Happy Birthday Eva!

 I never have birthday parties because I get so stressed out that it turns into one big angry mess.  But this year, Eva guilted me into it by telling me that she had to tell all her friends at school that "my mom won't ever let me have a party on my birthday."  Okay, fine, I gave in!

I didn't let her invite the whole class (because that really would have made me crazy), but she got to have a few friends over.  In the pool (mostly) we have Eva, Ella, Isaac, Tristan, Rebecca, Emanuel, and Claire.

We barbecued hot dogs and the kids ate them on the tarp.  Tristan was addicted to the Doritos, and designated my Uncle Rod to be at his beck and call when he needed more.  :)

We had to record the fact that I actually had a HAPPY face on the day of a party at my house!  Maybe we can do this more often.  This picture was taken while I decorated Eva's cake.

Eva wanted the same Ice Cream Cake Brian had on his birthday.  She isn't a big fan of frosting, so this was the perfect cake for her!

Grandma Papa let Eva pick out a fun sprinkler thing for her party.  The kids loved playing with it.

So it might look like I am just capturing Eva in motion as she runs through the sprinklers, but she was totally posing.  She would take a few steps, stop, hold still until I had taken a picture, and then repeat the process.  We might have a model on our hands....

The Muldowneys gave Eva a bird house that she got to paint.  Perfect gift for our little artist!

A bird house must have a bird painted on it so the real birds will recognize it as a home for them.

All finished!

I was totally impressed by this butterfly that Eva painted free-hand.  Not bad for a 7 year old!

This pic has nothing to do with Eva's birthday.  I just wanted to capture the beauty of the wild rose bush blooming outside my back door!  I am loving Spring!

A bit of everything...

 I haven't done this blog for a while, so this post is a little bit of everything.

I dressed the girls in polka dots for church the other day, and they looked so cute, I had to get pictures.  I kept telling Becca to smile normal, and this is the most normal face I could get out of her.

Eva wanted a kiss...Rebecca did NOT!  This is a typical Rebecca face if you do something she doesn't like.  Or just if you don't do exactly what she thinks you should.

The weather has been so nice lately that our Family Home Evenings have been going for a family walk/bike ride.  Eva is getting better and better on her bike.

Brian had to take a picture of me to prove I was there on the walk with the family.

Brian thinks it's funny to tip the stroller and scare Becca to death.  I thought the face she makes when he does it is funny enough for a picture! 

Just my cute Rebecca in her new dress.  Love this girl!

Eva was nervous about running the mile in school, so she and I went to the YMCA for a practice run.  I really enjoyed getting to (and being ABLE to) run the mile with my daughter.  It was some good bonding time.  Eva beat me by a lap.  When she ran the mile at school, she beat her time by 2 minutes.  Wish I could improve that fast!

Becca is my little shop helper in my grooming shop.  The other day I hear in a growly voice "I am the captain with a hooked hand."  I turned around to find this.  She carried that hook around for the rest of the day being captain hook.

This dog was so sweet, and so worn out after getting groomed, she just let Rebecca hang out with her on the floor for a while.  Becca has never had so much fun playing the iPod.

Becca "helped" me bathe Daisy this week.  Daisy was as excited as Rebecca.  Really.

There is sometimes a downfall to my daughter being old enough to dress herself.  Today was a great example:  we've got some Charlie Brown, some Mickey Mouse, some flowers, and the famous froggy boots.  She was lookin' so fine, she even got compliments on her choice of clothes from my customers.