Another Birthday Party for Riley

We celebrated Riley's birthday with my side of the family the day after my dad's party. (Again, Mia asked why Riley was getting another party.) It was convenient that all of my siblings were there. We were able to use one of the conference rooms at the hotel, which was very nice.

The kids all helped put the candles on, if you can't tell

Riley doesn't like being the center of attention. She gets pretty shy if everyone is looking at her. I was the same way (still kind of am) when I was little.

Her favorite part--opening up presents. She received a baby doll, a dress, a pair of shoes, some leggings, and a purse. Thanks everyone!

The two babies of the family. Margaret is on the left and Abe is on the right. Too cute. Margaret is one of the easiest babies I've ever seen. Abe, not so much. :)

We got one last swim in before we left for the day. It was a fun weekend but the adults were pretty tired when Sunday came to an end! 

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!

 We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday on Saturday. We initially were planning to make it a surprise party, but we ended up telling my dad in the end. He didn't want a party but we said, "too bad."

Kelly and I were in charge of the decorations. We brought a bunch of old pictures of my dad and our family and set those up. We also bought some silver strands for the table and plastic vases to put our decorations in. It took us quite awhile to decorate. Just when we were done, Jenna informed us how many people RSVP'd and told us we needed decorations for 5-6 more tables. We made a mad dash to Walmart to try to find some stuff that matched.

I'd say 60-70 people came to his party. It was a great turn out!

 The kids had to get into the cupcakes right away. They had fun helping us set everything up.

 The best mom in the world! And one of the most patient people I know!

 The party started at 7:00 so we had a bunch of appetizer-type foods. We had meatballs, buffalo chicken, bacon-crackers, and nachos with salsa. We thought we had too much food at first, but we actually ran out of food.

 The party was a success. I didn't know my dad had that many friends. :) It was fun seeing all of my sisters.

 I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't get any pictures of my dad. I didn't get many pictures at all, in fact. We were all pretty busy with everything and were all really tired when the night ended.

 We rented a motel that night with the coolest swim area for kids.

 All of the kids went down the water slide. It was pretty fun!

 Riley has the hand on the hip thing down pat.

Most of the cousins. We're missing Evan, Margaret, and Abe. We all had fun with my dad's party but we were all glad when it was over. It's a lot of work planning a party!

Finally, New Carpet!



We pulled the carpet out of the kids' room almost 6 months ago. Their carpet was stained and icky and I wanted it out. At the time, we used the room as a spare bedroom and a place to store toys. I put an area rug down and the plywood floor didn't bother me.

We decided to separate the kids into their own rooms. They had been sharing one room for the last 3 years. It worked out really well. They all slept better, but it was time for Ethan to have his own room and for the girls to have their own space.

We thought this was the perfect time to put some carpet down in their room. We debated for awhile over what we wanted to do. I prefer carpet in bedrooms, so we knew that much. I didn't want to spend hundreds on carpet to only have them stain it up. I've read a lot on carpet tiles, and I found some decent ones at Menards. It's the same cost as carpet, so we didn't save any money, but I liked the fact that if the girls spill something, we can pull up the carpet tile and replace it.

 We measured the center of the room and started laying the tiles. The prep work took the longest. It only took a couple of hours to lay the tiles. It was very easy.

I thought it turned out really well. In some areas, you can see the lines where the carpet lines up, but overall, I don't think you can tell they're tiles.

The only down side is that it isn't quite as soft as regular carpet.

Meanwhile, this is what the rest of my house looked like for a couple of days. It's unbelievable how much stuff they accumulate!

We still have to put some carpet down in Ethan's room. It was $600 to do the girls' room, so we're going to wait a bit for Ethan's. Home improvement is so expensive!

Happy Birthday, Riley!

Happy 5th Birthday Riley! I cant believe my baby is already five. It's unbelievable how fast time goes. She is such a sweet little girl. Riley will do anything for anybody. She's the first to jump up if someone needs something. She is so loving and sensitive towards everyone. She absolutely loves animals. Elsa, our dog, has a special place in Riley's heart. (Too bad for Elsa haha.) Riley likes to sleep with Elsa every night. Elsa tries to hide from Riley, but we find her.

Riley is a friend to every little child she meets. She likes to make them feel included. She can be shy but will warm up if you give her some time.

I thank God for all he's done for our family. He has blessed us so much over the years.

We celebrated Riley's actual birthday (Monday, March 17th) with just our family and Aunt Kelly. She wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese, so we spent the evening there. The kids had fun playing with all of the games.We came home in time for her to open some presents. We bought her quite a few small things. She thought she was pretty lucky to have so many gifts!

Her big present from us was the Barbie with the unicorn. She was pretty happy with her gift.

Aunt Kelly bought her a princess crown with jewelry. She had to put some lip gloss on to complete her outfit.

Grandpa Tom and Grandma Andrea bought her a fishing pole. We always go boating when we see them, and the kids enjoy fishing.

Having fun at Chuckie Cheese. It wasn't horribly busy, so we didn't have to wait to play the games.

I'd say her favorite gift was the Hello Kitty water bottle. Who knew? We had a fun time being together as a family. I really try to be present and remember these times because I know they will fade fast. We love you to the moon and back Riley!