Birthday and the Beach

Lucky for us, Michael gets Pioneer day off.  Even more lucky, that lovely holiday is close to my birthday! We decided to make a mini trip of it and headed to the coast! For being the middle of the week it was busier than I expected.

Michael had been down just a few weeks prior and it was perfect. Its amazing the amount of seaweed brought in just a few short days.  The water was so hot, it was almost cooler out of the water. We had a blast reguardless. 

Drip castles are a must:

 People seriously pack rakes to make a path from the seaweed. The girls HATED it the first day but realized it wasn't going away and the freak-outs were less common day 2.

 It was a nice relaxing couple days where I tried to forget about girls camp for a few hours. It *sort of* worked.

My one birthday request was to get cupcakes from a cupcake bakery called smallcakes.
Mission granted, plus much more. They were delicious.

 Michael also got me a new bike! I really wish it wasn't so dang hard to pull two kids in a bike trailor. Unfortunately Kelsey was feeling a little under the weather and threw up all over me in the bike shop. I quickly said, how about the silver 'girl' style. Michael proceeded to also buy me a new shirt and we were outta there.

Happy Birthday to me!

Michael's Weekend Part II

The girls were beyond excited to celebrate their Daddy's birthday on Saturday. Rylee's main priority was taking Dad to Aquatica - Sea World's waterpark.  They added a lot to the park two years ago and started charging an additional fee. I debated getting passes for a while but I'm really glad we did. It was a lot of fun! There was a lot that both girls could do including several water slides (the new sting-ray included). We went a lot this summer and managed to go twice without the kids and ride what they couldn't :). I am still annoyed its already closed for the season. Its not even open on the weekends anymore :(. Don't they know its still HOT? And the entire city isn't in school? tough life.

Anyway, We got caught up there longer than we expected so we grabbed a quick bite to eat for dinner so we could quickly come home and make cupcakes, sing, and give their gifts. Kelsey didn't even make it out of the park before falling asleep.

 

Happy Birthday! We're so happy you were born :)

Rylee turns 4!

We were so happy Grandma and Grandpa stayed long enough to celebrate Rylee's birthday!

 

Here's the traditional door décor.  Rylee woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and through sleepy eyes immediately noticed the heart balloon.

 We invited a few friends over for a little carnival. The invitations were the best part. . . . maybe I'll see if I can upload a picture of them. They looked like a ticket.  They were really fun to make.

The girls tested a few games before our guests arrived. Apparently not all ducks are created equal.  I was really annoyed these didn't float upright, maybe next time I'll read the description better. I was a nice enough day, a little humid but we were able to play outside for most of the time.

 Rylee's castle cake! It was very simple but really fun to make!

 Its can be very hard to watch someone else celebrate a birthday.  Here's miss cranky-pants playing on my phone.

 Rylee got her own doll nap-mat! She was thrilled.

 watching the cake bake.

 Rylee was a little under the weather but we pushed through it and partied anyway.

 The kids played games to earn tickets to buy prizes.

 the spinning wheel was a big hit.

 as were the crayon rolls

 We ate lunch, opened a few presents and just played together.

Later that evening she got to open the rest of her presents and eat cake (we just did mini cupcakes with her friends)

 who needs a spoon anyway?

I also made her a doll carrier.

 

Happy Birthday sweet girl! You are so special to us and a joy to be around. We love you immensely!

Miss Kelsey is TWO!

Miss Kelsey is officially a two year old! I've been calling her a 2 year old for a while {you know, the only thing you can say when you try to explain ones' behavior}

 

We didn't do much, but we decorated her door/entry, ate cake & ice cream and opened presents. Hopefully that was enough to make baby girl feel special on her special day.

 

Her cake:

The birthday girl: She was distracted by football on tv or something.  I promise she was happy.  She almost wore her birthday hat to church but decided not to ;)

 Kelsey and her Anna doll got matching nap mats. She's been loving up on Rylee's for a while now.  Movie nights, and naps, and sleepover just got even more fun :)

 Kelsey also got her own apron - hooray for one less thing to fight over!

 It was ok for the dolls to share just long enough for me to snap this picture. haha. Its sometimes hard to be happy for someone else.  Rylee really is sweet in her desire to have her own. Its good for Kelsey to be the one to get something 'first' every now and then :)

Miss Kelsey adored being sung to. She blew more hot air up her nose than at the candle, but she finally got 'em both. 

 I attempted making a poka dot cake. It didn't turn out as cool as the photos in the tutorial, but it was fun none-the-less.  I also got to break in my new decorating kit.

These two years and flown by! She's added so much to our family and we love her mucho!