Bailey's Magical 9th Birthday

We had the best time celebrating our favorite girl in the world. I don't know how it's possible, but Bailey turned 9 years old and we celebrated with a magical unicorn party. 

Bailey absolutely loved her party and that made all the hard work worth it. That backdrop took me hours.  But I do love how it turned out. I also cut out a gold star banner to go with the backdrop and balloon arch. 

The tassel garland was so pretty. I love the soft pastel colors. 

Besides cake we also served unicorn cupcakes and popcorn balls. 
These cupcakes were so fun to make. I absolutely love the little ears and unicorn horns. So cute!

And the popcorn balls were a yummy treat. I was looking for a different kind of treat to serve and these popcorn balls sounded like the perfect addition to our party. They had pretty sprinkles and unicorn candies mixed in. They were pretty delicious. 

And for our beverage, we served sparkling unicorn fizz. 

I think Bailey's favorite part was the unicorn cake. I was anxious about making the cake, but after reading lots of tutorials about how to blend the frosting colors I gave it a try. I like how it turned out. 

 

And of course Bailey had to wear a unicorn headband. And the day before her party, I found this cute little tutu on clearance for $2. It was the perfect color scheme and Bailey was so excited. We found a shirt in her closet to math and her outfit was all set. 

I sure love this girl! She's smart, curious, creative, kind, loves to read. She loves all things girly, loves her brothers and she still believes in all things magical. I love her sweet voice and her love of books. Its rare when you don't find her with a book in her hands. 

I had to get some pictures of Bailey with her cake that she loved so much.

Nanny and Papa came to visit and Uncle Joseph and his family came over to party as well. We had so much fun. Bailey wanted to open presents first  so we did that and then we ate all the yummy food.

 

 

Bailey got lots of "Polly Pockets" and she was thrilled. We also got her a stuffed unicorn that lights up and we are hoping it will allow us to close her bedroom door at night and she will not be scared. Before this she had to have her bedroom door open every night but then she wanted no noise and no sound outside her room so we couldn't  even watch tv in the living room at night. Anyways, we are really excited at the prospect of having our living room back at night. 

After we finished opening presents, we sang to Bailey and she blew out her candle. 

Then we cut the cake. It was so pretty inside. Bailey loved it. 

 After the party was over, Nanny and Bailey got to play with all her new "Polly Pockets" together. This was the best gift ever to Bailey. Even I got to play with them for a while and Bailey loved this!

So we had her birthday party on Saturday and Nanny and Papa stayed over and left Sunday evening. Then Bailey's actual birthday was today so we kept on celebrating. We went running, then swimming at the pool. Later we had a birthday parade for her and then watched a movie. In between all the birthday fun, we packed up to leave for Oregon, because we leave tomorrow for our 30 hour road trip. 

 Here are a few pictures from Bailey's birthday parade. She was so happy that so many friends were able to drive by. Also, we are loving these birthday parades. Such a fun, safe way to celebrate. 

I love the birthday banner the Stock family made for Bailey and Bailey loved handing out popsicles to everyone. Of course she was thrilled that so many friends gave her presents. Such a sweet way to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who made her feel so special today. 
Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

August Summer Fun

 Because we left for Oregon on August 1st, we had very limited time to play at home in August. But we did squeeze in one of our favorite summer time traditions. The kids were so thrilled when we finally caught the ice cream truck. This is a one-time thing each summer because the treats are so ridiculously expensive and the kids were worried we would leave for Oregon without getting our treats. But we were able to make it happen and they were thrilled. 

And this was the first time Benson really understood the ice cream truck and he loved it. He got a "Spongebob" ice cream bar because to my ever living shame, he loves "Spongebob Squarepants". 

Tucker and Bailey both got snow cones and Tanner, with his mature palate, got a snickers bar. 

Also we were able to have a watermelon seed spitting contest with Papa before he left on Sunday. 

I love these shots of Papa spitting with Tanner and Bailey. Tanner's really got some air. 

I also took my kids out for a watermelon photo shoot. I don't know why I love this photo so much but I really do. It just screams summer to me. 

And this one of Benson just going after it- I'm dying. It's so funny. 

                                       

Well that's it for our summer fun. We've been swimming so much this summer. Our pool has strange rules due to covid-19 concerns. But we've been getting up and getting to the pool when it opens at 9 am and then we have the pool to ourselves for about an hour sometimes 1.5 hours. 

We've spent so much time together these last few months but somehow we still like each other. We can't wait to get to Oregon and visit our family there. Wish us luck on our 30 hour drive.