Tangled up in fun

Just to make Saturday a little more crazy/exhausting/fun; we held Ceilidh's 5th bday party that evening. Since my parents were in for the Spring Concert, it just made sense to have the party that night as well. I don't think I am ready to put into words my emotions about her turning five yet, so this is just a party post. Thank you to all who were able to come. She was pretty mentally and physically tired by the end of the evening, but I know she had a blast. 

How we just "discovered" Hill Crest Park, I will never know?! ha Andrew even worked for the parks department one summer during college, but we just never took the children over there. This spring/summer though, we have taken advantage! I love the playground area b/c it has a toddler area, a bigger kid area, and a swing area. The bathrooms are clean, and the county parks department office is located at the park which means there is always someone around. I am not a nervous person really, but it is nice to know I have people nearby if I did ever have an emergency. After chowing down on some hot dogs, the kids had full access to all the play areas. Instead of "pin the tail on the donkey," we played "pin the nose on Flyn Rider." I still don't think we got his nose right! wink We painted "on the walls" just like Rapunzel. This was fun, but incredibly messy! ha At one point, while I was washing Zion's hands; he said, "Thank you for washing my hands, Aunt Cyndy. I'm sure glad my mom and dad didn't see me like this." HAHA No worries, Lydia... we kept all paint off clothes! wink

We ate cake and homemade peach and strawberry ice cream before opening presents. THANK you Daddy for making the ice cream! I heard C tell one of her dance friends the other day, that her Grandaddy "always makes my birthday ice cream!" Ceilidh has been SO excited about a surprise she had for everyone for MONTHS now. We released 5 lanterns in honor of her 5 years of life! We started the party as late as we could in hopes that dark would creep up on us by the end of the gathering. It never quite got dark enough to get the full effect, but we did it anyway. Once we finally got a few to go, they were really neat! The process of figuring out how to light these things, and getting them to fly was hilarious! The instructions claimed it only took one minute for them to fill with hot air and fly. Ummm... wrong! It took 3 grown men, about 10 minutes each, a little fanning of the flame, and A LOT of patience! ha I had envisioned releasing all 5 of them together, cheering, and that being that. Well.... we eventually got 3 up (all one at a time), and the fun was had by all the grownups as the kids got totally bored with the process! ha Oh well.. the ones that did fly were really neat to watch. Thank you Paul and Jared for helping Andrew!!

My favorite moment of the night though, was instigated by Graeme boy. Andrew and I have never really made a big deal out of bday gifts, so I still don't know where G came up with this; which makes this THAT much sweeter. On the way to the park before the party, Graeme shouts from the back of the car, "OH NO! I forgot my fire truck at home." I asked him why he needed his fire truck, and he told me his gift to Ceilidh was sharing it with her. Oh man....  I admit, I started crying just a bit. ha This unprovoked selflessness and thoughtfulness coming from a two year old in the middle of the "mines," was really neat to watch. 

It was a fun and relaxed time together to celebrate our Ceilidh D. She is very loved, and I am so thankful for that! Andrew surprised Ceilidh by taking off Monday and going to the beach for another bday celebration. Those pictures are coming soon!

Graeme enjoying his adorable new chair from Grandaddy and Grappy

Jack and Phoenix said, "Forget the hotdogs, we want to PLAY!" ha

Sweet D

Pin the nose on Flyn Rider!

Painting "on the walls" like Rapunzel in Tangled!

Thank you, Mikayla for these great photos! I appreciate you taking pictures!!

There was QUITE a mess to clean up after this fun! HA

Lovebirds! wink

 I love this picture.... even the Mickey D's cup! HA

Ugh... there isn't much to say about this. At least she had a cake and it tasted ok.  The icing started getting too warm while I was making her bodice, and I should have done her hair BEFORE I placed got her in place.  I was trying to keep it out of the icing, but then I couldn't mess with it b/c it would have knocked her around too much. ha Oh well.... 

Lantern chaos  fun! ha

Almost!

Finally!!!