8th Birthday Part III

We had Zoey's family party on General Conference Sunday when Jay didn't have to work and Aunt Pam could come down. We had BBQ pork sandwiches and chips and dip. We had fun spending time as a family and celebrating Zoey's big 8th birthday.

 Awesome presents from everyone. 

 So thrilled to get her first camera. She has been asking for one for a long time now.

 My mom and sister went in together and me and Zoey get to go to dinner and then to Disney on Ice together. Such an awesome and unexpected gift and we both can't wait to go this Thursday.

 Grandma made a Texas Chocolate Cake (TCC) and I had a tube of frosting laying around I used to write on it. So yummy!

 She looks like she enjoyed celebration III as much as I and II.

Thank you everyone for the great gifts. Zoey loved everything! (Grandma Kinney, that adorable bee has already caused battles. They all want it.)

8th Birthday Part II

Our first baby turned 8 today. I know everyone says it but where has the time gone? Zoey is awesome. She is a good big sister and a good friend. She is an amazing student and a good example to all those she interacts with. Of course she isn't perfect and gives us plenty of problems at home but, she really is a good kid. We are so excited for her to get baptized soon. We love Zoey so much and can't imagine life without her. We are incredibly grateful to have her and feel blessed to be her parents. 

Snapped this real quick before school. It was a short day, lucky girl. Not only that but she was recognized and celebrated being student of the month too.

 My goal is to be better about snapping a few pictures of my kids on their birthday. That way I at least have a few decent shots of them once a year. Heaven knows I don't have the money to pay someone else to do it.

 This is one of my favorites.

 The only thing was I could have chosen a better time of day. It was really bright and even in the shade she had to squint a little. I think they turned out pretty good considering.

 I love this one too but she couldn't help but squint.

Zoey's birthday dinner request. Bowtie pasta with homemade alfredo sauce, chicken, and broccoli. Garlic bread and pears with lite whipped topping.

After dinner we jaunted over to the park and enjoyed the sunset and played for just a bit until it got too dark. 

 Finally we ended the night with a traditional singing of "Happy Birthday to You" with candles stuck in a Hostess cupcake. Yup, there's 8 in the cupcake. Like I've said before, that's how we roll.

 I love the sweet little grin on her face here.

 Happy 8th Birthday to our beautiful daughter!

8th Birthday Part I

Since 8 is such a big birthday year for us I finally had a little friend party for Zoey. This is the first friend party we have done for any of our kids. They really just aren't my thing and it gets expensive and the kids have always been perfectly fine with family parties. I thought 8 was a good starting point. I let Zoey choose who she wanted to invite and she kept her list small, just 6 people. Only half of them could make it but they all had a great time together. I enjoyed it being on the smaller side. It was less chaotic and I think more enjoyable for the girls. Zoey was happy and pleased with how it went so that is really all that matters. It was a fun afternoon.

Pumpkin painting was the activity. The girls were excited. It's great having a birthday at the beginning of October and the birthday girl loving Halloween. It makes for easy decorating and ideas.

 Zoey had planned for a couple months to have chocolate fondue for her birthday. We decided instead of for the family party it would be fun to do with a few of her friends. We were all 3 of these girls first exposure to it. They LOVED it! 

 I put out bananas, strawberries, apples, angel food cake, graham crackers, pretzels, and big marshmallows. They amount of food I laid out made me think there was no way they would even put a dent in it. I was wrong. These girls packed it in. Almost everything I put out was gone by the time they were done. I hope no one threw up later. :)

After chowing on delicious treats dipped in chocolate Zoey opened her couple gifts.

 Of course the active 8 month old had to see what the heck was going on.

 It took all 4 girls to pull the ribbon off this one.

I'm so glad the party was a success and everyone had a great time.

 Hanna

 Zoey

 Raquel

 Jayden

I caught up with Noah on his field trip to the Marana Library. He didn't know I was coming and was glad I showed up. We did the whole library thing and then walked back to the park for lunch. I sat with him for lunch and then walked back to the school with the class. It was fun to tag along and it sure made Noah happy. Hopefully I have more opportunities to do things at school with my kids.

Learning about the library.

 In the reading room to have a story read to them.

 Playing on the jungle gym after lunch.

Cute. Cute. Cute.

You can see his first tooth in this one.