Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!

"Great love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

-John 15:13

To all of men and women (and their families) who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure my freedom (and that of my children)- you have my sincere respect and gratitude.

It isn't very often that we are home for Memorial Day (usually we are away on our summer assignment)- but this year the kids and I were here! We took in the parade (complete with horses and a train that blew bubbles out of it's smokestack)- the kids loved it!! The day was the warmest of the year so far so we spent most of the rest of the day eating popsicles, eating ice cream, and playing with the hose, buckets of water, the sprinkler, and Eli's baby pool!

But the best part of Memorial Day for me was that Joe came home!! He had been away for almost two weeks helping to lead an all men's expedition (for college students) in Vermont and New York. He wasn't going to be back until tomorrow afternoon, but they finished early, and he came back to us late light night!!! It's the longest we've been a part since we were married and it's by FAR the longest I've been on my own with the kids- but we made it and we are sooooo happy to have daddy back!

I Wonder...

I wonder what she is thinking...

It was after our morning cartoons and breakfast and right before we went upstairs to get changed for the day...

So, maybe she's thinking about what she's going to wear. And I can't quite remember exactly, but I think that in those moments she was trying to negotiate with me for something she wanted to do that day!:)

Lily's 4th Birthday!!!

For Lily's 4th Birthday we did a "Rainbow Party"- and it was delightful!!

The Birthday Girl- wearing the AMAZING rainbow dress that my mom made for her (which included fabric from my prom dress and the curtains my mom made for her before she was born- among many others)! And the many balloons from G-Pa and the rainbow birthday flags I made!

Here she is getting excited for her party to start!

The giant rainbow balloon from G-Pa (and can you see the reflection of me taking the picture in the balloon?)!

A little snuggle with G-Pa before the girls arrive.

And then her birthday party started with the arrival of 7 of her sweet little girl friends!

And right away we started painting silk rainbow ribbons! Thankfully the rain held out for us just long enough for the girls to grab a paint brush and some silk paint and have a great time making the ribbons into rainbows!

Once the ribbons were painted, dried, and ironed my mom and I attached them onto the dowel/swivel sticks that Joe made and we had rainbow wands for each of the girls to take home. Fun! As you might imagine...there was paint everywhere (and it was a bit chilly outside), but painting is one of Lily's favorite things so this was a perfect activity for her rainbow party!

And once all of the painting was done we went inside for a rainbow snack! Each of the girls was given a plate with a rainbow drawn on and if they wanted they could fill in their rainbow with a variety of different fruits and veggies (in all the colors of the rainbow- with fruit and veggie dips to hold them in place)! It was so fun to watch the girls get creative with their food!

Lily's food rainbow!

And then it was cake time!!

And this amazing 6 layer rainbow cake was a labor of love for my daughter! I loved doing it for her and seeing the look of amazement on her face!

And then there were presents...and Lily was over the moon when she unwrapped a long awaited (and wished for) Pillow Pet!

Opening presents at a children's birthday party often becomes a group affair- love it!

And after a morning with 8 little girls filled with giggles and rainbows and cake we prepared for Lily's family birthday party that afternoon. We started with a rainbow lunch (red hot dogs, orange cantaloupe, yellow potato salad, green peppers, blue corn chips, and purple grapes)!

And more presents (she is one very lucky girl)! Here she is waving a "thank you" for one of her gifts!

Tap shoes!

And another Pillow Pet (can you tell she was excited?)!

And a 2nd giant rainbow cake!

This one had 7 layers (I added a pink layer- since it is her favorite color)!

Lily would later tell me that doing the rainbow pinata (that her Aunt Marianne lovingly made for her) was one of her favorite parts of the whole day!

Lily and her cousins all took a number of swings at this beautiful rainbow pinata...

But the cord gave way before the rainbow itself broke, so we pretty much just let Lily beat it on the floor with the stick!

And out came goodies and candy and glitter (can you see it in her hair?)...and it was perfect...

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl, I love you more than you will ever know!