The Big 5 and Back to School

The last few weeks have been quite busy at our house. Abbie turned 5 and she got to have a friend party this year. Since I didn't really want to make two separate cakes or plan two separate parties, we combined friends and family with a birthday carnival. It was a lot of fun but unfortunately it was also a scorching 100 degrees! I don't think the kinds minded too much but I have to give a big shout out to all the adults that helped with the "booths." I know it was way too hot to be outside so we appreciate you! My dad did the bean bag toss, Scott did Spill the Milk, Hailey did Plinko, Linda and Kelley did face painting, Cindy did popcorn and the fish pond, Mike and Andrea did sno cones, and my sweet Drew made balloon animals (most of which popped a few minutes after due to the heat...poor guy!) Thank you everyone!

Abbie embracing her new number!

The carnival in full swing. Abbie is in line for her balloon animal.

Face painting

Mekenzie playing "Spill the Milk". Knock 'em down Kenz!

The Birthday cake. Cake by me, horses by Drew.

And for those of you who have anxiously been awaiting the results of the Barbie house remodel.....

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Ta dah!

I put this vinyl on the back so it wouldn't be quite so plain. The house used to be bright yellow and we changed it to a more subtle green. You can't see in any of these pictures but we also recovered the roof with soft black shingles, added black shutters and window boxes complete with pink roses.

The living room complete with sectional seating so that Barbie and Ken can entertain friends and family.

The kitchen. Everybody wants stainless steel appliances and wood floors right?

The master bedroom. The delux bed coverings are courtesy of my mother the seamstress...thanks Mom! You can't really tell but the "artwork" on the walls are actually pictures that Drew and I took on our trip to Europe a couple of years ago.

And finally, the bathroom. Take note of the wainscoting and moulding detail. Every room has crown and baseboard but this room got a little extra.

It is also back to school time. This year I sent both girls off to Parkside Elementary...home of the Panthers!

Carly at her big first grader desk. No more tables! Poor Carly doesn't have the best of luck on her first day of school though. Last year she got lost trying to find her classroom (luckily a cute little girl from our ward found her and helped her). This year it was the bus that caused problems. Her teacher told her what bus number she was on but she forgot and didn't not know which bus to get on. The principle tried to help her out but her old bus driver ended up bringing her home on a different bus. Poor Carly! She told me later that she got pretty scared and almost cried. I bet she won't forget the number 87 anymore!

Abbie has had absolutely no reservations about going to kindergarten. She has been excited from the start. I'm glad that she has Carly to ride the bus with her in the mornings. It's nice to have a big sister to look out for you....I speak from experience! :) (Thanks Rachelle for letting me sit on your lap on the bus ride home so many days. I know my "butt was bony." That's love.) Since Abbie's birthday was the first week of school she gets to be the student of the week this week. We made a poster with all her favorites that she got to present to her class and she gets to do all sorts of other fun activities this week.

That's about it for our family. Three of us have been fighting off the plague of a nasty cough and even bronchitis for poor Drew. I'm just counting down the days until Carly and I get it. I also spent a day in the kitchen doing some canning. I did pickles this year, which is a first for me. I also did peaches. We just love those peaches!

And for any of you keeping tabs on my driving record you'll love this. After nearly 14 years of driving I finally got pulled over for the first time last week. But don't worry...I only got a fix it ticket for my brake lights. No points...no fees...nice! Unfortunately I can't brag about my spotless driving record any more...or can I? It doesn't really count right?