The Big Party

I have never had a party for any of my kids (I know I'm a bad mom!), but this year Shaylah decided that she really wanted a party with her friends.  She invited seven of her favorite classmates and one friend from church (plus their parents) to our house for a big celebration.  It was fun doing the planning with her....she knew exactly what she wanted and helped plan each activity.

First:  Lunch time.  We had hotdogs, fruit and veggie platters, chili, and chips.  Isn't that every 5 year old's dream lunch?
Craft:  The kids decorated Ikea frames with paint, glitter glue and gems/stickers.  It was amazing to see the creativity flowing!
Games:  They played "pin the jewel on the Barbie necklace".  Shaylah even played a second time without the blindfold so that her best friend who was home with the flu would win the game.  :)
Piniata:  The highlight of the afternoon!  Filled with stickers, toys, play jewelry and (of course!) candy.

The party was Barbie and Princess themed, but there were plenty of masculine touches so that the boys wouldn't feel left out.

Here are a few photos!

It must have been a good party, because this is what happened while I was cleaning everything up.  :)

My First Race

I know Johnny won't be pleased with this picture, but it is the only one I have.  This was taken just after I finished my very first running race!  It was only 8km, but you have to start somewhere, right?  It was pretty fun to be part of the crowd, even if the winner almost cut my time in half.  :)  Johnny was so nice to stay with me and cheer me on, even though he could have finished much closer to the front of the pack (thanks!  But officially in the standings I beat him by a few tenths of a second).  I am so thankful for a beautifully sunny day and the amazing scenery around Stanley Park and the Seawall.  Next goal.....a 10k race.  Also thanks to Johnny's family who sponsored our run in the hopes of getting rid of prostate cancer for good and the Cecil for babysitting!

Shaylah's 5th Birthday

Shaylah turned FIVE on March 18th.  It was a school day, so she wore her special "Birthday Girl" shirt and ribbon to school to make sure that everyone knew.  She said she definitely felt different and was quite excited to finally be big enough to chew gum and go down the waterslide at the pool.  After school, we went and picked out a special Hello Kitty birthday balloon and came home to have dinner with her Bridgewater cousins.

Dinner was at Shaylah's favorite restaurant, Boston Pizza, where she had Bugs'N'Cheese, green salad, chocolate milk and blue jello.  We came home to open presents (thanks everyone!) and had cupcakes for dessert.

Happy Birthday my sweet big girl.  We are so proud of you and are so excited to be allowed to watch you grow up!

Dora and Diego

We got to meet Dora and Diego at the mall this past Saturday.  Shaylah kept pretending she was too old, but I actually think she was the most excited of the three kids.  She wanted to let Dora and Diego know that her brother and sister were big fans.  :)

The Beluga whale from the Aquarium was also there to give out hugs.  Ashlyn, of course, was too shy to say "hello".