Mission Accomplished

Yesterday was Aubrie's birthday party. I have been planning on doing something real special for her since it was her special "double digits' birthday. I wanted it to be her most memorable birthday party ever. Castle and Coasters is a miniature golf/ amusement park close by. I thought that would be the perfect way to celebrate. I was glad to see that they were so reasonable!!! I let Aubrie invite 10 friends. Between me and my friend, that meant being in charge of 5 ten year olds.

I had most of the girls meet at our house at 12:15, so I could drive them there. The party started in the party room at 1:00. There we had pizza, cake and opened gifts. Aubrie wanted a cheesecake for her birthday cake (a girl after my own heart). Aubrie and the adults were the only ones that ended up eating it! Everyone at home was thrilled that we had leftovers! Aubrie got a lot of good stuff, including several gifts cards to Tilly's and tonz of Justice stuff, including a cute bathing suit! Aubrie can't wait to go shopping with her gift cards!

After time in the party room, we headed out to hit some rides. In the beginning there were only a few girls brave enough to ride the bigger rides, so Aubrie decided on rides everyone wanted to do.

After about an hour, we did a round of miniature golf. At first I thought it was going to take FOREVER to get 10 girls through a round of miniature golf, but then I realized that they weren't going to play like adults. They were basically running from green to green, and picking up their balls and putting them in the holes, if they couldn't get it in after a few hits, or if the others were getting too far ahead. It took them about 40 minutes, and they all had a fun time. At one point a ball went into the water, and not surprisingly, Aubrie was the one who fetched it out!

After golf, some of the girls got more brave, and we got almost everyone on the big roller coaster. Once they all went on it and realized it wasn't that scary, that became the favorite and they become more brave to ride the other rides.

We finally headed out at 6:30. The girls had fun chatting in the car, and I dropped the last girl off at 7:45. Aubrie had a fun time going through all her gifts. She joined Ben and the kids in the hot tub in her new bathing suite, and quickly passed out watching a movie. Before she fell asleep, she said that this was her best birthday party ever. Mission Accomplished!

10, 14 & 35

Anyone know what these numbers have in common? They all happened on the same day! Here is to another Pribyl Holiday, also known as April 26th! Aubrie turned 10, Ben and I have been married for 14 years, and I am now officially in my mid-thirties! That doesn't even sound right typing that last one. I don't feel that old, except maybe by the end of the day!

This year Aubrie had her birthday party at Castle and Coasters , but for her actual birthday we put streamers in door, took ice cream sandwiches to her class, let her skip dance, and took her ( and me) to Texas Roadhouse. We also let her open her gifts. It's kind of nice when your kids want clothes for their birthday, because it's like killing two birds with one stone. (And as I type that saying I'm finally realizing how cruel it is!) A month before her birthday I had her circle things she wanted in the Justice catalogue, and I went there with a 45% off coupon the next day. A whole summer worth of clothes for 150 bucks!!!! Aubrie thought she hit the jackpot, and so did I with that smoking deal!!!

My birthday was spread out over the week. This year my friend wanted to do something big, but after last years huge celebration with friends, I wanted to stay low key. Ben took me out for lunch and gave me my gifst on my birthday, and several friends took me out throughout the week and dropped by with gifts. I have to say that doing it that way was fun, but not good for the scale! Lots of eating out sure catches up with you fast! I am grateful for so many good friends who turned a start to a sad birthday into an amazing one. Heavenly Father's tender mercies helped me see how much people really cared about me. He is always so good at finding ways to help me see that, when I have hard things come up! It's so great to know that he looks after me in such personal and specific ways!

Wednesday Ben and I had the opportunity to make it to the temple for our monthly visit. I was afraid we were going to miss it because his recommend had expired and we didn't realize it till we were getting ready to go a few weeks ago. Our calendar was full and I was panicking that we would miss this month. I dropped a few things on Wednesday to make sure we could go. It was a great experience. The sealer spoke with the group for about 15 minutes, answering questions and offering insight and advice. What a great way to celebrate and remember the commitment we made 14 years ago. It's hard to even imagine our life then. We have been parents for the most part of our marriage, and those first 4 years without them seems like such a distant memory, and one that while was fun and effortless, is not half as fulfilling as the one we have now with our beautiful family. While April 26th often seems busy with all the celebrations, it's also a GREAT day and a reminder of how my life IS a celebration mainly because of my marriage and my family! Here is to another PRIBYL DAY HOLIDAY!!!

Deja Vu

What are the chances that two of my kids have the same field trip within the month. If I wasn't putting together the DVD for his class, and responsible for the photography, I would have skipped this one. I'm glad I didn't! It was a BEAUTIFUL breezy day, and there were many cool things to see, that weren't there the last time. It is also fun to see Boston interact with his friends, and catch up with his teacher and the Mom's. The bus ride was great because his class had one bus all to themselves, which meant less noise and plenty of room to spread out! Here are some pics!

That's a lot of lunches!

The Bus

Beautiful!

