Strange things are happening...

2 year olds are full of surprises. I went into the bathroom and found this...

Not sure when this happened or why. Maybe she was just trying to hide the mess she made when she unrolled the roll.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Today you turn 7 years old! We love you!!

Special Guest

I went outside today to turn on the grill for dinner. I pulled off the grill cover and let out a scream as I saw a little grey blob on the side prep-table. Once the initial scare was over, I saw that it was a cute little tree frog (or a toad, we never can tell). I called the girls out for a look. Rebekah walked right up and tried to pick him up. I stopped her before it happened. Then I carefully prodded him off the prep-table because I didn't want to cook him with my chicken. He finally jumped down to the deck and landed next to the wheel of the grill. He stayed there almost the whole time I was cooking. Cute little guy.

Emma's Birthday Party

Emma wanted an American Girl doll "Tea" Party for her birthday. Here is all the food I made.

Pretzels with the girls' initials, sugar wafer cookies, individual Oreo doll cakes, doll sized doughnuts (cheerios), birthday cake, hot chocolate and apple juice. Each girl also got their own tea cup and saucer (I searched our local thrift stores and got each set for less than a dollar).

After the girls arrived we made necklaces and bracelets for the girls and their dolls.

Reagan, Emma (Rebekah), Elizabeth, Georgia, and Olivia.

The girls had a lot of fun practicing good manners while enjoying their "tea".

Happy 7th Birthday Emma! We love you!

Working on the cake

Clay took a picture of me while I was working on Emma's cake.

I thought I should tell you just how much time it takes to make a cake like this. First I spent 5 hours last week making 270 royal icing violets. Next came the actual baking and frosting of the cake (I forgot to time how long that took). Finally, I spent about 2 more hours assembling the cake, individually attaching all 270 violets to the cake. And the end result:

Yes, this is a lot of time to spend on a cake, but I wanted to. I bought a cake decorating book about 3 years ago. This cake was in the book, and the whole reason why I bought the book. I am glad I finally had the opportunity to make this cake for someone I love :)

The Princess rides again..

I just thought Rebekah looked too cute riding her tricycle with a tiara right down over her eyes.

Fashion Designer

Rebekah has created her own fashion line of sleepwear...

Actually, this is what happens when your 2 year old wakes up before anyone else in the house, and you are too tired to do anything about it. She found my sharp kitchen shears and started cutting. I glad she didn't actually cut herself! Oh, and the short are optional. She wasn't wearing them when we found her, but I put them on for the picture. :)