Gabe, Kennedy, Kira, Allison, and Emma came.

We played a rousing game of pin-the-tail-on-the-unicorn.

We made dirt and worms.

We painted sun catchers.

And ate cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Olivia. Number six is a special one.

It’s birthday time for you . . .

Today was baby Sunshine’s big birthday. Olivia was so excited for her big day. She’d been counting down all week. The other day she told me she was a little scared to be six. But this morning she brilliantly observed that it turned out being six wasn’t too bad – it felt pretty much the same as being five.

For breakfast we had pancakes, a special treat from our usual waffle fare, with chocolate chips and whipped cream made into smiley faces. We relaxed and spent the day playing. This afternoon I took O for a special treat at the Sweet Tooth Fairy and then off to choose her own ice cream, something she’s been looking forward to since Calvin’s birthday.

Then home for a dinner of her very own choice – Macaroni and Cheese! Cake and ice cream and gifts and then off to the movies to see Cars 2.

Wyatt takes O and Cal to movies on a fairly regular basis – at least once every couple months. But I have not been to the movies with the kids since before Everett was born.  They were enchanted, and the spell held through the entire movie for Olivia. Calvin and Everett each lost attention at some point though, so I spent part of the movie walking up and down the aisle and chasing kids out by the refreshment stands. It was worth it though for the first vision of my little lovelies sitting on the booster seats when we first arrived, their faces lit up by the glow of the screen, their eyes big as saucers as they watched the beginning of the movie!

After the movies it was home again and off to bed, baby ducks. Of course, as we were driving out of the neighborhood, on our way to the movie, Olivia was talking about her next birthday party – you know, the friend birthday party. Wyatt and I giggled – mostly – about the expectation we have established with our kids: immediate family celebration, extended family celebration, neighborhood celebration, friend celebration, at our house, birthdays last a long time. And Olivia is ready to soak up every ounce of the attention.

Photo courtesy of Rick Smith

It was my birthday – and while the official party line is that having a birthday over Thanksgiving weekend sucks, this one was pretty sweet.

Wyatt threw me a surprise party. Some of my favorite peeps came.

It was fun to chew the fat, eat yummy costco sheet cake, and try to avoid getting walloped by the wrestling match going on between the Engh boys and anyone brave enough to jump in . . .

Awesome birthday.

What did I get?

An underwater point and shoot camera – it’s been on my list for a couple years, so I was pretty excited. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, as we were about to depart into the wilderness for a sojourn to the promised land – aka, DISNEYLAND . . . but more to come on that later

Thank you everyone for your happy birthday wishes – it was.

For his birthday I made him two cakes – one for eating, and one for SMASHING!

We had a little party for him, and enjoyed the sweetness that is our littlest guy.

Happy Birthday Everett, I LOVE YOU!