The main subject of this post is to celebrate Ella's 4th birthday, but because so many other events revolved around it, I decided to add excerpts from the other events in it as well and just call it a June post :)
We planned a trip to Washington for Auntie Danielle's graduation. We had a great time! We left on Wednesday morning (May 30) and drove all day. Auntie Kira came with us as well so that I wouldn't have to drive home by myself.
Thursday (May 31) we went into Moses Lake and Grandma and Grandpa surprised us with a night's hotel stay at the hotel near the bowling alley. It was an awesome room with a king bed, a Jacuzzi tub in the room, and an indoor swimming pool! We went bowling first and Uncle Brandon, Aunt Tressa, and Hollie were there too. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and went swimming. It was so much fun! That night Grandma and Grandpa took Hollie home with them and Brandon and Tressa spent some time in our room just hanging out. It was good to catch up.
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| Hollie and Ella playing with the jacuzzi tub in our room |
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| The only pic we have while bowling. Love the little shoes!!! |
SWIMMING!
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| The three of us. Boy have we changed! |
Friday (June 1) was Danielle's big day! We went to her restaurant and got family pictures taken. Afterwards we ate a yummy dinner and then headed back to get ready for her graduation. Danielle's graduation was outside which was nice and cool compared to mine! I can't believe that she is old enough to be a high school graduate! After graduation Danielle, Brandon, Tressa, and I went to Shari's to celebrate her accomplishment. So proud of her!
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| Windy!!! |
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| Brandon, Tressa, and Hollie |
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| LOVE! |
Family picture time was actually a ton of fun. We laughed and joked around and even got chased by a bee, which if anyone knows us, is not our favorite insect (Brandon, Amanda, and Danielle). I kept mistaking my brother for my dad because they look sooooo alike and he was wearing Dad's shirt! So funny!
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| The family, all grown up! |
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| The siblings |
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| Sisters! |
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| LOVE!!! |
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| The awesome cake Tressa made for Danielle |
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| Yay! High School Grad 2012! |
Saturday (June 2) Jared, the girls, and I went to Moses Lake to spend time with Grandma Pam and Aunt Candice and Susan. We also took pictures and then went to a barbecue for my cousin Zach's graduation. It was nice to see all of the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins I haven't seen in so long. Afterwards I went and had my first experience with sugaring hair removal. It wasn't too bad and I loved the results. If it wasn't so expensive I would never shave again!
Sunday (June 3) we went to church and then came home and made stuffed peppers and ribs for dinner where Grandma Schaffer and Grandpa Winder came out to join us. Afterwards Danielle and I headed to Seattle on our way to our cruise to the Bahamas!!!
Washington: Brandon, Tressa, and Hollie came and visited after we left.
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| Girls playing at Grandma and Grandpa's! |
Monday (June 4) we flew all through the night and ended up in Orlando a few hours before the ship was to leave. It was a long night but we were so excited for our trip! Our ship left this day and we spent time eating and having fun getting pedicures and other spa treatments done at the spa!
This was the day that Grandma decided to have Ella's birthday party with the daycare kids. Grandpa rented a bouncy house for her! So fun! So much fun, in fact, that he decided he is going to buy one for the kiddos to play on when they come over!
Tuesday (June 5) we made it to Nassau Bahamas and enjoyed a day of Sailing and Snorkeling, and then Snorkeling again! We were bummed when we were done with all of our excursions to find out that all of the shops close early and so we weren't able to shop much before leaving Nassau. Next time we will know.
Washington: More playing at Grandma and Grandpa's! Apparently it rained a lot and was pretty windy. The kids didn't mind though!
Daddy met up with Grandma and Grandpa Winston and then flew home Wednesday to go back to work!
Wednesday (June 6) we made it to CocoCay Bahamas. Danielle and I went para-sailing this day which was crazy crazy but sooo fun! Afterwards we enjoyed time on the beach where we both proceeded to fry despite me wearing multiple layers of sunscreen! This was also our Captains Dinner night and it was fun to get all dressed up.
Washington: Still enjoying that bouncy house and playing outside at Grandma and Grandpa's!
Thursday (June 7) we made it to Key West Florida. This was probably my favorite place to visit. We took a culinary tour of the city and enjoyed conch fritters, shrimp, and jerk chicken at the first place, a tasting of many barbecue sauces and other sauces at the second, and as many things as you can think of being made out of key lime as well as a frozen key lime pie ball dipped in chocolate at the third place. We also got to do plenty of shopping and exploring which was exactly what we needed.
Washington: More playing outside!
Friday (June 8) we embarked on our long and annoying flight home that included not having tickets due to misinformation, and other mishaps that only made us a couple of hours later than expected, surprisingly.
Washington: MORE playing!
Saturday (June 9)
Our sweet "little" Ella turned 4! It seems like overnight she has turned from a toddler to a child. It's crazy how that happens! We got up and had breakfast and then started our drive to Boise where we were going to stay the night with Great Grandma and Grandpa Winston. We stopped near Othello to pick up Aunt Kira and then were on our way. It actually wasn't a bad drive and the girls really enjoyed playing at Great Grandma and Grandpa Winston's house.
Sunday (June 10)
We stayed long enough for sacrament at Grandma and Grandpa's and then went on our way. Daddy was working til 11pm that night so we weren't in a rush and even decided to stop and say hi on our way home. Luckily we did because Milee was SOAKED through! Oops!
Monday (June 11)
We decided to have Ella's birthday party the day after we got home because Aunt Kira was going to be our princess (a surprise for Ella) and she had stayed the night due to driving home with us. It was a wonderful party!
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| The invites! |
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| Pin the Crown on the Princess |
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| Storytime |
Dancing
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| Princess Mask Decorating |
The girls also went on a scavenger hunt to find the glass slipper!
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| Cake! |
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| Princesses Katea, Ella H, Kira, Ella J, Emily, and Ayla |
Unfortunately I only took videos of all of the presents Ella got and don't particularly want to upload all of them so here is the list:
From Ayla: A bubble gun and bubbles
From Emily: Mini Bell and Cinderella dress up dolls and a mini tea set
From Ella H: Pots and Pans set
From Katea: A hair make-over set complete with working blow dryer
Ella got her present from Mommy and Daddy the next day!
Tuesday (June 12)
Today was the day we designated to spend as a family in celebration for Ella's birthday. She started with our gift for her
We also got her 4 year pictures taken, had her 4 year doctors appointment, and went to dinner at PF Changs (DELICIOUS!).
Ella did so great at her doctor's appointment, as always, and weighs 30.5 lbs and is 40 inches tall. Her eyes were checked and her vision is normal. I talked to the doctor about holding back a little bit as far as preschool because I don't want her to be way far ahead in Kindergarten and he basically told me that she is a sponge and that even if I hold back, she will still excel regardless so I might as well just teach her as much as I can. I am going to start 2 days a week preschool with her in September. Ella also got 2 shots (her Kindergarten shots) and even though I told the nurse that she would be fine just sitting and watching, she had us lay her down. She did wonderfully! Didn't even make a peep which impressed the nurse soooo much that she went and gave Ella a hard bound copy of Snow White!
I will probably do one more post about the rest of our June because this is a long one but Ella's birthday and celebrating her being a part of our family for the 4th year was so fun. She is such a joy and is such a great big sister. We are so blessed!
