The Twins' Rainbow Birthday Party

The girls and I decided to have a rainbow-theme birthday party this year.  Now, I love throwing parties and  showers with themes that I can incorporate into everything and I went crazy and thoroughly enjoyed doing every last detail of this party.  My good friend Jessica took some amazing photos of those details so here are a TON of pictures!

First of all here is the invitation:

And here is the view when you walked into the party

I sewed strips of colored paper together to make the hanging garlands and made tons of paper pinwheels to put everywhere.  My mom did most the work sewing together that AMAZING tablecloth using plastic tablecloths from the dollar store and sewing them to an old sheet.

I used paint samples and favorite pictures of the girls to add some more color and personal touches to the decor.

Sweets Table

Instead of doing a meal I really wanted to have a sweet/dessert table and make everything really bright and colorful and fun.  On this table we had:

Rainbow layered jell-o

I covered oreos in white chocolate and then used colored glace icing and colored sprinkles to pretty them up. They were sooo good.

Sour rainbow-striped airheads rolled and stuck with a toothpick for easy grabbing

One of my favorite treats- jell-o coated popcorn. I made 6 different flavors

Easy chocolate and sprinkle- covered pretzel rods

Twizzlers with their label on a colored popsicle stick easel

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and fun toppers

The kids stayed outside mostly, playing on the swingset, making rainbow crafts, playing in the mini bounce-house, or playing with the bean-bag toss.

Madylin, Morgan & Nathan. My parents made this for a bean bag toss game and for photo ops.

Morgan colors her rainbow with markers

Madylin gluing dyed pasta to her rainbow template.  I dyed flower shaped pasta in 6 colors and they turned out sooo pretty and bright!

The cake had 6 layers- one of each color of the rainbow we were using.  I made a simple pennant bunting by gluing colored felt to twine and lined the bottom of the cake with chewy lemonheads in rainbow order.

Blowing out the candles on their six-tier cake

I wish I could plan a party like this every year for each of  my kids- but I don't think my husband would allow that!  This was so much fun!

The Twins Turn 4!

The morning of the twins' 4th birthday we woke up at my parents house in San Diego.  We had been there for the weekend because I had a volleyball tournament there.  The girls got to open their first present from Russell and I- dresses and stick on earrings (I know . . . I'm going to enjoy it while I can because I know the days of wishing for i-pods and cell phones will be here all too quickly).  I braided their hair and they were looking beautiful (and too old!) and ready for the day.

Madylin chose pink heart earrings (she LOVES pink)

 This one always has her hands on her hips for pictures.  Makes sense- she's got some serious attitude though you wouldn't think it based on this sweet picture.

We had a picnic lunch with Granna and the 2 boys she babysits and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

We left San Diego and came back home after lunch.  We took the girls to the movies for the first time.  Thanks to our friends Ginny & Steve for watching the boy so we could just take the birthday girls!

Here they are using their birthday money from  Grandma Hatch to buy their movie tickets.

and buy some candy, of course

Then we sat and got ready for "Rio."  Cute movie, but I'm glad the girls were still too young to understand a lot of the adult humor in that movie.

After the movie we went to dinner at La Casita

and then headed home for cupcakes.  The girls each got a plate of frosted cupcakes to decorate.  They love to put sprinkles on anything they can

Nathan thoroughly enjoyed this activity as well

We sang Madylin "Happy Birthday"

and then Morgan (she's younger by 2 min ;)

And the girls opened up one last present

I love this age when they are so easy to please!!

Can't believe they are 4!

Easter 2011

Easter Sunday is swiftly becoming my favorite holiday.  Probably because I get to host and have both my family and Russell's family all together under OUR roof.  This year the Easter Bunny was kind enough to come during church instead of before because 9 am church comes too early to fuss over egg hunts and baskets as well as get myself and my brood looking extra special in time.

Here are the kids before church.  Of course the picture is blurry- I hate my camera (but don't tell my husband I said this because he hates it when I complain about it and threatens to go spend money we don't have to buy a new one ;)

And the next one is magically clear

After church we admired our baskets from the Easter Bunny and also saw the dammage he'd done.  The girls thought it was hilarious that the naughty bunny came and hid eggs all over our house! Unfortunately, it was kind of a dreary, drizzly day so the hunt had to take place indoors.

Nathan had some help from Granna on the high ones

Here are the kids with their loot!

For dinner I made Ham, crescent rolls, green beans with bacon, and deviled eggs.  My mom made potato salad and my mother-in-law made a delicious fruit salad.  For dessert I made carrot cake and strawberry short cake. We had my mother and father-in-law and Travis, as well as my parents, brother Steven, and my brother Matt with my nephew Kaleb.  Great food and great company.

One more attempt at a family picture outdoors: 

The girls were complaining that it was cold and Nathan was sucking on an egg, but that's how family pictures often go and so I have to get over it!

Nathan in Scouting

I am the Bear Den Leader in our church Cub Scout program.  One night I brought Russell and the kids so that Russell could help me teach the boys how to tie some knots.  Nathan was so adorable.  He sat on the table with some rope and tried to tie knots with the boys.

Look at this concentration!

Such a ham

Hemet Children's Museum and Cousins!

We don't get to see my oldest brother and his family much, but they were visiting grandparents in March for a bit and we made plans to go to my parents' house to see them.  Unfortunately, my little nephew got sick and plans changed.  My parents brought the older kids and met us in Hemet to go to the Fingerprints Museum so the older kids could still see each other.  It was a really cute museum and my girls are STILL talking about it.  

They had a cute kitchen area that Morgan, Madylin, and Aubrey had some fun in.  Aubrey is 11 months older than the twins.

 There was also a cute little dress up room.  I don't know why Madylin had to mess up her cute outfit with the creepy scarf and strange expression.

 The favorite part for all the girls was the "Wal-Mart"  They had a conveyer belt and dozens of empty boxes and cartons and bottles on the shelves for the kids to put into their mini shopping carts.  The girls took turns being the "payer" (which you would think means the shopper who pays, but no, they meant the person who takes the money- the checker).

How cute is this boy?? (notice the cart- takes after his dad)

Madylin in one of the tractors

Morgan strapping Granna into the ambulance.

There were lots of things to do. They had a pit for the kids to dig bones out of and motorcycles and a doctor's office and a bank and a climbing wall among other things.

Here are the kids and Uncle Steven after lunch.  Really fun day and a cute museum that I would recommend to all my local friends.

Fire Station Field Trip

A couple of weeks ago we went to one of the fire stations around here with our preschool group.  The kids really enjoyed it and the firemen were so nice and really great with the kids.  They all got turns sitting in the fire truck

And they got to wear some of the equipment

But the best part was when they got to spray the hose!

Here is our preschool group

So grateful for firefighters and all they do and for their willingness to teach little preschool groups like ours about fire safety!