We got Lucy a Strider . . .

and my only regret is that we didn't get her one sooner.

She loves her "two-wheeler"

She even took it off some pretty sweet jumps

I'm pretty sure she loves it

Lucy is FIVE!!!

Has it really been five years since this little piece of heaven entered our lives? What an incredible time we have had. I got a bit emotional when I read the label on the bike we got her that said "up to age 5". My baby is entering the world of being a girl, no longer a toddler or baby. Wow! She is so grown-up and such a great helper. Heavenly Father knew what He was doing sending her here first. She teaches David and is so patient with him. She does everything she can for Vivian. And they both adore her. We love our sweet Lucy Goose. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Lucy's 5th Birthday Party in The Emerald City

Our house was transformed into The Emerald City for an hour as we celebrated Lucy's 5th birthday with 12 little munchkins. The Tin Man was there to greet everyone. 

We favored the party goers with rainbow cupcakes (Lucy's favorite part of the whole party she told me), lollipops from The Lollipop Guild and Glenda wands.

They also got these darling Wizard capes that my mom made. Such a hit! And I loved watching all these little munchkins running around my house with matching capes on.

Lucy was thrilled to use her Wizard of Oz dolls as decorations for her party.

We had everyone dance to "One Short Day (in The Emerald City)" from Wicked. It was so fun to see these adorable girls just dance for all they were worth as the boys just stood by each other not knowing what to do.

Then we played "Wizard May I" (like Mother May I) and . . .

It was a HUGE hit. These kids just giggled and screamed as they played. I loved it!

Then the kids took turns hiding a ruby slipper while someone closed their eyes. Then they would help their friend find the slipper by saying if they were hot or cold. Again, the kids loved it. I just laughed as I watched their enthusiasm.

Pin the heart on the tin man was a lot of fun too. I was amazed at how good they were at it!

We used these props for our photo booth. Tiara for Glenda, witches hat for Alphaba, funnel & ax for the tin man, fur for the lion and straw hat for the scarecrow.

Zander as the lion.

Leo as the tin man

Then everyone got to decorate their Glenda wand.

And make rainbows out of pipe cleaners and pony beads. 

Eliza & Norah drove straight through from being in Oregon to make it in time for the party. We were so happy to see them!

And of course we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes.

I dyed the cake batter different colors so the cake would be rainbow as well. In the end I think it was a success.

Happy Birthday to the little lady who made me a Mom. I love opportunities to celebrate your life!

Halloween Night

It was pretty crazy, but we did it all as a family. As we were taking our kids trick-or-treating I paused to take in the scene of all these kids and parents walking from door to door in their varied costumes and I said to Marc, "This really is a weird tradition. But, I like it!"

Haloween Carnival

Marc's work had a Halloween Carnival complete with dinner, cotton candy and a ton of little carnival games for the kids to win little prizes at. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but I think this one of Vivian is about all you need to see the night was a success! I was so surprised how long she wore them. She loved them. It cracked me up.

 

Halloween Party at Grandma's

Grandma Kay had a Halloween Party for the cousins. She made mummy hot dogs and mouths made from apple slices, peanut butter and marshmallows.

Lucy loved that she got to bring a friend with her to the party. I thought these ladies did an awesome job on their pumpkins!

Here is the creation Marc and Vivian made with their pumpkin. She sure adores her Daddy.

David with his cousin. These two are only three months apart.

Sweet little Jane loves her Momma.

Aunt Becky made this fun game where the kids tried to pin a face on the pumpkin while blindfolded. Lucy thought it was great.

Trick-or-treating Downtown

I never thought I'd be a "local" when it came to living in Provo, but after being here for more than 15 years I must say that I truly love MY city! The businesses downtown invite the children to come trick-or-treating each year on Halloween. I braved going while Marc was at work and we had a blast.

Something I loved the most; the biggest fear I had for my children was the busy road, not the many other things I could fear in several other downtown areas. Provo, I may have come kicking and screaming, but I am grateful and filled with joy to call you home.

Halloween 2012

For Halloween we had a lovely scarecrow

A darling Dorothy

And a wonderful Wizard!

There's no place like home!

David's Preschool Halloween Party

Two happy witches with one great wizard

The whole crew (some younger siblings are included and we split the group between 3 homes each week)

David enjoying his pumpkin cookie with his buddy. After they decorated cookies, they did a bean bag toss, had stories about Halloween read to them, colored a Halloween picture and then trick-or-treated to all the Moms. It was very fun.

And what is Vivian doing blending in with the big kids???