Happy Birthday Amelia!

Amelia turned eight years old yesterday. We are still in shock. Time is going by too fast. I can remember watching Major Payne in L&D like it was yesterday. Justin and I remember how alert and in control of her faculties Amelia was just minutes old. She is still a bright, alert, smart little soul. We enjoyed a lovely day with our birthday girl. Ella spent most of the day with us after running a 5k earlier in the morning. Justin worked on cleaning up the yard, hanging tissue poms in the tree, and keeping the kids occupied. I cleaned a bit in the kitchen and assembled party food. We had lunch at Sonic so Amelia could have her favorite cherry limeade. Only 15 minutes away from party time a large storm system blipped on the radar. After all the kids arrived we rallied their help and got most of the party stuff back inside. It was chaos. Last year only half the invited kids attended her party, this year not one person forgot. She invited 12 then added 3 more later on. I was upset because most party packs come in groups of 12, that meant spending twice as much. We managed to squeeze 18 kids into the living room. Amelia wanted to eat food first so the kids loaded up and demolished all the food, only two veggie cups were left! The girls enjoyed drinking fizzy "tea" from Justin's fancy tea set. Will, Jack, Phillip, Everett, and Justin were severely outnumbered. Outside a deluge of rain and hail pounded our town. The kids made fancy headbands or hats for a crafty activity. Justin manned a glue gun for the first time. We played pass the tea cup, a version of musical chairs, to the tune of Hard Knock Life. Amelia was completely spoiled by all the gifts she received. I got her an American Doll earlier last year on a deep, deep discount. I collected/made outfits for the next six months. Amelia named her doll Samantha, or Sammy. Sammy has quite a large collection of clothing now! Ella's gift made me cry. She made Amelia a little book with a sweet letter, along with a large pack of Reese's Cups. I told Amelia that was my favorite gift of all time. She agreed, but noted that the Reese's Cups were her favorite. Silly girl. Evelyn was in scavenging heaven! All those half-eaten food plates! She finally got to satiate her snacking tendency. The storm passed by the time the party ended. We rushed outside to find piles of hail and flooded gutters. Evelyn got soaked playing in the gutters. Ella and Katelyn stayed for a late night with us. Amelia requested Oya Grill for dinner. The girls sat alone chattering and laughing much to our amusement. At home the girls watched the new Annie movie. Phillip found Amelia asleep on the floor next her new beloved doll Sunday morning.

Before the party, we had a busy week. Thursday was the busiest day. Phillip and Everett started the day making rainbow sugar by crushing fruity pebbles with my garlic press. Then they made a soup for Jen, their pickle friend. Jen was coming over for a "playdate" aka to learn how to use a silhouette cutter. We had plans to feed the missionaries, course I forgot that we also had Amelia's piano recital at the same time. I gave the Elder's some food money and wished them well. Amelia performed very well! She was a little nervous so kept stopping and starting her songs over. She had her songs memorized. I enjoyed an evening at the church learning how to make cute wreaths.

The boys and I made cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla, to take to Amelia's class on Friday. I used the batter to make mini-cupcakes for her party the next day. Phillip's speech teacher conducted an IEP with us, his preschool teacher, and the principal. He is doing very well! We all had stories to tell about Phillip's expressive eyebrows. Justin helped us deliver the treats to Amelia's class. I enjoyed making pizza's with the kids for dinner. They were very creative with their pizza dough shapes. Amelia made three heart pizzas, Phillip made a wolf, and Everett made triangles. Seems like the rest of the week was a blur of party prep and normal living. Amelia, Evelyn and I did sneak out to take a couple photos with a row of cherry trees. I love when the trees bloom.