Emma's 10th Birthday Party... 4 months late :)

A Thanksgiving birthday is hard to have a party where your friends can come... then the holidays set in & everyone is super busy... then we were going to Disney World & Eva Grace had 8:30 ballgames every Saturday January-February...So, now it is the first weekend in March & the first open weekend, it's party time!!!
Emma wanted a Paint Your Own Canvas Party. She loves to plan events and planned most of her own party (while learning a lesson on budgeting!! Her entire party cost $100). She wanted to paint an owl, so that was our theme. We found a picture she liked, gave it to Jenny who made our cake match EXACTLY and went from there.

Emma enjoyed making most of her own decorations (which saved money for her budget). The owl sitting in the bucket has paint brush flowers surrounding it :)

The girls had to paint in phases, letting the paint dry inbetween each step. They all started with white canvases!! We traced the owl outline and eyes on to the canvas from cardstock, the girls free handed the rest.

The Masterpieces! Great job by all, and a lot of fun!! :)

A SEUSStabular Birthday

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! (AND an opportunity for a new outfit!!)

One of my all time favorite pictures! Ella Mae, Bella and Ella Ruth.

Ella had a little Dr. Seuss skit at preschool. She did a great job :)

Eva Grace, Chloe, Emma K, and Abby also were THINGS 1-4 at UHE. Pictures coming...

Fancy Nancy Father / Daughter Dance

I wish you could feel the excitement behind these pictures. To say Eva Grace was excited about this event at her school is a huge understatement. She made sure Burt was off work and reminded him of the event daily, more than once daily! This morning she woke up and had his clothes picked out to match hers (all by herself). She knew how she wanted her hair (hot rolled), to wear a tiara, sparkles, makeup (daddy said "NO" to that one), etc.

A triple date was set up for dinner before the big event. At 5pm Judd and Chloe picked Burt and EG up. They met Brian and Emma King at Fat City for dinner. Then it was time to go to the dance. The moms met up there to be paparazzi outside but weren't allowed inside! They had doormen and security and the entire school looked to be "fancy!" It was awesome.

When Eva Grace got home she said her favorite part of the evening was, "hitting the dance floor with Daddy!"
Burt's favorite part, "dancing with Grace."

Here are some paparazzi photos!

The great Mrs. Mitzi, or Fancy Nancy herself. She is the main one who put this event together for the school. We love her.

Upwards Basketball

Eva Grace played Upward Basketball again this year. I had a weak moment and decided to coach (thankfully, Amy Reed decided to help in sending out the emails, texts, etc..)! I had as much fun as the girls did. I honestly think I had more fun than Eva Grace did.. don't think basketball is going to be her sport. ha. We had a great team, 6 out of the 7 girls were from our school AND on our softball team! We love these girls and their families.

There were lots of hugs and giggles along with our hard work and improvement this season. Some of my favorite highlights were "ponytail checks" before each quarter to make sure the ponytails were tight and ready to play ball. We also had an offensive play (the only team that did) the girls decided to name it Kunani... after the American Girl Doll of the year! Who says you can't be girly and athletic at the same time! WE rocked!

Some pictures ;)
Opened each game with a prayer.

Eva Grace dribbling... She dribbled a lot and took her sweet time doing it!

Valentine's Day 2012... Feeling the Love

This season of love was also filled with thoughtfulness and craftiness. Give us Barrett girls a reason to craft and we are occupied for days! I LOVE that the girls share this joy with me. Each girl picked out their own Valentines (thanks to pinterest for the ideas) and we got started!

Emma made these SUPER suckers for her classmates. The boys got super heros and the girls got lips. She didn't need any help from me. All handmade by her :)

Eva Grace made Crush drinks for her class. We made Mrs. McCall and Mrs. Case a candy bouquet in the Crush boxes. EG took Mrs. Mitzi flowers in a crush bottle and Uncle Adam made his date a cute bouquet of flowers in a Crush bottle. So easy and so cute!

Ella made Koolaid play dough for her class, or had the do it yourself kits. We made some first!

We also got thoughtful with Burt's gift... All week long we brainstormed 101 reasons we love him. Then we added some of his favorite candies and added our saying to them. ("Thanks for fighting off all the jerks"- on the beef jerkey, "Thanks for making us SNICKER." "Your 3 MUSKETEERS think you are great." We love you to PIECES." etc... I think it turned out cute.

To lead up to the holiday, I picked up these little mailboxes at Target. Every morning the girls had a new treat waiting on them when they woke up. They LOVED it and rushed to see what was inside every morning. On Valentine's Day they each got an Ipod Touch (I got a great deal, this is NOT something I would usually do on Valentine's day!).

