The BEST Birthday Ever!!!

"Mom, that was my BEST birthday ever!" Ahhhh...music to a mother's ears. This was a pretty great/crazy weekend. On Friday, my mom so kindly volunteered to watch the kids (aaaalllll day) while Justin & I went house hunting. Ug. We left at 7am and got home at 8pm...looking at back-to-back houses the whole time. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I inherited a few anxiety issues from my dad...so the thought of looking at 20-something houses in one day--and then actually deciding on ONE--is a bit of a daunting task for me. Let's just say, I'm glad Justin was with me. And a big THANK YOU to Marie & Wayne and Ruth & Dennis for their greatly appreciated opinions/advice. It's always nice to hear an outside perspective when all the houses start melting into one inside your head. (More on our decision later.)

The best part of our house hunting was that the kids got to spend ALL day with Grandma. Then to top it off, they were invited to Uncle Doug & Aunt Tracy's for dinner and a carnival at their cousins' school. Abbie told me it was the best day ever...and it wasn't even her birthday yet!

The next morning we had a super fun "cousin" birthday party at the park. It was soooooo windy! We had plates of food/cake flying right and left. The adults found it slightly annoying, but the kids didn't seem to mind at all. Abbie couldn't get over how many people were at her party. We've always lived away from home, so this was definitely our biggest birthday celebration yet!


After a couple of hours, we got tired of tying everything down, and wrapped things up at the park. Then we headed over to Justin's grandparents' with his family. We feel so blessed to have them with us. I only ever knew 1 grandma, no grandpas, and definitely no great-grandparents. Our kids adore them and love going to the "magic" grandpa's house.

After a fun visit there, Abbie & I headed downtown for the birthday party of her good friend, Macall. Macall was Abbie's first friend from Virginia and their birthdays are a day apart. They were in town celebrating Macall's 8th birthday and we were lucky enough to be a part of it. She had a fun party at the Lion House, where they learned about the pioneers & Brigham Young, played pioneer games, ate yummy food/cake, etc. Abbie even got a present because it was her birthday! (That's my kind of party.) Then we walked over to the temple. I've been there countless times, and yet I'm always surprised at how beautiful it is. (I didn't have my camera, so I stole some pictures from Erin--thanks!)


After Macall's party, we met the rest of the family at Justin's parents' house to open presents. I don't think I've ever seen Abbie so happy.


As if that wasn't enough fun to last all year, we were able to go to Macall's baptism the next day on our way out of town. She was so sweet. The Hendry's are like family to us, and we felt blessed to share this special weekend with them.


We are grateful to have such great friends...from one end of the county to the other. We wish we had a big friend magnet that could draw them all closer to us! One of the disadvantages of moving around the country...leaving friends behind.


So...in honor of Abbie turning 7, here are a few of her favorite things...

color: purple
food: macaroni casserole
treat: Twix
tv show: Cyberchase
movie: High School Musical 2
song: Bad Day (Daniel Powter)
holiday: Easter
animal: elephants & giraffes
book: Magic Treehouse
vacation: Sea World/Becca's house

person: everyone in her family


Some of my favorite things about Abbie...

she was born first--she is a great helper to me & example to her brother & sisters

her "kiss mark"
(she has a cute birthmark on her cheek--I tell her that's where the boys have to kiss her until she gets married :)

most days she prefers reading a good book to playing dress-up

she's a dare devil/rollercoster queen, yet the first one to cover her eyes in a scary movie

she writes in her journal

she LOVES watching Jazz games with her dad

she's kind & makes friends easily

she's always the smallest in her class, on her team, at church, etc.

her endless lists

she can't lie--whenever she tries, a huge smile breaks out across her face

she loves to do secret acts of service

she wants to participate in EVERYTHING

she has no bum ("pull your pants up" rolls off my tongue too many times a day to count)

she is super smart...in more ways than one

the way she tries not to smile when she's proud of herself

she looooves to make our menus and help with dinner

she reads books to her sisters at night

her prayers--so thoughtful & sweet

her testimony & knowledge of the gospel at such a young age...she amazes me


This list could go on forever! Abbie is such a blessing to our family. She is fun, thoughtful, dependable, helpful, funny, brave, social, smart, sensitive, spiritual beyond her understanding...

I LOVE HER!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Abbie!

good things...

1. "Can you believe how many people are at my party?!"
2. "Mom, I'm at someone else's party, and I got a present!"
3. "That was my BEST birthday ever!"