Happy Birthday Dear Madeline!!

I can't believe it, but we had a Birthday to celebrate today.  How can it be that it was 5 years ago that we welcomed this incredible little girl into our lives?!  Oh how we love her, and oh, how much joy she brings us.  We spent the day celebrating her!

We had friends spending the weekend with us and they brought special birthday breakfast treats.

Madeline enjoying her special chocolate donut with sprinkles!

After a refreshing morning dip in the pool with friends, it was time to head out to the park to PARTY!!

A 5 year old and her cake!

Madeline requested a magician for her party--not sure where she got the idea, but we went with it.  Brian was a bit skeptical, and I was worried about finding some random person off the internet, but it turned out to be fabulous.  The kids were entirely captivated and I think the adults even got into it.  The magician did great with the kids and really involved them in the show.

Mesmerized by magic...

Kiran was the money making man, with quarters coming from everywhere!

Madeline gets a good laugh!

...and no magician is complete without a bunny!

Kids lined up to pet the bunny

This little girl was the bunny's biggest fan!!

The Birthday Girl, her sister and the magician!

Time for cake!

All in all, I think it was a great party.  After the show, the kids ran and played at the park, ate plenty of cake and pizza and filled up on juice boxes.  We hope they all had a great time!

After the party, and a nap for sister, we celebrated at home with the four of us.  We needed to have a cake 're-do' after dinner, as it was too windy to get the candles lit at the park. She was happy to get the chance to do it all again!

We did gifts from grandparents and us and decided to do gifts from the party later on in the week, as it was a pretty long day!  I loved capturing her expressions while she opened her gifts.  She was so excited by all of them!

Excited about her special ring from daddy!

Super excited about the seahorse purse from Grandma and Grandpa James!

"Ahhh, a globe! I always wanted one of these!"

"Are you serious, a scooter??"

Girls enjoying their Birthday scooters!

It was a truly magical day.  Happy 5th Birthday Madeline!!!

July 4th in MT

We spent a great 4th of July long weekend/short week in MT.  The girls had a great time seeing their MT grandparents and Aunt Meg, Unckee-T and cousin Bryant.

On July 4th we enjoyed a parade, done small town style, complete with horses, candy, squirt guns, firetrucks and all.  Olivia was content to sit and watch and Madeline stayed on high alert for the squirt guns, as she decided she didn't want to get wet-despite it being VERY hot!

Cousins getting their fishing surprises from Grandpa!

Playing in Bryant's jump house

All ready for the West Yellowstone fireworks

The were so silly watching the fireworks, choosing funny phrases for each explosion.

This girl loves dandelions

Fishing the pond

Catching a big one.  Once again, Madeline won the dollars for the first fish and the biggest fish.  She freaked out as soon as it came out of the water, so we don't have a picture of the actual fish to prove it!

We celebrated with a cousin's Birthday party.  They all have Birthdays within the span of ~3 weeks.  It was fun to be together to celebrate these 3 special kiddos!

Cousins and their yummy ice cream cake!

Ice cream cake requires deep concentration!

 Of course, a trip to the cabin would not be complete without a boat ride.  This was Olivia's first chance to drive the boat, as we didn't make it to the cabin last summer.

Super serious!

Olivia's motto, "Drive it like you stole it!"

The great water fight...

Somehow Madeline, the instigator of the water fight (with a bit of Grandpa's help) ended up being soaked.  Good thing she had that wetsuit!

Exploring...notice the pockets bulging with rocks and treasures!

I introduced them to puzzle grass.  They were intrigued.

The best cousin shot I got all weekend.  The 'somewhat' calm anticipation of s'mores!

Madeline matches the sky!

Grandpa's retirement cards!

Fun with sparklers

Madeline found a large feather and insisted on using it as a pen to write, "like they did a long time ago"

It was harder than she anticipated.

On our last night at the cabin, we decided to take a quick trek into Yellowstone to see Old Faithful.  As luck often has it, we saw the steam billowing into the sky as we pulled into the parking lot.  This gave us quite a bit of time to kill as we waited for the final eruption of the day.

This picture says it all....Little Miss Independent!

Catching the sunset with steam vents and the river.

Ice cream at Old Faithful!

I think this is it!

Tractor girl

So long MT!  Good memories were made and lots of fun was had.  See you again next time!