Designing a carnival

I'm glad that everyone (especially Solana) had so much fun, because this party was so fun to design!!! I was in creative heaven and had a blast putting it all together. The best part is it was done practically free. 

This is how it went down: So I have had these unfinished fabric banners hiding out in the closet for a while now, and I was debating on what to do for her party, then I was talking to my mom when I said, "What could I do that I could use my banners?" "A carnival has banners," said the best Mom ever!  From there the party just came together almost perfectly. I finished the banners (someone from my church GAVE me her un-used sewing machine!) and then I made the bean bags, finished a mini banner, made her cake from scratch, printed off some free carnival printables, and ta-da! Most of you know I am NOT crafty, so I was pretty proud of myself for putting this all together, and on a student budget, which usually equals zero. Buy hey, it was meant to be and it was one the funnest days! And the decorations can be used for any party for a very long time. I officially love being crafty....well for now.

Oh how we love parties. Adam said if he decides to drop out of law school we can go into an event planning business together. Not that it wouldn't work, but I'm hoping he sticks to law. 

One year older, and wiser too...

Solana's birthday was a blast! And turning 2 was a lot of fun for all of us. She was really excited about her party, and she was very excited about her friends coming over.  And she actually understood how to open presents (and finding them too, I had to keep re-hiding them all over the house).  It was one of the most fun days we've had as a family.
So we started the rainy morning by taking her to CW.  We put on the overalls so that she could get as dirty as she wanted. This girl loves to be outside as much as possible, and the more she can play with rocks, sand, dirt or whatever she is content. So she ran all over, and got plenty wet, and didn't want to go home for a nap.

Okay, side story:

Waking this girl up from her naps is a glimpse into her teenage future. She usually rolls over, puts her blanket back on and ignores me trying to get her up. I then will open the blinds and have to bribe her to get up. She is a good 3 hour sleeper, and sleeps 11 hours at night. But sometimes I have to wake her up early and boy, it's a chore, but it also makes me laugh. Anyway, getting her up before her party was just like that.

But once the party started this girl was all about fun. We threw her a vintage carnival party, and played classic games like bean bag toss, clothespin drop, and pin the tail on the donkey.  Then we had about 80 balloons for the kids to play with. She had so much fun, and all the kids played so well with each other.

Let the climbing begin...

(We have already decided to start her in gymnastics in the fall)

She is a pretty big mimicker of daddy, so he always tries to be on our his behavior, but you just never know what she'll pick up. 

High 5 dad!

Waiting for her party to start!

Getting the party started.

                     Jamie provided the music                     A very intense game of pin the tail on the donkey :)

Cute little friends Layla and Solana

Ashley is having her baby boy in September, so for now she is cuddling up with Ezra, Sarah's new 2 week old. 

                       Jamie and Temma                                                        Tracy and Abigail           

Who needs manners on her birthday! Solana apparently got tired of waiting for me to help her eat, so she helped herself. It was pretty hilarious! 

The clothes pin fishing drop was so much fun, and they all won these glasses. This was the best picture I could get, and it took us all a while to get them to this spot. Herding wild animals is never easy.

Happy Birthday to our  big 2 year old!

Solana turns 2!!!

Yesterday little Solana turned 2!! We just can't believe how fast time is going, and how she changes everyday.  So a couple of weeks ago, we went down to CW for an afternoon photo shoot. The weather was perfect, and she even stayed pretty clean (which is a miracle!) She loves Colonial Williamsburg because she can run wild and there are no cars, just horses and carriages to watch out for. So it's a great place to be free! 

What is this little 2 year old up to?

Favorite thing to do: Jump, jump and more jumping, and if she can climb and jump then she is perfectly happy. 

Favorite show: Wonder Pets, Dora, and Sesame Street, and watching basketball with Daddy!

Favorite song: I want you back by The Jackson 5 (it's on constant repeat in the car! We have no idea how it became her favorite.)

Favorite food: Spinach, green beans, mac & cheese, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, salsa, and pizza. She will eat just about anything, except avocados, our favorite! 

Favorite place: The beach, or park, she asks me if we can go to both everyday. 

Favorite toys: dolls, dolls, dolls, and especially her Elmo doll. And they all have to be wearing whatever she is wearing and have shoes on. 

She loves reading books, watching movies of herself on my phone, cuddling, organizing, playing pretend, dancing, playing in the water, and doing just about anything that involves high energy action. She is a daredevil no fear daughter, and we pray for her safety daily, literally!

Farewell Drapers!

Our good friends moved to San Antonio! We did not want them to go - they weren't supposed to leave for a couple more years, but he got a law job offer that he couldn't refuse.  So they transferred to Texas. At least it's to a place we will visit :) But we are still so sad. So to make them feel bad about leaving, we threw them a guilt party...lol! Actually, it was a really great going away party! We had so much fun, and were glad to get all the friends together before they left. I forgot to take pictures until the end, when people were leaving and the house was trashed.  But here are some quick ones. 

Solana decided to give everyone a show in the middle of the party.  She was sticking out her tongue while putting her shirt over her face, seriously this girlfriend of mine is silly!

The Lukes! Both of our husbands, the "Adams" (my Adam and Adam Luke) are here for law school and business school, so Sarah and I are in it for the long haul, 3 MORE years!

If you haven't seen some pregnant ladies lately, head on over to Williamsburg. These were 3 of the 6 pregnant ladies at the party that night! And 4 of them are having boys! Still waiting on the other 2...

Future college roommates: Sydney, Abigail, and Solana. And they will still be all trying to share a car then too. 

The Drapers are our twin family. Why you ask? 

Sabrina and Adam are both from Texas. Sydney and Solana both have Grace as a middle name. Dustin and Adam both graduated from the BYU Honors Program and in humanities. Dustin and Adam approached law school the exact same way, and ended up with the exact same GPA! Sabrina and I both served missions, and she served in southern California where I'm from. And they were married the day after we were, and Sydney's birthday is the day after Adam's. It's all random and fun stuff, but our personalities were so similar, and we just loved getting to know them here.

 But since they are moving to where we came from, we know we will see them soon.  Love you twin family!!