For Mother's day we traveled to Muskegon to attend my parents' church, then had brunch with them and my grandma. I received some super-special handmade cards from the kids (one of them complete with our favorite "knock-knock" joke written on it :) ), an incredible poem from Kyle (he's so talented!), a nice big Starbucks gift card (my usual request :) ), and a really cool photo card (made at Shutterfly) from my parents. There were a few other things as well, but--being a "words of affirmation" girl--the cards are tops for me :) After a relaxing afternoon at my parents' while the kids napped, we ended the evening with my favorite pizza--Mr. Scribb's! There's just nothing quite as good!
I'm blessed with two fun, smart, gorgeous children; a godly husband/father to my kids; a mother who is one of my best friends; a grandmother who I love and enjoy spending time with, and two other grandmothers who I love just as much and recently got to hang out with in California. Because of this...I am a happy mother.
Papa, Mac, Kyle - 3 of the most important men in my life
Sweet Ashlyn kisses
Ashlyn telling me this secret: "Mama, you're the best and I love you so, so, so much!"
Four generations of Spoelman women
Maguire took advantage of the chocolate fountain at brunch and ended up with chocolate lipstick ;)
Happy birthday, Ashlyn! Where in the world has time gone? It seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant with Ashlyn, constantly pushing her foot out of my ribs and praying for my sweet girl. All of a sudden Ashlyn is finishing up her last year of preschool, screening and registering for kindergarten in the fall, telling me that at her ballet recital she'll be "dancing for Jesus. And if people doesn't know about Jesus, our dancing will tell them!", making a great group of dear sweet little girl friends, memorizing scripture, singing, dancing, playing soccer, praying with incredible sweetness and sincerity, journaling, "reading", helping me and Daddy with anything we'll let her, "teaching" Maguire everything she knows, and just plain...turning 5!
To celebrate Ashlyn wanted to have a Fancy Nancy party. Let me tell you, I might have had more fun planning it than she had at the party :) I could've taken this theme SO much farther...if only I hadn't had a budget to follow! We invited 9 little girls to wear their fanciest attire for a fancy dinner party. They all looked so beautiful! The girls started out playing with Ashlyn's chest of dress-up clothes and accessories to finish accessorizing their ensembles (that's a fancy word for outfit).
Then we followed with the creation of some more fancy accessories: beaded necklaces and bracelets
After the craft, Kyle led the girls in a giggle-inducing round of "freeze dance". Kyle is so animated and the girls just eat it up! After Freeze Dance we played Fancy Bingo and then listened while Auntie Jen (my cousin) read a Fancy Nancy book.
After the story, dinner was served! Kyle "fell asleep", but his cousin "James" (complete with a British accent) came down in a tuxedo and served the little ladies their fancy macaroni-and-cheese, fancy flower-shaped sandwiches, parfaits, and punch in cute little espresso cups. It was so fun to watch the girls switch between laughing at "James", being convinced that he was really "Mr. Kyle", and briefly thinking "Maybe he really is James!". I think Kyle truly was the hit of the party--I have the BEST husband!!
What fancy party is complete without fancy cupcakes?! My sister-in-law's friend, Angela, is the gal we call on to do our cakes (remember the giant cupcake made of cupcakes for Ashlyn's party last year?). She hit the nail on the head with these cupcakes! Purple (Ashlyn's favorite color), pearly sprinkles, and plenty of blingin' accessories!
Ashlyn was still opening gifts, but once Maguire came home (Grandma and Grandpa had taken him to the play area at Burger King), most of the girls followed the little ladies' man outside :) Luckily the rain held off long enough for the kids to play outside for about an hour after the party officially ended. And Maguire targeted each of the moms and, one-by-one, led them out to the barn to play the drums for them. We are not kidding when we call him a ladies' man! Girls young and not-so-young fall prey to those dimples and eyelashes ;) LOL! Just curious, but does anyone else see Carrie Bradshaw when they look at the picture of Ashlyn holding those balloons?
The party was a smash hit and SO much fun for me to plan! I couldn't have done it without the help of my neighbor Kristi, my cousin Jen, Kyle, and the photographic genius of one of my closest friends Angie (bottom left picture with her sweet, sweet baby Jud--LOVE them!!). Happy birthday to my Sweetie Girl--I love you so much and thank God, daily, for allowing me the honor of being your mom!
