Chloe's Birthday Pics!!!

I was so excited. We had only ordered Chloe's pictures on Wednesday and they said it would be two weeks before they came in. Then, right before her party, they called and said they were ready! They turned out awesome!! Chloe's suffering in the cold was not in vain! How beautiful is my little girl?

And the celebration continues.....

For birthdays, we like to celebrate big in our family! It's a chance for family and friends to get together and have fun. I guess I also struggle with the fact that Chloe's birthday is so close to Christmas. I want her to have a very distinct day and feel like the special girl that she is. Chloe had her friend/family birthday party today and it was so much fun! This is the only time I wish that I had a huge house with a formal dining room that seats twenty, but everyone packed in and didn't seem to mind sitting on the floor to eat. Corey's mom, grandma, aunt, uncle, sister, brother-in-law, and our two nieces and two nephews came from his side of the family. My dad, sister, aunt, uncle, and my dad's first cousin and her husband came from my side for the festivities. Tracy, Mike, Gavin, Maggie and Molly also joined in on the fun! (We consider you guys family too--thanks so much for coming!)

And, yes, I still have the Christmas decorations up. I usually leave them up until after Chloe's birthday party. (Although one year I recall a picture of Taya when she was little in front of the Christmas tree the middle of February. EEK!) Chloe had a cake with a dancer on that was pink and green so we had the red and green of Christmas with a little pink thrown in. Seemed to work though! Chloe got so many nice, thoughtful gifts. I swear it takes me a month to rearrange the house to fit in all the x-mas and birthday presents from December and January. The weather was gorgeous in the high 30's. Not bad for the middle of January!!! The only snafu of the evening was when Corey and Jason (Corey's sister's husband) were putting together a baby changing station for Chloe that Corey and I had gotten her and a piece was broken and it wouldn't go together. After a bit of frustration and several muttered comments from Corey about why I buy things that require assembly, we decided to take it back and exchange it for a new one. Luckily, I still had the receipt so that went smoothly. Our nieces, Bailey and Rylee, are spending the night and we're heading "up north" for our nephew's birthday party in the morning. Party on Wayne!! Party on Garth!! Remember Wayne's World:) Ok! You don't have to say it! I'm a nerd!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Yesterday was my baby girl's 6th birthday!!! I cannot believe that she is that old! Where does the time go? She didn't have school on her birthday (she goes to kindergarten every other day) so we enjoyed the day together. We started the morning off by taking pictures at Unique Portrait studio. We took some outdoor pictures in the snow that I absolutely can't wait to see. Yes, it was -30 degrees and yes, Chloe was only in a long-sleeved shirt and puffy vest with a hood, but she was a trooper and smiled and even held her breath so the camera wouldn't catch her breath fogging in the air. What a nice girl to suffer so her mommy can have some cool pics of her on her birthday. We then had lunch together at The Olive Garden and spent some time bumming around Barnes & Noble. We went out to supper at TGI Fridays with grandpa and Aunt Karin and then we went home and ate the birthday cake Chloe and Taya helped me make. Chloe got to open one present after much convincing that she would be able to open the rest of her presents at her friends & family B-day party on the 16th. Chloe is also excited to have a small birthday party with some of her friends from school at Space Aliens later this month. It was a really fun day!! My baby is SIX!!! Happy birthday sweetheart!

It is my nephew's birthday today. HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY KODY!

New Year's Eve at Thumper Pond

For New Years we went to a hotel/waterpark called Thumper Pond in Ottertail, MN with two friends of mine from work, Tracy and Naomi, and their families. There were 6 adults and 6 kids. It is only about 1 1/2 hour drive, although it took slightly longer on the way up because we had to detour and pick up the girls. The waterpark included a "lazy" river you could float along in an inner tube, two giant slides that were amazing, a kiddie pool, and a relaxing hot tub. Everyone had a blast playing in the water and lounging around the hotel. We spent the night there New Years Eve and New Years Day. Unfortunately, in the middle of the last night we stayed, all the kids started getting sick and throwing up. Taya and Chloe started puking around 4:00am and Tracy and Naomi's kids also starting throwing up. Turns out, half the hotel was sick. The MN Department of Health has since discovered a possible flu-like virus that lives on surfaces in many of the hotel rooms and they have been shut down for cleaning. EEK! It was a fantastic weekend, but really ended on a bad note. (Not to mention, Naomi and Bob's car wouldn't start due to the cold weather the morning we were trying to leave and they had to wait an hour or two for someone to jump their car!!) Taya and Chloe were sick the entire day Saturday and then Corey got sick on Monday and had to miss work! Luckily, I was spared, but most of the people in our party got ill. Why does my life remind me of a Chevy Chase movie? On our trip to San Diego, we got stranded in Wyoming on the way home because of a blizzard and an innocent weekend at a waterpark for New Years ended with puking children. Every time we go on vacation there is some mishap or misfortune!! Well, I don't think this will stop me from planning trips. Who knows, next time maybe nothing will go wrong?!