EiGhT is GREAT!!!!

On November 14th

Sterling Daniel Turned 8!!!!
and since our children get "friend" birthday parties every even year-
Sterling Had a MAGICAL PaRtY the Friday before the BIG DAY!
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THE INVITES (above)
were written in invisible ink (lemon juice) and gave all the party details.
His friends and parents had fun finding different methods to heat it up so they could reveal the message- we hear that an iron and a stove worked best
(HOWEVER we missed out on that satisfaction cuz' someone in our family threw away ours before we could do it-darn)
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THE DECORATIONS

the sign was compliments of Sterling's siblings

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THE GAMES

Card Games were in our FUTURE for sure this eve!

The kids tried to make card houses as they arrived

Played a Little Game of MEMORY cards

They also FLUNG the Cards into the magical hat to see who could get the most in.

They played Mind Reader where Sterling found the penny he had picked earlier, out again in a BIG pile of pennies.

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THE MAGIC SHOW We had a GRAND PERFORMANCE By our magician...

AMBERLYN THE GREAT!

who popped out of our bedroom and all! She even shared her magic secrets for the kids favorite tricks

AND scored some of the COOLEST AUNT POINTS!

and most the tricks even worked!

Much to her surprise!

This was the time the water trick worked

the second time our carpet took a beating!

THIS IS the COOL as ICE cupcake making MOMMA PARTY PLANNA'

not tooting my own horn or anything- ha ha ha

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THE CAKE AND PRESENTS

cupcakes (topped with pop rocks--that was a fun suprise) and birthday bash ice cream..YUM YUM!!!

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THE GRAND FINALE

the grand finale was a magical box, that you passed around to the most annoying calliope music (we had playing all night- I got from a professional clown on my mission). When the song ended you unwrapped the present to get your take home party bag full of: Chinese finger games, glow in the dark bracelets, star stickers, a magical card game (that disappears), and pop rocks. It went on and on until everyone had one. AND Lucky Emma guessed closest to how many candies were in the jar and WON THE WHOLE THING! WAHOO!!!
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FAMILY BIRTHDAY FUN!

Sterling got to take a much needed Sunday afternoon nap with his mom

&

Sunday eve ended peacefully with a small celebration of Sterling

and a little bit of ice cream to boot!

Sterling has gone to his FIRST CUB SCOUT ACTIVITY

&

WILL BE GETTING BAPTIZED Saturday December 4th @ 2:30pm!

EIGHT is a GREAT BIRTHDAY!

We are so GLAD you were BORN into our FAMILY STERLING!!!!

We have BEEN BUSY!!!

I think these pictures might be an indication of our schedules lately...

between, games, birthdays, parties, cleaning, shopping, celebrating, firesides, concerts, meetings, working out, practices, soccer, snacks, school...

AND we are not even in the middle of holiday season yet?!!

In MY PRETTY GARDEN

A few years earlier....

One day it is my dream to have a beautiful flower garden worthy of Better Homes and Garden pictures. Where I can be old and wear a huge sun hat and piddle around in it in the mornings and the evenings. I have always had a bit of a gardening bug in my blood!

BUT until that kind of time is realistic in my life, I am satisfied with trying my hand at it a little bit here and there.

This year I planted some morning glories and I forgot the other flower name from seeds and enjoyed watching the fruits of my labors

I also took a mum plant I got as a Thank You from Coltons' teacher and gave it a nice home by the other flowers. As they have bloomed and grown I have enjoyed a little bit of color in my corner of the Arizona desert.
(This is what they look like even in the cold- taken this week!)

I also re-painted this bench and was in the process of adding a handprint stone walk way of all the kids to the bench, until the before named kids broke most of them! aargh!

A few years ago I also planted some Irises (at the top) around the yard and have enjoyed watching them as an ever growing beautiful spring border each spring....

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aaah....IN MY PRETTY GARDEN!

THE LADIES!

(Haliegh O'Donnal, Cele Hancock, Dacie Sorensen, Amy Steinert, Ainsley Bliss, Avery Trezise)

CAN YOU SEE ANY REASON WHY DACIE {HEARTS} PRESCHOOL SO MUCH?

HALLOWEEN part 5- THE AFTERMATH

AND after all the festivities have ended and you drag your tired, sugared out crew through the door, what greets you?

A HURRICANE of preperation mess!
Make-up Studios, and Costume Making have crept to every flat surface of your home!

Your costume tub has erupted like a volcanoe in your home, and costumes are flung all over.

AND you could not find brown spray hair paint so you died your 2 boys hair with temporary die, and its not so temporary as you think-your once toe-head is NOW a flaming red head!

SOOO You roll up your sleeves and clean every moving and non-moving thing in the house-- with scrubbing, vacuuming, bathing, spraying, packing, folding

& when that is done is when

HALLOWEEN is officially OVER! (still one of my favoritest holidays!)

We WON'T even go into candy distribution or the amount of wrappers we find in our yard, laundry loads or kids pockets....

that's for another year!