And after Callie's is MY Birthday

 I planned to do nothing for my birthday, but my friend Sylvie-Anne suggested we go on a birthday lunch, since her birthday was a few days later.  So we did.  And it was lovely.  then she took me by her favorite pastry shop and bought me a delightful little cake (just big enough for one!).  That was especially nice.  I had said I wasn't going to make a cake for my birthday because there had been a LOT of desserts already that week. (Pie on Saturday for a get together, pie on Sunday for Seminary Graduation, more pie on Monday for FHE dessert with the sister missionaries, cupcakes on Tuesday for Callie's birthday and Callie's cookie pizza on Wednesday!!!) It turned out that the tiny little cake was perfect.  I hoarded it till the kids were in bed and then enjoyed my own little birthday cake all by myself!

How did they know?!!

The amazing pastries!  I got the chocolate square one on the top left.  Yum!! 

Rylee's gift to me was this delightful drawing. 

A Very Callie Birthday

 Callie had a birthday.  It was on the most hectic day of the week, and I'm really grateful she was okay with it because it was a really crazy day.  She had asked for Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast, and Cajun Chicken Pasta for dinner.  She also wanted a cookie pizza for her cake.  Yay!  All easy things!  Her birthday list was short, which was fine, since she technically went paragliding for her birthday a few weeks ago.

It grew more than I anticipated and a little oozed off the pan.  I also wasn't doing so hot with the frosting!

She still proclaimed it delicious.... and it was! 

Love me some silly girls. 

Rylee wanted a picture too. 

And the loot-fest was satisfactory.  Actually, she was really happy with it!

Field Trippin' with Delaney

 I had the dubious honor of chaperoning Delaney's third grade field trip to the Mikawu Mines.  It went better than I had anticipated, but still... 70 third graders running and screaming in dark tunnels?  Yikes!

It was pretty dark in there.

There was a game to find clues, but it was mostly in Japanese, so I have no idea what the goal was! 

Lots of fun things to play in. 

And lots of things to have fun with. 

After the mad dash through the dark mine, there was "digging" for gems... 

 ...and panning for gold.  Delaney had a very good time.

They offered a special ice cream cone. 

It has real GOLD flakes on it! 

 Delicious!

She was so pleased with herself. 

Delaney's Kimono Photo Shoot

 Delaney's Girl Scout troop decided to use some of their money to get Kimono pictures done.  They paid for the hair and make up and kimono rental, plus one 8x10 picture.  If we wanted more pictures, we had to buy those ourselves.  Thankfully the studio did not care if we took a bunch of our own pictures of the process.

Delaney had a great time. She got to pick out a kimono to wear.  They did her hair and make up.  She didn't care what they did to her hair, so we said do whatever you want.  I LOVED it!  Liked that they just put a tiny bit of make up on- a little pink eye shadow, some blush and a little lipstick.

Then they took photos and we had to chose our favorite.   I did buy an extra photo or two!  They gave us a small digital copy of the picture and we can go back for the prints in 2 weeks.  It was a really neat, really fun experience.

Getting the hair done.

Hair is finished and you can see the back and the front!

Putting on the kimono.

 All done!

Delaney and the 3 other Girl Scouts who were doing it at the same time.  So cute! 

Posing so I can see the back 

I loved all the intricate little details.  Coin purse tucked into the front, little dangling charms, the fan in the obi, the adorable hair clips.... So neat! 

Getting posed for the photos.

I loved this picture of the front and back. 

And this is her studio photo! Kawaii, as the Japanese would say!  So cute!

Family Photos!!

 So, I mentioned that we got family pictures done.  Real, expensive, professional ones.  And she did a great job. My biggest complaint is that the pictures mostly go long, and won't lend well to standard 8x10 kind of sizes. They did came out quite nicely, although I think there is someone looking not-perfect in most photos. You can let me know your favorites!  I know which one I like best, but Rylee's shirt is dribbled with water in that one.