Easter/Birthday Weekend

My birthday fell on Easter weekend this year. So we did a lot of combined celebrations.
Friday night we met up with Adam and Jessie and Jessie's brother Tyler and went to Red Lobster. They were having their lobsterfest. So yummy! I didn't get a pic of me and Jeremy but this attractive pic of Adam and Jessie will have to do. Looks delish huh! After Red Lobster we came back to the house for some games and dessert.
Saturday was my actual birthday. I started out the morning with breakfast in bed, courtesy of Jeremy, Mikkele, and Shelby (Mikkele's Friend that had slept over after helping Kell watch the kids so we could go out Friday night).

Then I got to open my present. I got a money tree for my birthday! How cool is that! Jeremy and Mikkele put this together. (Sorry I can't turn the pic) They got 75-$2 bills and pinned them to this topiary. I got to use it to go shopping with Jeremy later that afternoon for some new clothes. And I had to pay for each purchase with the $2 bills. Needless to say it took some time counting out the money each time I made a purchase and I had some annoyed clerks. Oh well, I had fun with it! I also got a new iPhone with money from my mom and grandparents!

While we were out shopping, the kids went to grandma's house to play and got to dye some eggs with the cousins. They made some pretty cute eggs.

Sunday was Easter. Since we have early church, I didn't let the kids open their Easter baskets until after church. I'm such a mean mom. The kids' Easter outfits kind of flopped this year a little. Aunt Lisha had gotten Hallie this really cute dress and so I decided to use that as our reference point for matching. It had aqua and lime green and white in it. So Mikkele got a dress with the aqua and Grant got an outfit with the lime green. That morning when we were getting ready we found out that Hallie's dress didn't fit. :( So she just had to wear another dress and so Grant and Mikkele's outfits didn't look like they coordinated. Kind of a bummer, but oh well what do you do.

While Hallie was napping, Mikkele wanted to dye some more eggs. There's mean mom #2 for the day of not letting Hallie dye eggs with Kell. Hallie=mess and I didn't want to deal with that.

That evening we went over to Jeremy's parents house for an Easter dinner/birthday party. The evening got away from us and as we were leaving we realized that we forgot to do an Easter egg hunt. This is probably the first year since we've had kids that we didn't do one. Pretty sad. We'll have to do better next year.

Mikkele's 11th Birthday

Mikkele planned her entire birthday this year. It was kinda nice just being told what I needed to do. She decided that she wanted to go swimming and then have a sleepover. So the kids gathered at our house, we ate some pizza, opened presents and then headed to the pool. Indoor of course because it was still freezing outside.

She finally got the converse shoes that she's been wanting. She's been coveting Grant's since his birthday in February.

Kamrin, Mikkele, Shelby, Rietta, Alanna, and Kenzie

They had a great time playing volleyball with the flags as their net, having diving contests, playing with the other inflatable toys that were there, and flirting with some boys that were there! That's right, I said flirting with boys. EEEKKK! My girl is growing up!

After swimming we came home and had some cake and ice cream. She chose a recipe for home made ice cream sandwiches that we found in this fun cupcake cookbook. It was really hard for her to choose since there are SO many yummy ones! They were really easy though and pretty good!

After dessert the girls went down and played Just Dance 2 on the Wii. We gave her that game for her birthday. It was pretty funny to watch them play it. Each girl did the moves differently. It's a pretty good laugh! They had a great time with it! Between the swimming and dancing they were pretty tired. I didn't even have to beg them to be quiet and go to sleep! It worked out perfectly!

In the morning Mikkele wanted Norwegian pancakes for breakfast. The girls all loved them! They decided to have a contest to see who could eat theirs the fastest. Kenzie came out the winner!

That night Jeremy and I took Mikkele out on a mommy/daddy/daughter date. She chose Brick Oven and then we went to a movie. It was yummy. Check out the size of the chocolate pie they brought her for her birthday! It's almost as big as her head! And very yummy!

Sunday we went over to Grandma Dorene's for dinner and more cake and ice cream. She got spoiled with more presents! The only candles we could find were a 2 and a O. It's kinda fitting. She does tend to act much more mature than just 11!

I can't believe that I have an 11 year old! She is such a good kid! I couldn't ask for a better 1st born child! She is such a good help around the house and with the kids. She is a great friend and example to others! She works hard at everything she does and produces great results! She is going to do some great things in her life! Love you Kell!