Elsa turns 7!

Elsa got to start her birthday bright and early with a trip to the dentist for a check-up. She actually likes going to the dentist and they gave her extra tokens for the prize machine since it was her birthday. We had a fun mother-daughter breakfast date at the Waffle House before I dropped her off at school.

This girls LOVES breakfast foods. Especially waffles and pancakes.

Elsa still loves nutella and requested crepes with nutella for dinner. She loved opening presents and got lots of fun gifts from family. She requested a strawberry nutella cake so I layered homemade chocolate cake with nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream. So yummy. Elsa is such a sweet girl and an excellent helper. She will always do whatever task I ask her to do and she's always concerned about others. She can easily play with any of her siblings and loves to take care of Oliver and Simon. We love our sweet Elsa girl.

Defy Gravity

It's been a few years since I've done a big friend party for any of the kids. I feel a little guilty, but also kind of happy that I've avoided it. I've never thought big friend parties need to happen every year, but we're probably due for one soon. Elsa was happy to keep things simple this year when I suggested she could choose a friend to bring to Defy Gravity, a trampoline park. I took the girls there after school the day before Elsa's birthday (Elsa brought her friend Brooke who lives next door and Amelia came too) and they had a great time. There were only a few other people there which was really nice. We went out to dinner at Chick-fil-A afterward and it made for a pretty fantastic evening.

preschool advancement

Oliver's preschool had a graduation ceremony for all of the kids, whether they were finishing preschool or not (Oliver still has one more year). Oliver stood with all the kids to sing the songs, but refused to sing. He also refused to come to the front to receive his certificate when his name was called. Poor kid does not like big crowds and new situations. He did not want to have his picture taken either. He did like the cupcakes at the end though. It was exhausting to keep Simon happy (and in one spot) for the long ceremony. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I can get that kid back in his car seat where he can't escape. 

Oliver's teacher, Ms. Jennifer, was amazing. She was so kind and really helped Oliver improve his writing.

bike ride

We took advantage of Oliver's last day of preschool and did a long bike ride while he was at school. The bike trailer gets a little tight with both boys in it and they tend to fight with each other so it was nice to just have Simon. We rode the American Tobacco Trail and started where I had ended my half marathon so we could see what the rest of the trail was like. We did the last 10 miles of the trail. It ends right in downtown Durham by the ballpark which is fun. We were hoping to have lunch but ran out of time so we had a quick snack and then rode the 10 miles back to the car. So much of the trail was lined with honeysuckle and it smelled so good.

puppet theater

The girls spent a Saturday turning the market stand into a puppet theater. Amelia wrote an elaborate story and script called "Helenour: Goddess of Strange Things." I'm always amazed at how easily her ideas seem to come. I love to see her creativity in action. Both the girls worked on designing and making the puppets and the backdrops for the different scenes. I loved listening to Elsa read her parts. She always reads with a lot of expression. I can't remember the whole story, but I think Helenour had a singing toucan named Reyin and there was also a wizard who lived in an ice cream-shaped building and he had to defeat a giant eraser that was going to erase the forest.

The announcement and unveiling of the theatre.