It's My Party.......

We were so lucky we had scheduled Rian's party for two weeks after her actual birthday.  Right after her birthday was when we were hit with the worst floods in Colorado history.  But on the morning of the party, the skies were clear and the sun was shining. 

Rian decided she wanted a zebra-themed pizza making party. So we bought pink chefs hats and aprons for the girls to decorate and Hayden spent all morning hanging pink, white and black streamers all over the house.   

All set and ready to go.

 

Pre-party jitters were lessoned with a few snuggles from the cat.

You can't see Rian's skirt, but she too is wearing white, black and pink.

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Sage.

Jasmine!

Rian.

Ella F.

Olivia

 

The girls had fun designing their aprons and hats and took their time creating some really cute pictures and designs.

 

Ready to roll!

Everyone made their own personal size pizza with their favorite toppings and then we went outside to play some party games while Dad baked the pizzas for everyone.

The girls had to move the hula hoop around the entire circle while holding hands and not letting go. 

The mummy-wrap game was a big hit.  In teams of two, the girls had to run to the other side of the yard, and one of the girls had to "dress" the other team member up as a mummy using an entire roll of toilet paper before running back to the finish line.

Jaz and Rian made great partners. 

Ella F. and Sarah.

Ella R. with Kaylee.

 

 

After the girls were done, they came inside to eat their creations!

And open presents. 

And have some zebra brownies.

Towards the end of the party, we went out front and played several games with water balloons. (Most of which ended up as water balloon fights!) .

The favorite game of the day was the Donut-on-a-String game where two girls competed against each other at a time to see who could finish their donut the fastest (without using their hands). 

 

There were lots of giggles and powdered sugar noses during this game!

It was a beautiful day and we were so happy to be able to throw Rian a birthday party for her and her closest friends.

Horseback Riding in Estes park

I had found a Groupon online for Horseback Riding up in Estes Park, and because the girls LOVE horses so much, we decided a family fall ride would be fun.  Hayden brought her friend Skylar along, and for the six of us, we only spent $99.  Such a deal for some horse therapy!

Rian just loves animals, especially horses.  She felt right at home at the ranch.

Hayden ready to go, with one of the ranch hands leading the way.

For someone who had seemed so anxious and unsettled lately, the ride just completely calmed Rian down and mellowed her out.

Skylar and her horse taking a short break. 

Jessie and I rode Poncho, who was quite the gentleman, and at 23, apparently the oldest horse at the ranch. 

 

 

When the ride was over, Rian didn't want to leave!

 

We played at the ranch for awhile afterwards, the girls all loved chasing the chickens around and Hayden saved a big rooster from being eaten by a mean dog. 

They found a mama dog and her pup under the bushes and coaxed them out to play.

 

The weather was perfect, and the ride was nice and serene through the mountains.  Nothing like some fresh mountain air to start the weekend out right. 

Rian's 8th Birthday!!!

When Rian woke up on her birthday, she had zebra striped streamers hanging in her bedroom doorway, and she enjoyed panckaes with whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles topped with a candle for breakfast.

So excited to be 8!

She was so excited to open her gifts, that we let her open a few before school.  This super soft and cozy robe was from Grandma and Grandpa Thomas.

The gift she had been dreaming about- the Orbeez Luxury foot spa.

 

Opening her special gifts from Aunt Jody.

Embarrassed that underwear were part of the gift, she tried to fling them off the table, only to have them land in the blinds.  (Very cute polka-dotted undies that matched a shirt, skirt and sweater, I might add). 

 

 

At school the class sang Happy Birthday to Rian.  We brought juice boxes for the kids (the school is trying to do away with birthday treats and play games or have extra recess instead) and Rian chose the class game- Heads Up 7-Up.  (My favorite indoor recess game as a kid!). 

Everyone had fun and then it was time for mom to leave and the students to get back to business.

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner to help celebrate.  When they arrived, Rian was relaxing and reading a book while enjoying her new foot spa. 

Rian loved her new American Girl tea party set from Grandma and Grandpa.

                                              

Jessie spent a very long time making this special card for Rian using her Barbie sketch pad. 

Willey and Diane met us at Dairy Delite for Rian's favorite treat- a vanilla cone dipped in cherry. 

 

Once we started singing, everyone in the place joined in to wish Rian a VERY Happy Birthday!

 

Hayden's in Love-Love with tennis

This year Hayden decided to try a new sport.  She went out for the 7th grade girls' tennis team at Lesher.  Nervous at first about not really having much experience on the court, she ended up having a lot of fun and learning a lot about the game at the same time.  She played #2 doubles with an 8th grader, Angelina.  The JV team finished the season with 5 match wins, and only 1 loss.  Hayden and her partner won five matches and lost one as well. 

 

Hayden's coaches always pointed out to us her positive attitude on the court and her good sportsmanship. Because of this, at one match, she was chosen to fill in for a varsity player on a doubles team.  She rose to the challenge and they won their match- and had a good time doing it :)

Being left-handed, it took her awhile to get her serve down.  But by the middle of the season, her serves were consistently going in. 

 

 

 

We were surprised at how easy going Hayden was the whole season.  Normally, she is pretty competitive when it comes to sports and academics.  But as she put it, she was just there to have fun and for the love of the game.  Way to go, H.!