Elizabeth is Baptized

Yesterday Elizabeth had the opportunity to be baptized.  We are so proud of her to choice to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Family started arriving Friday night, in the form of Uncle Michael, and cousins Simon, Megan, and Amy.  Everyone else came Saturday- Rick and Kim, Caitlin, Brynne, Curt, and Blair came first.  Then Janelle, Jeff, Alex, Claire, Grandma Nissen, and Nana.  Then my cousin Michael, and his wife Heidi and their kids came.

We had a luncheon with everyone at our house, followed by a trip to the church.  Once there, we realized 1) we had no keys to the church, and 2) we forgot Elizabeth's polyester jumpsuit.  And then we found out the missionaries forgot the programs, once they finally showed up.  Ryan had had to "break in" to the font to turn off the water.  (Something he had figured out when he was in the bishopric.)  The entire bishopric was either out of town or working, so we had High Priest Group Leader Gary Martin fill in.  It was shaping up to be a memorable day.  

But, things worked out, and Elizabeth was baptized and confirmed by her father.  The witnesses were the two Michaels (Ryan's brother and my cousin), and those in the circle for the confirmation were Ryan, Grandpa K, the two Michaels, Curt, Gary Martin and Bruce Ricks.  Bruce Ricks and Grandpa gave the talks.

Look at how pretty and grown up Elizabeth looks.

After the baptism, we headed all headed back to our house for dessert.  

Grandpa showed the girls how to set mouse traps:

 Sometimes I feel like our family get-togethers are a little different than other families..... :)

Then Ryan barbecued hot dogs before everyone left again.  Followed by more chatting.

Little Miss Claire has certainly grown up since I last saw her.  She's a cutie patootie, and let me hold her for a bit.

Michael and Blair decided they would stay the night.  We enjoyed getting to visit with them.

Harry Potter Party, part duex

The party started after school Friday afternoon.  (We'd had to reschedule this party 2 or 3 times due to other birthday parties we were invited to.  I just wasn't fast enough getting the invites out.  Who knew a week was too slow?)  I got a picture of the two birthday girls in the glaring sun.  Emma really got into it, and put on her Hermione costume.  

 We had coloring pages and a Who's Who game while we waited for our guests to all arrive.

 Then we played Pin the Scar on Harry.

 It was funny to see the lightening scars all over Harry's face at the end.

Then we had the kids make up their personal pizzas.  

While the pizzas baked, we had the kids pick their wands, and turned them all loose with a list of spells from the series.  Thank goodness the wands were fake, because the spells were flying in every direction.  There was one condition- no Unforgivable Curses. 

 The kids even went after our chickens.

Then it was dinner time.  I even peeled off the labels of the bottles of soda and replaced them with appropriate Harry Potter-esque printables.

 Then our Golden Snitch cupcakes!

 Presents.

I made this sign, but our guests weren't as excited as my family to pose a la Sirius Black.

 Ryan got a little too into it.  Horrible Mullet Wig made an appearance.

The kids played Spells for a long time after dinner.  The Lumos and Nox spells were used a lot on all of the lights. When they got tired of that, we turned on a Harry Potter movie until parents arrived.

To see the invitations and decorations, click here.

Harry Potter Party

Emma and Elizabeth wanted a Harry Potter birthday party this year.  I spent some time looking online for ideas, and found tons.  There are many talented party planners out there, but I think I pulled off one that made the kids happy on a MUCH smaller scale.

First were the invitations:

Then I made wands out of cake pop sticks, hot glue and brown acrylic paint, all of which I had already:

 (They turned out super cool.  Who knew you could do that with hot glue?  Thanks, Pinterest!)

Then I used my Silhouette to make some vinyl lettering for the bathroom.  This was mostly for my own amusement.

I thought I was so funny that I took a picture with my phone and uploaded it to facebook to share.  You definitely have to be a Harry Potter fan to understand.  (The kids have shared my fun, and announce to the world that they are visiting the Ministry of Magic every time they go in there.)

Here is the sign to go with the birthday invites- Welcome to Platform 9 3/4.

Theses are not actually Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans.  For one, I'm too cheap to get them, and two, who wants the disgusting kinds?  These are jelly beans from the bulk section at the grocery store.  I also put in a "Golden Snitch" white chocolate truffle in the party favor bags.

These are the Golden Snitch cupcakes I made.  They were not quite what I pictured, but they sure tasted good.
To read about the rest of the party, click here

More About Eggs

We thought it would be fun to do a science experiment with the kids.  We dropped an egg in a glass of vinegar.

 And the next day, we could do this:

 The shell was gone.

 Ryan got out a flashlight, and showed the kids the different parts of the egg, and how the yolk was attached to the membrane with little "strings."

Chicken Farmers

I'm amazed at the difference in size and colors when we go pick up our eggs.

Elizabeth Turns 8

Elizabeth bounced out of bed this morning, just as excited as could be.  Today is the day she turns 8 years old!  She had her presents opened by 8:15 am, which was very considerate.  I had her cake in the oven by 8:30, and we were all at church on time.

 (Mom got smart this time around.  I bought a gift to share with all the sisters, so we would have less jealousy.  So all the girls got matching My Little Pony plastic cups.  It made a world of difference.)

 She got a set of scriptures.

 And a white dress for her baptism.

 Elizabeth wanted pizza for her birthday dinner.  I bought one yesterday at Papa Murphys.

 She also wanted a chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting.

 Elizabeth had many well-wishers call today.

Happy birthday Elizabeth.  Your enthusiasm for life is amazing.  You are funny, and smart, and we love you so much.

Wind Damage

Spring time brings huge wind storms around here.  One of our trees (mostly) lost a limb, but it would not come down.  It hung on there, dragging on the ground.  After a few days of waiting, and parking not next to the house (lest we get smashed or blocked in), Ryan decided something must be done.

He grabbed a gate that was laying around, flipped it around and used it as the tall ladder we don't have.

I tried to hold it steady.  Emma thought she'd watch and take pictures, in case we both got pinned and maimed.

Ryan sawed the branch until it was no longer attached.  Then he made a noose with wire, tied it to the branch, and then pulled that stubborn branch out of the tree.

(You can see Ryan in the tree.  He was up pretty far.)

Now we have a giant pile of branch pieces waiting to become a bonfire.

2nd Grade Concert

The second and third grades had their annual concert/play called, "It's a Jungle Out There."  Elizabeth was a hyena and was one of a handful of kids who had a line.

 She remembered her line, and said it clearly.  Unlike another little boy who made it halfway through his line, apparently messed up, and blew a raspberry into their microphone.  (Which made everyone laugh...)  Elizabeth was a very animated singer.  She's so fun to watch.