July 2014--Ada's birthday

Ada's birthday is also in July, and she turned 8! She also got a friend party this year. She wanted a pizza pajama movie party. It happened the weekend before her birthday. It was probably my easiest party ever!



The setup

First they ate pizza, cupcakes, and ice cream

Daisy, Ella, Ada, Reese, and Sophie

Zoey, Hailey, Kate, and Claire

Kate's friend Lauren came with her sister Hailey

Crazy girls!

Next, Ada opened presents

Then the girls went downstairs to watch The Pirate Fairy. They each got a cup with popcorn and candy

Tyler was in New York for work on Ada's actual birthday and didn't get home until late that night, so I played it solo all day. Ada wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast, so we went to Kneaders

Presents from the fam

Sporting her new clothes

Another present arrived later that day (love Kate's face!)

I made a coconut cake

Ada got one final present on the day after her birthday when Tyler was around. A bike! She was so excited

July 2014--Kate's birthday

It was the year for friend parties, and Kate got to have hers the day before her 6th birthday. I decided I didn't want to do it at home, so I was able to talk her into doing her party at Orange Leaf. It turned out really well. Kate wanted a My Little Pony party.


Pinkie Pie cupcakes

Party hat decorating station

Nail painting station

Party favors

More cupcakes

The girls all got frozen yogurt and ate it while watching My Little Pony

Tyler got really into his role helping with the hat decorating

Ada helped me paint their nails

Grace, Kate, Addison, Ava, Kayla, Izabel, Adia, Lyla, Lauren, and Rora

Ready to blow out the candle

Sweetest sisters

More nail painting

Opening presents

The next day was Kate's actual birthday. She makes the best faces when she opens gifts! Later that day we drove to Lava Hot Springs. I made a chocolate cake for us all to enjoy up there

July 2014--Lava Hot Springs and sad news

Something monumental happened in my family: my dad rented a house at Lava Hot Springs for us to spend some time at. It was the first time my family has gotten away together since we've all been married. The out-of-towners weren't around, so it was just my parents, the Dicksons, the Hewitsons, and us.


On the way up, we stopped in Logan for some Aggie Ice Cream

At Lava, we spent a day swimming at the water park. Look at all these girls!

Kate, Ly, and Alice all bathed together

We stopped by a man-made geyser

One day we rented some tubes and tubed down the river. The Hewitsons joined us for a while too. We ended up going down three times! The girls couldn't get enough

After rafting we stopped for some pizza

One the way home, we made a few stops. First we went to ATK to see some NASA rockets

Next we stopped at the Golden Spike Historic Site. We got there just in time to see a demonstration with the trains

Last, we went to see the Spiral Jetty at the Great Salt Lake

While we were in Lava, Tyler and I found out some devastating news. Our three-year-old neighbor drowned in his grandparents' pool while on vacation in Texas. We were shocked and heartbroken. We're pretty good friends with the family. Garrett was in Lyla's nursery class at church and his sisters are some of Ada's and Kate's best friends. We attended the funeral later that month and Tyler sang in the choir. Both parents spoke at the funeral. It was absolutely heartbreaking, but I've been impressed by the faith and hope they've shown. It's been neat to see the whole neighborhood band together to help this sweet family, from decorating the neighborhood with blue and orange ribbons to planning a post-funeral party. Garrett's mom wanted a party to celebrate his life following the funeral services. It was such a positive thing to help remember this sweet boy. There were bounce houses, popcorn and sno cone machines, face painters, and a balloon sendoff. Our neighbors are continuing to struggle on a daily basis over six months later, but we continue to pray that they will feel peace and comfort.