Last but not least, my sweet Emma had an awesome surprise waiting for Burt and I this morning. She had saved her money and had Adam secretly run her to the movies and Hobby Lobby to get gift certificates. In the middle of the night she snuck into our room and put the Hobby Lobby card on my phone (she was insistent on me setting my alarm :). And put Burt's card by his alarm. It was the first thing we saw when we woke up that morning. Her sweet act was the perfect way to start the day. Thought of and implemented all by herself. :)

Eva Grace quote of the day...

"I thought social studies would be more social. Turns out it's all studies."

Disney World with the Box/Ramsey/Barretts!

What an awesome trip! This was our first family vacation with a group and we LOVED it! Of course, we went with some of the nicest people on the planet! There were 9 little girls, all the ages of our girls (10, 7, and 4), and NO drama the entire trip. There was always someone for everyone to play with, guys for guys to hang with, moms to have adult conversations with, activities for the little sisters (aka, the littles) to sit out on the big rides with, someone for everyone to ride with, etc... It was fabulous! We went January 26-February 1. Temperatures were mainly in the 70's. You needed a light jacket in the mornings and evenings but it was perfect during the day! YES, WE TOOK THE KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL FOR A WHOLE WEEK! Gasp!! We always do, it is the perfect time to go. Here are our trip highlights....

THURSDAY
We drove with the Ramsey's to the airport at 4am. Our flights were at 7:30. We had a layover in ATL and arrived in ORL around noon, and resort around 1 pm. We decided to go to Downtown Disney for the afternoon. The Boxes flew in a few hours after us so we met them there in time for dinner at Captain Jacks. Then we all left for the Magic Kingdom to view their fireworks. 9 little girls seeing the castle together for the first time was truly magical!

*Burt's favorite of the day- "Fireworks at Magic Kingdom." (Here is Ella watching from the best seat in the house)!
*Emma's favorite of the day- "All the different transportation we took in one day: car, airplane, bus, "moving sidewalk," escalator, elevator, tram, boat, and we walked!"
*Eva Grace's favorite of the day- "Being with her friends & Bibbity Bobbity Boutique's pixie dust from the Fairy Godmother!"
*Ella's favorite- "Being with my family." :)
*My favorite- Ella saying, "I'm so excited! We're in Disney World with Mama and Daddy, and my sisters, and our friends. I'm just so excited!" She said this when we arrived at the resort :) She also said, "I just can't stop smiling," after leaving the Magic Kingdom!!


FRIDAY
Today we went to Epcot. We started out the day with everyone eating breakfast together at the resort. The girls all had matching princess shirts today for our lunch date with the Princesses :) We also celebrated Maddie's 6th birthday at this meal. It was awesome. The girls loved seeing all the princesses and the parade around the restaurant. The parents loved seeing their expressions! They also got to see Mickey Mouse and friends at Epcot later in the day and ride lots of rides.

*Burt's favorite part of day- "Soarin'" (ride)
*Emma's favorite part - "Soarin', Mission Space orange, and riding the golf ball. Lucy loved the golf ball too."
*Eva Grace's favorite part- "Soarin' and Mission Space orange."
*Ella's favorite part- "Soarin'." Her and Eliza were both so excited they were tall enough to ride this, and they both loved it. Ella squealed out loud with excitement during the ride.
*My favorite part - Eating with the princesses and Soarin'.





SATURDAY

Today we went to Hollywood Studios! Another big ride day! We started off the day with breakfast at 1900 Park Lane (with Mary Poppins, Tigger, Pooh, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hadder). This is an awesome breakfast and we have eaten here every time we have visited Disney! After breakfast, we headed to the park. The big girls rode Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Roller Coaster several times. The Littles weren't tall enough to ride the roller coaster so we saw Beauty and the Beast, which was fabulous. They also saw The Little Mermaid and the Muppets 3D. Burt and Emma went to see Indiana Jones stunt show.

Ella was so excited she was tall enough to ride Tower of Terror but after she got off she did not like it. It was, "duper fast and scarwy." :) Eva Grace, Lucy and Sophie were super excited they were tall enough to ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster.

Burt's fave of day- "Tower of Terror"
Ella's fave- "Beauty and the Beast show"
Eva Grace's fave- "Rock and Roll Roller Coaster." She has a love/hate relationship with Tower of Terror. She was looking forward to that ride most the entire trip, but after riding it she had mixed feelings about it. She gave it a thumb up & a thumb down. ha. Sophie gave it 2 thumbs down & Lucy gave it 2 thumbs up!
Emma's fave- Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Indiana Jones Stunt Show.
My fave- Beauty and the Beast & Tower of Terror.

SUNDAY
Today we went to Magic Kingdom. We all wore our matching shirts again. These shirts Danna, Jenny and I made and were some of my favorite shirts ever! I even made myself one to match. I saw an old friend that resembled Pirate Goofy :) There was lots to do here for everyone. The Littles LOVED It's a Small World, their expressions through the ride were priceless! The bigger girls loved Splash and Space Mountain. The Laugh Factory was hilarious. They picked on Danna and said, "Danna, Danna is to blame for all kids in Arkansas dressing the same." It was great!
That night we ate at Chef Mickey's and celebrated Maddie's and my birthday. Mickey Mouse brought us cupcakes and we all did a dance number. The girls saw Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. We got autographs and lots of pictures! It rocked!

