Our big girl on her first day of Pre-K, holding a photo of her on the first day of Preschool last year. I didn't think she had grown THAT much until I looked at the first photo and realized she was shorter than the doorknob. Now she's to the deadbolt!
One major thing that happened was Amelia turning 4! It's hard to believe that four years has already gone by so quickly, and that next fall our "little baby girl" will be starting kindergarten. You don't realize how quickly time goes by until you have children, and you watch them grow up in a blink of an eye. Amelia was very specific when I asked her what type of party she wanted this year, and as i'm sure all little girls have been requesting she asked for a "Frozen" one. I absolutely adore this movie and had so many fun ideas (thanks pinterest) to what we could do. We decided to have the party at our local park, which made for lots of entertainment for the kids. There is a bunch of different playgrounds as well as a small water park. And seeing as how August tends to be pretty warm around here, the water park was a big hit.
One of the biggest hits of the party was the arrival of Elsa herself! Amelia got super shy when she first saw her, but slowly warmed up after a little bit. Elsa sang along with the kids and even made every child their own balloon animal. She was worth every penny, especially seeing how excited all the kids got to see her. She even did a "coronation" ceremony where Amelia got a special necklace and tiara to commemorate her big day, and Elsa also gave my dad a special necklace because his birthday was also that day!
(Some of the party decorations that me and my bestie Marie set up)
The coronation for my dad!
What a ham my chunky little boy is
And this photo because it makes me laugh every time I see it.
Overall ever second of prep work and every penny spent was worth it. And little miss is already requesting to have a Cinderella themed birthday next year so I will obviously have to get to work on that.
In other news, the husband has been spending a lot of his time busy at work and I have spent most of my time chasing after both munchkins. Amelia is still in preschool 3 days a week so I try to use the time she's there to get other things done (aka going grocery shopping with only 1 child.) This has gotten remarkably more difficult lately as Ben has all of a sudden decided that he despises going in to any and every store we need to. We have been experiencing a lot of screaming and breakdowns in public, and it makes everyday tasks that should normal be pretty easy turn into a big disaster. I'm really hoping and praying it's just a phase he is going through, but in the meantime we are just trying to work through the tears and be productive.
We have also been planning for some upcoming vacations that are much needed and that we are all desperately looking forward to. Next week we will be taking a weekend trip to Yosemite, which I am really excited about because I've never actually been there. I have heard that the area is gorgeous and that there is lots to see around the area. The Luciano's are supposed to be coming with us too, so that will make it much more fun having other people to enjoy it with! =)
Next month we also have a trip planned to visit Honolulu for a week! This will be Ben's first time on an airplane so I'm hoping that everything goes smoothly. In case it doesn't, I think i'm going to pack lots of earplugs for our fellow passengers. My sister in law is also going with us which will be nice because she has also offered to watch the kids so the husband and I can do some stuff alone. That's a rare thing these days so I could for sure use some date nights (and I think he would agree.) We have a couple different things planned for the two of us to do, as well as some stuff for the whole group to do. I may even get to cross off a few of my bucket list items ;) Now to just pray that every one is happy and healthy for the whole trip!
Besides the vacations, we have a whole lot of other busy-ness coming up (as i'm sure every one else does this time of year.) The next few months will be filled with lots of fun holiday activities, good food, family togetherness time, lots of laughs and fun times, and much more. The end of the year is always the busiest but I love every second of it.
