Rhaegan's 6!

I can't believe this day is actually here. Today my litttle girl turned six! I honestly remember bringing her home from the hospital, all 6 lbs of her. She has been such an amazing blessing in our lives. I am so proud and honored to be her mom. Her birthday actually started yesterday on the 9th. We decided to do all the family gifts then because her party was going to be today and we wanted to spread out the gift opening. So Friday morning she opened up some gifts from Aunts & Uncles, Grandparents and us.

I'm not sure why Marlee decided to be sleeping in the picture

Rhaegan was so excited as she opened each and every present. Her face just sparkled as she discovered what was underneath the wrapping paper.

Of course books are always a safe buy for Rhaegan and thanks to Auntie Krista and Uncle Josh and Grandma and Papa Cupps she got a good amount of them.

This Ariel Jewelry box was also a huge hit. Anything princess that sings is going to be a keeper.

Then this morning we had a birthday breakfast of orange rolls and scrambled eggs, one of her favorites.

My favorite part of the birthdays is the cake. I love decorating cakes, cookies, etc. Then her birthday party began. She had been asking for about 2 weeks if it today was the day. Luckily my answer was yes today.

All her birthday guests

Patiently waiting for the pinata

And of course pizza was served! The party was a Panda party with the inspiration coming from Rhaegan's stuffed panda bear. With a panda party the color scheme is a little boring; black and white. So I added a little hot pink to make it a little more girly. Everything turned out great and Rhaegan was so excited to share her birthday with her best friends and family. We love you, Rhaegan!

Christmas Party

Our ward Christmas party turned out to be quite enjoyable. I was asked to be in charge of the kid area which luckily I had helped with in our ward back in Utah. I had a few ideas so it wasn't too bad. I got foam ornament kits for the kids make their own ornaments, had a table with Christmas coloring pages and crayons and of course I movie playing in the corner. It was a big hit.

Rhaegan and Marlee were both great helpers and loved teaching the kids how to make the ornaments. 

The movie kept the attention of so many kids it was amazing. 

The food was yummy and the entertainment was great. Shae was asked to participate in the 12 Days of Christmas skit so of course I signed him up to be the 10 Lords a Leaping. He had to leap across the stage like a ballerina. It was so funny. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Our Thanksgiving was welcomed with a case of Croup. Marlee woke up during the night with this cough that sounded like I was sleeping next to a huge seal. She couldn't breathe very well and was very warm. Our kids have never had Croup before so I wasn't sure what to do or even what was really wrong. Of course it had to be Thanksgiving morning when her doctors office was closed. So at about 7am we took her to the E.R. They knew right off what it was, gave her a dose of Dexamethasone (steroid) and off we went. She slept a lot that day and didn't eat anything but she was still typical Marlee.

Marlee even wanted to help by setting the table.  

Then it was back to the couch where her binkie and blanket were waiting for her. 

Rhaegan was worried about her all day. She helped her whenever she needed something which was great for all of us adults since we were spending a good portion of the day cooking. We had great food and delicious desserts so our Thanksgiving turned out just fine.

Snow?!

During our quick trip to Utah last weekend we apparently discovered a time machine, one which took us from Fall to Winter in the blink of an eye. We went to bed Friday night with not a cloud in the sky. It had been in the high 50's all day and even though the weather people were anticipating snow, I was not on board with the idea. Well, I was obviously wrong. This is what we woke up to.

Of course we hadn't packed for snow. We were only going to be in Utah for a few days so I really didn't pack much at all. Rhaegan insisted she go out and play in the snow at 7am Saturday morning so pj's were the only option we had. 

The playing lasted about 10 minutes then the ice cold ankles and hands were too much for little Marlee so we all decided to come inside for some hot cocoa (one part of Winter I love). It was fun to see snow again. I do love the look of it early in the morning before the sun comes all the way up. I am, however, not a fan of the cold weather. Hopefully Shae will be able to do all the sledding this year. 

Fall Part 2

The joys of Fall continue...

Fall isn't complete until you've had a ride on Farmer Brown's wagon. The girls got to go to his house, pick out about 10 pumpkins and then ride back to the house on his little orange wagon. What more could you ask for?

The girls couldn't pick just one pumpkin so they choose 3 each. 

Rhaegan and Grandma getting ready to leave for the Wizard of Oz play in Nampa. Rhaegan loved it!!! Thanks, Grandma! 

It was then off to our ward's Trunk or Treat night. If you can see Marlee's eyes in this picture and know her personally, what do you think she's thinking? It's scary to think about. 

All of these activities took place on Saturday. Sunday was also filled with Halloween festivities and tomorrow is Trick o Treating....more pictures to come!

Pumpkin Patch

Rhaegan had her first kindergarten field trip last week to one of the local pumpkin patches. She really wanted me to go so I signed up to be a chaperon. It was a lot of fun. It had been warm almost everyday before the field trip so I wasn't prepared for the 40 degree morning we had on the day of the field trip. I just had Rhaegan and her "buddy" run a round a lot to keep warm.

This slide was a favorite amongst all the kindergartners. There was always a line to go down it.

 This spiderweb was so amazing. Rhaegan had a great time pretending to be a spider catching a fly.

 Of course at any pumpkin patch there has to be an animal barrel train.

 I have a picture just like this one from one of my field trips as a little girl. I had to capture the moment.

Luckily they had a mini corn maze because I was a little nervous to let a bunch of five year olds run wild through the big one.

It was a great field trip. Of course Rhaegan's favorite part was riding the bus to and from the patch. Oh the things kids find fun.

Fall

Fall is here and we are loving it! I decided to have the girls make some leaf collages to get them into the Fall spirit. Most of the trees around the yard haven't lost their leaves yet so we really had to hunt. Marlee didn't really understand the leaf collecting concept but hard a good time anyway.

Marlee thought these yellow leaves were the best 

 Rhaegan of course loves any type of project or activity so she was super excited and was trying to find as many different colors as possible.