Saturday, December 21, 2013

8 Months Old!

Elizabeth's big thing at 8 months was her scoot, so her pictures were taken during a scoot session.

 
 
 
 




Friday, December 20, 2013

The Art Show Party

Believe it or not, Dale turned five years old last month. What a big kid! Dale is wonderfully creative, and because art is one of his passions right now, Wendy put on an art party for his birthday.

 The girls helped me wrap Dale's present a few days before the party, and they each made him a card. Emily had just begun saying "I love you" at the beginning of November, and she wrote quite a love note to Dale on his birthday card.


The outside of Addie's card:


The outside of Emily's card:


We knew there would be painting at the party, so the girls wore their paint shirts. So excited!


Dale's creativity has definitely been inspired by a creative mama. Wendy set up an art show featuring Dale's artwork for all to admire. For a more detailed look at the pieces that were hung, click here.
 
 
 
Birthday Boy!
We love Aunt Wendy!
Rose was looking quite stunning for the party
Dale wanted to show me how he could carry his chairs around

Thanks for feeding me lunch and cleaning me up, Dad!

After eating lunch and playing a bit, it was time for painting!
 
 
 


After artwork, the balloons started coming down from the ceiling. Endless balloons. Small person heaven.


Rose tries out Dale's new parachute guy.


Wendy's mom, AKA Monga, adopted Elizabeth for the day. Elizabeth had a great time being held, talked to, and showered with attention.


How do you do birthday cake at an art party? You decorate your own cupcake, of course! Genius!
 
 
 


After cupcakes, the party went outside for more balloon fun!

This just cracked me up. All the guys lined up at the fence, drooling over the construction site. I overheard things like, "wouldn't it be amazing to have a nail gun."

The artists with their masterpieces....

We hadn't had enough fun when nap time came around, so Elizabeth crashed on Aunt Wendy and Uncle Mark's bed.

We got to bring a couple of balloons home, and the next day the girls encouraged Elizabeth to scoot after their balloons...




And our masterpieces now hang upstairs by the girls' bedrooms.


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Great Grandpa Turns 91!

We celebrated Great Grandpa's 91st birthday at the beginning of November.

I couldn't get a picture of both girls smiling with GG, so I've gotta post two...
 


Great Grandma with Elizabeth
 
 
Cousins! Skyler, Addie, Elizabeth, Emily, Annalea, and Callie
 We're so lucky to have Grandpa Hicks around. He's still sharp as ever, and has a great time watching his family grow.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Back to Sunflower Farm

Sunflower Farm closes its gates for the season on the last day of October, so at the very end of the month, we squeezed in a second visit with our friends Gretchen, Lyndi, and Miles. We just love this place, and will look forward to going back next year.

King Goat


Hiding Places


Dueling Turkeys


Two Princesses in their Magical Carriage 


Me and my favorite two and a half year olds


Peek!


Baby Chicks


Emily got to witness a barn cat catching and eating a mouse. Crunch crunch crunch!


Back to the corn house. 


Yep, Addie got to eat an apple in the corn house. She didn't contract any diseases.


A little bigger on this second trip, Elizabeth got to get out of the stroller a little more to do her own exploring.


Elizabeth watches Addie feed the goats.


Gretchen and Miles

Addie, Lyndi and Emily


Giant Lego Blocks, now these are cool!


Time for another pony ride! This time, the girls each got their own ride, and they rode all on their own!!


Cowgirl in training Emily




Cowgirl in training Addie





One of the very most exciting things to do at Sunflower Farm (next to riding ponies, of course) is the zipline!