Our friend BriAnna invited us to a surprise party for Steffan for his birthday. It was at Boondocks which is really close to our house. We got there and quickly realized it was going to cost a lot more that what we had planned on. Since we needed to pay for our family of 5 to have 3 hour passes (Lizzie was only 3.50 because she couldn't really do anything) it ended up costing nearly $80! It was really nice to not feel so incredible stressed about it. Sean has gotten several paychecks and we are by no means swimming in funds, but it isn't the super tight budget we've had for so long that didn't really allow for unexpected things like this! We had so much fun! I spent the first part in the kiddie playground area with Lizzie and Alana while Sean did the bumper boats and some other things with Brett. Then Sean came to watch Lizzie and Alana and I went on the bumper cars. She was so excited and it was a really fun ride! We got to drive around for about ten minutes and she liked going fast around the curves!
Her new haircut fits her so well and it has been a dream to do. She lets me blow it dry and curl it under and even put a small pony tail and bow in it some days.
We had yummy pizza at Boondocks and Brett even said it tasted better than Little Caesars! Bri asked me to make a BTS cake for the party to surprise Steffan. She got me the ingredients and recipe and it turned out great. You make a devils food cake then poke it all over and pour a jar of caramel mixed with a can of sweetened condensed milk over it. Then you sprinkle on lots of heath bar bits and then cover with cool whip and chocolate sauce. I actually only had one piece of pizza and one bite of cake, I am working on some health goals right now and have been doing really well! I've been doing weight watchers and you can eat anything you want, you just have to track it. It has been a great program for me because there are tons of zero point foods (chicken, veggies, fruits, eggs) that you can fill up on and save points for 1 cupcake or 1 piece of pizza. Im about to start my third week =)
We had to leave the party at 1:45 to take the kids over to our neighbors the Himles so that Sean and I could run over to the Bluffdale Old West Days. It was an awesome carnival and I wish we would have taken our kids to play there, its definitely on the list for next year. Sean and I helped run a bean bag game for an hour and it was a lot of fun! They had some side walk chalk art on display and we were both really impressed with this one!
We went shopping at At Home to look for some home decor ideas. We bought this cool tree art thing to hang in our front hallway.
We also got these curtains which I really liked but they were too short and I knew it would bother me forever so I went back and exchanged them for a different pattern that was longer.
Alana loves watching the Hoopla Kids cooking shows on her Kindle! She loves the piping bags and has been asking me when we could do them. Last Sunday we made a flower shaped cake (Alana found the pan in the storage downstairs and REALLY wanted to make one) then Brett and Alana each got a piping bag and half the cake to decorate. We ended up cutting it pretty close to get to church on time because we got so involved in our project, but it was worth it!
Lizzie's job was to help me with the crumb coat and to taste test the frosting. Sean and I were just finishing Brett's 7th birthday video and we were commenting that it looks like all we do is laugh, bake, eat sugar, play piano, and do super fun things! I do think my kids eat A LOT of sugar, hmmm...we should work on that.
On Monday we went to Bluffdale Elementary to get the rest of Brett's registration done for school. It was pretty simple and they allowed us to walk through the school. They do the same leadership program as Spring Lane and the same art program so he felt really happy to see familiar things.
After the registration we went to the library to pick up the otomatone instrument that Brett one from the summer reading raffle. Its a funny little electronic instrument and has been a huge hit around here. He has done a great job at sharing with his sisters!
On Tuesday I invited two of my college roommates over. I haven't seen Lili in 10 years although we have kept in touch on social media. She is an artist and gave Alana and all the kids an art lesson. Both Megan and Lili are super into sewing and it was fun to hear them talk about all the clothes they have made for their kids. All 9! of our kids got along great and played great for 4 hours while we talked and caught up. It was really wonderful to talk with these women about what its like to have 3 kids and the difficulties of anxiety and depression as a mom and especially post partum. It was nice to be with these sisters who are in the same place in life as me. I remember loving my roommates in college and feeling so blessed to have them, and I was reminded why on Tuesday. We are already planning to get together again very soon and Megan and Lili convinced me to come to their next sewing night.
Brett decided he wanted to sew a pillow, like wanted to learn to hand sew. I got out some scraps of fabric and we made some pillows. Alana and Lizzie of course wanted to get in on the craft. They made some fun pillows and loved stuffing them.
On Wednesday we went to Alana's preschool open house. She got to meet her 2 teachers and show Brett her classroom. We learned about pick up and drop off and paid tuition. Her teachers will be Miss Larissa and Miss Sarah. She is really excited to go to school! I'm super excited for her! She is growing up too fast. I think academically she is ready for Kindergarten this year, but I'm happy she has one more year of preschool! I'm not ready for her to go to school every day yet!
I found this console table at Costco when I was there by myself of Thursday. I love Sean having a day off in the week. We each went to the Temple separately and then I went to Ashley Furniture to browse and Costco. I found this table and texted Sean a Picture. He really liked it so I decided to buy it. I had to figure out how to get someone to help me buy the furniture and then one of the loaders helped me stuff all the stuff aside in my car so we could lay it down in the back. It was heavy and huge to transport since it was already assembled, but it was really nice to have it already assembled.
On Friday, Alana had her friend Elsie over and at first Brett had a hard time knowing how to fit in. The girls all went down to play and Brett and I stuffed his pinata and then made his birthday cupcakes. It was really fun to just bake with him! It's been a long time since we've done that. After we baked and had lunch all the kids started playing together. They had a great time doing magic tricks for each other in the loft and then making beds out of pillows and blankets in the girls bedroom.
On Friday night we did some family clean up to help prepare for the birthday party, had quick baths, and then watched some zootopia.
On Saturday morning I had a photoshoot with a family up in Memory Grove. I drove up there and Sean and the kids decorated the cupcakes and helped with a move in. When I got back we had lunch, decorated for the party, and Sean made a last minute pin the tail on Pokemon game.
I tried to keep the guest list pretty small this time. Last year it got way too big and overwhelming for Brett. He was struggling a lot more with anxiety last year, but I wanted him to really enjoy the party. We started the party with coloring paper plates into poke balls.
Here is Sean's Pikachu!
We did a little scavenger hunt for pokemon characters and each kid got a toy pokeball to keep, then we went downstairs to whack the pokeball pinata. It was the most solid pinata ever. We went through all the kids twice and then Sean basically had to break it open. It was a ton of fun though!
We opened presents next and Brett's friends were very generous. They gave him lots of Pokemon stuff and a lego dragon and lego fire station. Papa and Mimi came to and gave him a super cool crystal growing kit and a millenium falcon model to build.
We had cupcakes and ice cream next and then all the kids went off to play. Most of them went to the basement and Brett looked at his Pokemon cards, then went and joined the kids. It was a really fun party. The kids all started heading home and Kaden and Lexi stayed. Neil and Rebecca went to look at furniture while Sean, Mom and Dad P, and me listened to a recording of Mom P's piano duet she has been working so hard on. It was beautiful! I am so amazed with her talent! Then Sean played piano for a bit and I did some sewing. The Saffrons arrived and we had chili and hot dogs around 5. Brett got out his lego Dragon after Kaden had to leave and had a fantastic time focusing on it and putting it together. It amazes me how great he is at following directions!
Brett and Papa started his crystal project yesterday, but today Sean and Brett actually started the crystals growing! What a fun science project!
Sean finished this amazing Christmas stocking which he is giving to Xander. It turned out so beautifully and I am amazed at Sean's generosity in giving it away.
These 3 have been playing really well lately (don't get me wrong they fight a lot too). They are so funny and they constantly crack me up!
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