based on what they all chose. I guess they just like what they like, and right now that is ice blue sparkle dresses.

Evie inexplicably chose a leopard print party dress. I'm still confused that she wasn't in the biggest, poufiest dress imaginable. But sometimes they surprise you, haha.

10 gorgeous princesses!

After the runway, they all had a dance party, and then took turns changing back into their own clothes.

Once everyone was changed, it was cake time. Ben took Evie to pick out her cake, and she ended up with a Disney princess cake. She just loved it, so that makes me feel a little less badly about not making her one yet again.

This picture is included because my sister requested a front view of my outfit. So here ya go Angie! Ben not only picked out the entire outfit, but accessorized and fixed my belt, so I can't take any credit. Don't mind the sweaty, limo hair.

She received lots of fun gifts from her darling little friends. She was just on cloud 9 by the time she was done opening them.

After the party, I dreaded getting back into the limo, but the girls were excited, and awesome about it. They were show stoppers walking out there all made up fancy.

Quite a sassy bunch of gals.

They all wanted to change up their seats for the ride back. It's pretty rough when everyone can't sit by the birthday girl, but they all worked it out.

We ended up getting a discount on the limo since the A/C wasn't working. So that was nice. I would say that I wouldn't have done it, had I realized how hot it would be, but honestly, I probably would just because it was Evie's magical dream come true.

Independence 2015

On the 4th of July, we had Kerry and Lana here as well as Brennon and Katie. It was great to see them even if just for a day and a half. We hosted breakfast for a few neighbors, and let the kids decorate their bikes and scooters for the neighborhood parade.

Ready to ride!

Kara and Evie both went with scooters instead of bikes. Kara had it pretty easy with her electric scooter.

Somehow Evie is always the last kid to finish.

They think it's pretty neat to check out the fire truck.

This year, only Evie was little enough to participate in the rubber ducky grab. The others had to dive for quarters in the big pool.

And she was super happy to get a "patriotic duck".

Ben made us a yummy dinner, and we went to the fireworks later that night. I guess I didn't take any pictures there, but you know, sometimes we get distracted by all the excitement.

Visit wih Papa and Grams

Kerry and Lana came out to visit us last week. We had a great time with them! We decided to go to the zoo. It was a very hot day. The sting rays were pretty active, so that was fun. Ben bought some food so the girls could feed them. They were a little scared.

The new polar bear exhibit was open, so we checked that out.

On another day, we decided to drive through Lone Elk park. We did see a few bison hiding back in the trees, but couldn't get too great a view of them.

But we were thrilled to happen upon this family of raccoons. They were pretty cute. Further down the road, the girls spotted another one getting into a trash can. He popped out with a happy meal, which he took back to his tree. They got a kick out of that. They have been talking about it all week, and telling all their friends.

Lone Elk didn't take very long, and we saw fewer animals than we thought we would, so we also stopped by the World Bird Sanctuary. It was a pretty temperate day for walking around, so that worked out well.

I think we ended up counting 11 bald eagles while we were there. That's the only bird they kept track of how many we saw.

I love all of the artwork/donations that are displayed everywhere.

Bald eagle #12???

They sure liked these chickens with funny haircuts.

Kiersten had the best attitude of the day, and was just so happy to be there. She can be such a sweetie.

They even had a few Dodo birds!

The girls liked this particular Dodo the best.

We always have to have a tea party when Papa and Grams are here. The girls were very excited for it, and asked every day until we finally let them host the party.

We also got to take them to their first major league baseball game. It was a pretty nice day for a game. They even got a souvenir replica world series ring to take home. We were sad that they had run out of the rings before we arrived, but a nice couple gave them one of theirs.

Poor Kara is having a rough time adjusting to her braces. She can't eat most of her favorite snacks. She already popped a bracket by eating chips, so we are now being very strict. But we've found a few things that she likes. No popcorn, chips, nuts, chewy candy, or gum.

We rarely stay for the entire game when we have the girls with us, but we wanted to stay for fireworks, so we made it through the entire game. The Cardinals lost, but it was still very enjoyable.

The fireworks were pretty great, and the girls were just happy to be spending the evening with their grandparents.

Father's Day of Fun

The girls were excited about giving Ben his Father's Day gifts this year. Kiersten gave him a picture frame she painted with a picture of the 2 of them inside. 

Evie was very excited to give him a new basketball. It wasn't hard to talk her into wanting to give him that. 

They also helped me make breakfast for him. 

Karalee gave him a best dad trophy. She thought it was pretty cool. I'm not sure what he'll do with it. I guess maybe display it in the basement?

These 3 hooligans sure love their daddy!

We went to see Inside Out with some of our friends. It was a cute movie and I think everybody liked it. The girls were excited about this display for the upcoming Peanuts movie. I guess that's another one we'll have to take them to see when it comes out. 

I'm not sure my kids even have any clue who the Peanuts are, but they sure thought it was cool to sit in this chair. After the movie, Kara wanted to take Ben out for pizza. So we had lunch with friends, and then enjoyed the rest of the day together at home.