Five.

Here is my happy five-year-old just before her dad takes her away to run an errand while the surprise party guests gather.  Presley was so excited for her "surprise" party that she could hardly stand it--lunch with grandma, helping to decorate and posing for pictures were still not enough to fill the time until her party.

This is the last year she will be able to answer the question, "How old are you?" , with one hand.

Acting goofy with the cake.

Up on the ladder playing with the pom-pom flowers.

Next came the "SURPRISE" !  I am going to have to tease Presley when she is older about being so surprised at the surprise party she planned for herself.  I wasn't quite prepared and this is the best shot I could get of Presley when we all yelled surprise.

Presley ran around giving everyone a big hug--she was truly surprised and so excited.

Surprise!  A gift hidden behind the curtains--a scooter!

Beautiful cousin Kari getting loves from Stella (who did amazingly well with all the attention focused on the birthday girl).

One last shot before we dig into it!

Of course the cake was too big, but it tasted so good I am sure we will finish it off.  Tip : when you take the cakes out of the oven, IMMEDIATELY wrap them up tightly in plastic wrap, and let them cool/freeze this way.  It makes for a moist, dense cake.

Presents and singing with cake and ice cream finished up the big night. It was so fun to have all the family around to wish Presley a happy fifth birthday--thank you all for coming.  Added bonus, we have fresh flowers around the house for the coming week!

Garden Party Preparation.

This year Presley picked a flower themed party and she wants it to be a SURPRISE (funny, huh?).  So, my sister instructed me on the making of a rose cake and we got lots of fresh flowers and paper pom-pom flowers for decoration.  Too bad the weather forecast is calling for SNOW!

Here is what it took to make the cake:

Top tiers--chocolate and vanilla cake with chocolate cream filling--crumb coated.

Stored in the freezer until I put the tiers together and frost with roses--pink of course.

Supports in place--now to put them into place.

Stable but sooooo heavy--I bet it weighs at least 20 pounds (with out the roses!).

Ta-da!

Now for decorations and the surprise part of this party--besides everyone shouting "surprise" we have fun decorations and a game to play.

Pom-pom flowers.

Overhaul.

New look, new software, new camera knowledge (new lens soon, I hope) . . . I am behind but will be filling in the blanks soon. Here are the girls modeling for my photo class assignments.

Soft window light, manual settings, no flash--in the ballet studio, ready for class.

Road Trip.

A much needed trip out of our snowy, cold state!  We didn't quite make it as far as we had originally intended (California) but instead made a stop in Southern Utah to visit my sister Becka and her family for a day, and then on to Las Vegas for a short stay.

The girls didn't quite know what to make of Vegas.  Presley met Elvis and Captain Jack, but the highlight of the trip for the girls was a trip to M&M World to see the 3-D movie and get their very own bag of over-priced, but color specific M&M's.  Presley picked plain, Stella likes peanut butter, and my current favorites are the pretzel.


Posing with one of the life-size M&M's.

Watching the water show at the Bellagio.

Stella trying out water-wings for the first time.

Presley enjoying the waterfalls at the pool--the water is her favorite place to be.

Chinese New Year gardens at Bellagio.  Year of the Rabbit.

We stayed at the MGM and took several walks up and down the strip.  It was a bit colder than I had hoped but at least the sun was out!  I think we did all the "kid" things you can do in Las Vegas--swimming, Serendipity 3, water shows and gardens at Bellagio, the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.

Unfortunately out trip home ended on a bad note.  Presley ate a whole bad of Twizzlers in about 20 minutes--and about 20 minutes later threw them all up.  YUCK!

Valentines Party.

Stella attended her first party on Valentines--a Princess Tea Party hosted by my friend Tami and her girls Gabrielle and Tabitha.  The girls all dressed up for the occasion and listened to a story, played a game, and had a delicious tea party with lots of tasty treats.

Playing "Pin the Jewel on the Crown".

Stella in our "bride" dress-up and my wedding veil.

It was so fun I thought about hosting a St. Patrick's Day party--with green everything--but I am not sure I will get around to planning it . . .

Work Space.

Thanks to Ikea I am no longer working at the kitchen counter or moving projects between my computer and Chris's office computer upstairs.  I've turned our guest suite into my treadmill/photo/desk/storage space--if you want to come for a visit, I will make it up just for you!

Maybe some thing on the walls next . . . .

Ice.

Ice Castles and ice holes (the fishing kind), we visited them both this week--trying to keep busy this winter.  The ice castles moved to the city center this year--we missed having them next door, but this location is bigger.  We went at night and had fun trying to keep warm while we explored the tunnels, caves, and icicles.  With the illumination these castles look pretty neat at night--perfect for my princesses.

Ice fishing on the lake looks pretty cold and boring to me, but we decided to check it out on a sunny day.  The girls loved throwing snow and chunks of ice into the holes.  The ice was about a foot thick but it still made me nervous.  Stella could have easily fit into a hole--but in the end it was Presley who made the mistake of turning around and stepping right into one!  Chris and I were inches from her and puller her right up--soaked from her toes to her bottom on the right side--brrrrr.  A good lesson for all in paying attention.

Dancer.

There is NO question that Presley is a dancer. She dances everywhere--even on the soccer field. So, this semester she is signed up for Preparatory Ballet. I am sure she will fit right in!  Loving the pink tights, pink leather ballet slippers, and pink leotard--we have lots of pink.

Do you think she is excited??

Cabin Fever.

Ugg, January.  This means four to five more months of cold, snowy, winter ahead . . . we might make it.  Especially if we have our fun friends take us to their cabin in the woods (even though we live in those woods, we don't have all the fun things or cool people to play with).


Presley on the mini-snowmobile.  Thanks for all the rides Caitlyn!

Stella sledding--not sure if she likes going too fast yet.

So much fun--kids sleeping on the floor all piled together, warm fires, good food, sleds, snowmobiles, and lots of snow!  Thanks!

Brrrrr, photoshoot.

I had to get a photoshoot in with my sister while she was in town--too bad it had to be 12 degrees outside with 4 feet of fresh snow. I should have splurged on fancy winter coats for the girls.

I love them--what a talented, wonderful sister--and cute kids to0!