Celebrating Rachel's Birthday

We had so much fun celebrating Rachel's birthday last Friday. This year she had the most family she's ever had here to celebrate with her. My heart is full and grateful for all those who made sacrifices to make her day special. And I know there are many who wished they could have been here and we definitely felt their love and are grateful for the role they each play in Rachel's life.

Rachel was allowed to open one present before school this morning and she was pretty excited about having a new outfit to wear:

The birthday girl requested French toast made by Papa Smith. She definitely takes after me in her love for Papa Smith's French toast. So, here she is enjoying her breakfast:

  

We then ate lunch with her at school. She requested McDonald's, which is definitely a love she's inherited from her Papa Smith.

After school Rachel and I went to a nail salon. This was Rachel's first time and she's been requesting this for quite awhile. She LOVED getting her nails done. I'm glad it all worked out. I hadn't thought about the fact that it was the Friday before Mother's Day. There were a lot of ladies out getting pampered already. The first salon we went to had quite the wait and luckily at the second one we only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was fun to get some Mommy and Rachel time in as we got to just talk as we got our nails done. She chose pink for her finger nails and her toenails are painted blue (she's very coordinated): 

 

After that we headed to Olive Garden for dinner - Rachel's favorite. We had quite the crowd with both sets of grandparents and the Mackays. And we made sure to have her sung to. She was a good sport about it all.

It was then back to our house to open presents and have some cake! Rachel was spoiled for sure. She was very excited about each and every one of her gifts.

 

 

Group picture time!

 

Papa and Grandma Michaelson with the birthday girl:

Papa and Grandma Smith with the birthday girl:

Mom and Dad with the birthday girl:

Our smart, beautiful, talented, kind 8 year-old:

The Paul Michaelson family tried their hardest to get down her in time for cake and presents, but a rain storm and Houston traffic did not help. So, as soon as we got word that they were almost to their hotel, Rachel got to go with Papa and Grandma Michaelson to deliver a pack n' play to them and see those cousins on her birthday. I think Rachel had a really good day! And the next day the celebrations continued with her baptism and my birthday...

Eight Years Old

 

Our sweet, beautiful Rachel is 8 years old today!!! Time definitely does fly. I already know this is going to be one emotional weekend. Rachel's going to be baptized on my birthday and then the next day will be Mother's Day. I can't think of a better Birthday-Mother's Day gift. It's been an amazing journey so far with this girl and I've learned so much from her. 

Rachel is 48 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds. About a month ago, she was pretty excited to discover she weighed 42 pounds. We've been telling her for years that she has to be 40 pounds to transition to a booster seat in the car. Shhhh...don't tell her that since she's now 8, she legally doesn't need to be in any type of car seat. We play it pretty safe. :) 

This girl loves to play, whether it's playing outside or inside. She comes home from school every day, gets her homework done, and then just wants to play, play, play. I've given up on hassling her about her reading. She hates to read. :( Makes me sad, because I love to read. But maybe one day we'll find that series of books that she'll LOVE. She's an awesome reader though, she's just not into it. She'd rather play. We've decided she is a bit of a tomboy. I'm trying to talk her into playing soccer this Fall. We'll see... Right now she's doing gymnastics, but I think she's ready to move on to something else. When I'm good about sitting down at the piano with her, she learns to play. We haven't been very good very recently though... We need to get going on that while she's interested. 

Rachel is a very well-liked girl. She has lots of friends at school and stays pretty busy with play dates when we don't have other activities going on. Her best friend right now is Isabel. They play and have so much fun together. And they're both really good at including Audrey. Rachel is a pleaser. She wants to make others happy and for them to be proud of her. She's very hard on herself when she fails in that regard. She doesn't like getting in trouble. She has quite the conscience.  Rachel loves her teachers at school and at church. She's a very lucky girl to have some really amazing teachers!

We're so grateful for our amazing Rachel! She brings so much joy every day to our home.

Whoops!

This is how some of my nights go and tonight was no exception. It's been four months since I've been doing bath and bed time on my own... Only a few more weeks.... I can do this!

Swim Season

We made our first visit of the season to the pool today!!! We are definitely excited for another summer of fun at the various pools in our community. The water was a bit chilly today, but I'm a baby when it comes to water... The kids had fun though and I know we're going to have a lot of fun this summer swimming and playing away!

My Little Tornado

This little boy can make a mess in a blink of an eye, but luckily he's cute and usually willing to help clean up...

Superhero Day!