*Emma's favorite of the day- "Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, & Racecar Speedway. Also loved when Daddy got stuck riding the teacups twice & his face turned green!"

*Eva Grace's favorite- Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and making daddy dizzy on the tea cups when he got tricked on riding them twice!"
*Ella's favorite- "Speedway Cars (she drives like a maniac and cackled the entire ride!), and It's a Small World." She hated the Haunted Mansion!
*Burt's favorite - "Splash Mountain! Least favorite- TEA CUPS!" ha.
*My favorite- Danna getting picked on at the Laugh Factory & riding It's a Small World with the Littles. Here they are goofing off while waiting in line.

MONDAY
Today we went to the Animal Kingdom and enjoyed dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review. This was a first for us to to the HDDMR but it was great. The girls laughed out loud at the humor and the food was delicious. They kept our table full of buckets with fried chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, beans, corn and cornbread. If we ran out of something, they brought more. It was delicious. For dessert, we had strawberry shortcake. Maddie and I got recognized for our birthdays AGAIN! The girls loved waving their napkins in the air and making music with their spoons on washboards. Eliza sent her spoon FLYING, which was hilarious!

At the Animal Kingdom, the big girls loved Mt. Everest (a roller coaster) and rode it several times. The Littles were too small so we went to see the musical Nemo. It was fabulous. We all went to see The Lion King, which was one of my trip favorites!!! The safari was also a big hit and the dinosaur rides in Dino Land!

*Eva Grace's favorite of the day - "Mt. Everest, swirly dino ride and Hoop Dee Doo." She laughed out loud several times!!
*Ella's favorites of the day- "Hoop Dee Doo, Lion King, Memo (Nemo), and the dino ride."
*Emma's favorites- "Mt. Everest, Hoop Dee Doo, seeing baby ducks."
*My favorites- The Lion King show, Nemo show and the safari ride. Hoop Dee Doo was fun to watch the kids!
*Burt's favorite - "Mt. Everest Roller Coaster."

TUESDAY
Poor Emma woke up with the stomach virus today. It was terrible!!!! Burt stayed at the resort with her and I went to Magic Kingdom with EG and Ella where we met up with the Ramsey/Box Families. Thankfully, by the end of the afternoon she was feeling better and they joined us at the Magic Kingdom in time to go to Ohana's to eat. It was my birthday! WOOHOO!

Ohana's was a first for this trip! It was the best meal we ate! You sat at your table and your server brought around skewers (buffet style??) of all the meat you could eat. They brought chicken, steak, pork chops, shrimp... around to you and you took what you wanted. Your appetizers were pork dumplings and chicken wings, with noodles, bread and salad. We were stuffed but it was FABULOUS! This was a luau themed restaurant so they had luau festivities for the kids going on. There was a love dance with the girls and their daddy's, there was a coconut roll race, some Hawaiian dances, etc.. The kids were entertained so there was some great adult conversations taking place at the table! It was a blast for everyone. My sweet friends made sure to sing Happy Birthday to me and I got a cupcake. It was a great day.

*Emma's favorite of the day - "Ohana's"
*Ella's favorite of the day- "Race Cars again!" Here she is about to take Daddy for a ride!
*Eva Grace's favorite of day - "Rides at Magic Kingdom again and Ohana's."
*Burt's favorite - "Ohana's."
*My Favorite - Ohana's and spending my bday with my friends and family. They made me feel so loved :)








WEDNESDAY
Unfortunately, our trip had to end today :( We did hit the gift shop and arcade up before leaving the resort around 11:30 for the airport. We had another layover in ATL for a few hours. The girls did homework and the Littles played with their toys. They were all excellent the entire trip. Lots of memories were made and we can't wait to go back together again! We pulled in the driveway around 8:30 pm. Now on to laundry and unpacking. I need a vacation from my vacation :)

Eva Grace's 100th Day of School, 2nd Grade

For the 100 Day celebration, the kids dressed up like a 100 year olds. Thankfully, there was an award ceremony on the same day so parents got to see all the kids dressed up. (Hilarious!). On one of her projects for the day she wrote she wanted 100 kittens, didn't want 100 sisters, would eat 100 Fruit Loops, would not eat 100 fish, would spend $100 on the American Girl Doll- McKenna, and her favorite thing about her first 100 days of school was art because she got to paint, draw and color. At the award ceremony she got awards for straight A's and Perfect Attendance. WOO HOO! Emma's school didn't celebrate 100 days of school. She did get her grades though and had all A's too, with one B. I was very proud of both of them.