One week old Ocelot (Born on Sophia's b-day)....So CUTE!!

The Walk About!

"Squints" at the Parrot Feeding!

Lunch Break

Stingray Exhibit

My Baby is 3!

After Ethan's birthday party, all Sophia could talk about was how she wanted a party with a "bouncy house". I knew there was no way I was getting out it, when she woke up every morning asking if it was her birthday and telling strangers everywhere, that she "was having a party with a bounce house." Of course, I didn't have to ask what kind of party she wanted. I was happy to hear that that they made a Dora bounce house!

I decided that a short, early birthday party would be the best at her age! Some thought I was crazy to have eight 3 & 2 year olds over, without parents, but I decided I could do anything for an hour. With a bounce house, food, cake, and presents, the time would go quickly and Sophia and the others would have a great time!

A week before, we filled out Dora invitations and I drove her to her friends houses' to deliver them. She was so excited as she was realizing that her party was getting closer.

The day before her party, we went to the store and ordered her cake, and bought the party favors and put the bags together. She wanted to give them out that day, and didn't quite understand the concept of her not getting one!

Ben and I put the streamer's in her doorway the evening before, (which is beginning to be our family tradition). I was excited for her to wake up to them, but in the morning I found her sleeping with Boston. Once the kids woke up, she came downstairs and opened my Mom's endless amount of gifts. You would think she was her only grandchild by the amount of gifts that kept coming out of the bag! After the kids went off to school, and I finished working out, we spent the morning decorating and getting food prepared.

Since the party was at 11:00, I had to prepare a little lunch, but I decided to make it easy and healthy. I made these PB&J's. I cut the grape jellies with the Dinosaur cookie cutters and strawberry with hearts.

I also had a fruit platter, and a couple bowls of trail mix. Once everything was ready, Sophia waited anxiously for her first guest to arrive.

Once her first couple of guests showed, they started on the jumper. Once everyone showed up, they started eating lunch. Of course, while I felt like I needed to feed them something, I should have known better. They just wanted to play, and they hardly ate half of what I put out.

They moved back to the jumper for some time, and then we moved onto presents. That was probably the most hectic part of the party. All the kids wanted to see, and there wasn't enough room, and then when she put the opened presents on the floor, kids were wanting and trying to open them.

After presents, we sang Happy Birthday. I didn't really think about photography, when I planned the party. Usually Ben and I take turns, and just think how hard it is to rally 8 kids, light a cake, and get pictures of it all. With that said, once I got the kids back to the table, I noticed Sophia was missing, and found her half way through the kitchen carrying her cake. Dora had fallen off, and a chunk of frosting had made it to the floor. Once I got that under control, and got her outside, I had to light the cake twice, because the candles went out before I got my camera ready. Once I did, it ironically took her a few tries to blow them out.

Oops! The wind blew them out!

Try #1

Try #2

#3

Sweet Success!!!

I passed out the cupcakes, and had wipes ready. Most of the kids licked the frosting off and then went off to play. The party was over before I knew it. Sophia had a GREAT time, and it wasn't hard at ALL. It was like nursery with a bounce house, presents, and cake! I'm glad I went for it, and threw her a party! She still talks about it, and has fun opening a different gift every couple of days!

Later that evening, after Boston's football game, we went out as a family to celebrate. We went to Fridays, and they sang to her and brought her ice cream. Doesn't she look so old here? My baby isn't a baby anymore:(

Easter in our PJ's

This Easter didn't feel the same, since we spent it in our pj's, in the Family Room watching conference, instead of dressing up and going to church. It was definitely easier on my budget, though. (No Easter dresses, etc. if your wondering why?) The kids woke up about 7:30, ready to get their baskets. This year we tied different color string to the kids baskets. The string started from their room, and went all over (including outside, through garages, etc) and ended where we hid their basket. The kids had a lot of fun following their string. Of course, Sophia's was the shortest and easiest and led behind our holiday tree. Bostons led to the basketball court (we got him a new basketball), Aubrie's was on the front patio, and Ethan's was up in the swing set.

After the basket hunt, we had a big breakfast and watched conference. An hour after the first session, our neighbors came over for an Easter egg hunt. It's amazing how fast 8 kids can find 90 eggs.

After the hunt, the neighbors went home, the kids had a small lunch, and then we put Sophia down before the second session.

The kids did really well during the session. They sat in the family room, and at the kitchen table (which is basically our family room) and worked on their Conference packets. I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!!!! Even Sophia did well the first session. There were a lot of great talks, and I look forward to the conference Ensign so I can review!

An hour after the second session, our neighbors came back over for Easter dinner. We had ham, potatoes, salad, my yummy strawberry cake, etc. It was very casual, and the kids had fun playing. It was perfect! I'm not very big on china and linens. Pulling out my glass plates and glasses is fancy for me. I don't even own a table cloth for my table, and I like it that way!:) If the food is good and the company is good, that's all that matters! A nice relaxing day to celebrate and focus on the Savior and his great sacrifice.