So, it was National Super Hero Day on Monday. Didn't know such a thing existed, but why not? A friend told me that today you could take your children to Whataburger dressed up like a superhero and they could get a free kid's meal. While, the free stuff didn't stop there. They had face painting, a prize wheel, and a balloon artist. It worked out great for me because I didn't have to cook and the kids LOVED it. We pulled out Ian's Halloween costume from last year and the girls both wore their super hero capes. Ian was pretty excited about the free pair of sunglasses he won and the girls loved getting their faces painted.

 

Andy was running a bit late getting home from work tonight, so the kids went to mutual with me for a bit. The girls definitely got lots of attention because of their super cool painted faces. I'm going to have to keep my eyes out for this event next year. We're fans!

Shrine Circus

Last Friday we went to the Shrine Circus with the Mackays. Every year they come to the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, which isn't too far from us. Last year, I actually went on a field trip with Rachel to the circus. This year we decided to go as a family. It's definitely a lower budget circus, but the kids still love it. They've got animals, acrobats, and motorcycles. What more could they want??? We went expecting to pay to get in. I stood off to the side with the kids while Natalie and Andy went to buy tickets. A sweet Shrine Circus worker came up to the cute couple (Natalie and Andy) and offered them free tickets. They motioned over to me with the rest of the crew and he gave them enough for all of us to get in. So, we ended up not even having to pay. Shows you what a cute pregnant belly will do... ;) 

Rachel and Ian ready for the show to begin:

Audrey excited that the music has started:

Ian definitely enjoyed the show and was very excited the whole time:

The one picture I took of the actual show:

All five kiddos:

Our family:

The Mackays, minus Craig, who had to work that evening:

We definitely had a fun night. The weather was actually really nice. I was worried about it being too hot, but we had a bit of a breeze that helped out. We were a bit disappointed with where we sat. Most of the time the entertainers faced the other side of bleachers. Next time we go, we'll make sure to sit on that side. But there were benefits because it wasn't as crowded on our side, so the kids had plenty of room to wiggle around. Everyone enjoyed the show!

Audrey's Preschool Open House

Audrey's Preschool Open House was last night. We had so much fun attending the program that was put together for the parents and seeing her hard work displayed in her classroom. We have had such a positive experience at Methodist Day School. Audrey's LOVED it. She's grown so much this year and learned so much as well. She's definitely ready and excited for kindergarten in a few months... Here's Audrey ready to perform:

 

There are 4 classes of 4 year-olds at her preschool. They sang some really cute songs (obviously a jungle-theme). Audrey looks fabulous and the boy next to her will just make you giggle:

 

 

After the program, we all got to go tour around her classroom. Audrey had fun showing us the projects she has worked on this year. She's made a really good friend in another class, named Alicia. I wish I had gotten a picture of the two of them together. They have lots of fun together at recess and during Open Door time when they get to go do different activities in other classrooms. She really likes scheduling a "tea party" with Alicia. I'm glad she's made a good friend and hope she's able to next year in kindergarten as well...

Some of Audrey's creations:

Audrey's favorite day of school was the day they got to go on pony rides:

I'm so grateful for Audrey's positive experience she's had this year!

Easter Sunday

Above are the kiddos in their Easter best at the Houston temple. Rachel had a photo shoot there last Friday for her baptism pictures. After she was done, I made the kids get in their Easter outfits and took a few pictures. Ok, so I took a lot of pictures and got one decent one. It was hot and they just wanted to go meet Dad for lunch.

On Easter Sunday the kids woke up to their baskets full of goodies. They each got a few little trinkets and treats along with a swimsuit and a DVD. I think the girls were most excited about their EOS lip balm. The Easter bunny is so smart!

 

All three of them sporting their swimwear for this summer:

Ian already enjoying his chocolate bunny:

 

The kids then enjoyed an Easter egg hunt in our backyard:

We then made it to church on time, pretty good for a 9 am church start... :) 

That evening we had the Mackays and Bills over for Easter dinner. This has become a tradition and it's always lots of fun. The kids enjoy getting out some energy by playing with each other and the parents enjoy good conversation. I'm grateful for Allie who remembered to have us take a picture: 

Dyeing Easter Eggs

We dyed Easter eggs tonight and Dad was even home! This is a tradition that our kids love. Andy always thinks I let the kids do way too many, but we usually have pretty good luck with consuming all the hard boiled eggs within a week. It helps that we all like them...except Ian. And it wouldn't be as much fun if they just did 4 each. Growing up I remember my brothers and I each did a dozen; that's 5 dozen eggs. I have a feeling some got chucked at the end of the week, but eggs aren't that expensive... :)

Anyhow, here are the kiddos busy dyeing their eggs:

Being silly:

No more pictures, please!!!

We definitely had fun! Now everyone's very anxious to hunt for the eggs tomorrow morning...