Lydia turns 6!

 After much debate (over many, many ideas), Lydia settled on SING for the theme of her party this year. We watched it a few weeks ago and she fell in love with the songs, and the cast (Mr. Moon, especially, despite our explaining to her that he is not the greatest role model) and knew that her birthday needed to be centered around this fabulous movie. So Jon came up with plans for her cake and we talked about gifts, who to invite (so hard! We live by about 100 sweet kids who are all her age and did our best to narrow down the number to a reasonable guest list), and what to do during the party. For those of you who didn't know, Jon planned parties professionally during high school when he worked at McDonald's. So he had some incredible ideas, and when all was said and done, it was a major success! On Sunday we were told that it was, "the party to end all parties."

14 of the 17 kids invited came. One little girl wasn't sure about the party at first and didn't want her mom to leave her so Lydia went over and said she'd stay with her as long as she needed to so that she felt comfortable at her party. Her mom was so impressed with how sweet and thoughtful Lydia was. Love that girl! Also, being Memorial Day weekend we figured more people would be out of town. Honestly, we didn't know how many kids to expect, but they were all really sweet and, as far as we could tell, had a really good time! For the most part. We did lunch, but it didn't go over super well. Most of the kids liked the lemonade, but the pizza was a bit of a let down. Good to know! The cake and ice cream went over a little bit better at the end, but not much. It was the face painting that was the real hit of the party. Jon's co-worker Leslie came and painted each child's face (if they wanted face paint) and didn't mess around. This was full on face paint! We had lots of kittens and tigers and puppies in various shades and colors. She did an amazing job! And Sophie kept the secret all week so that when we told Lydia there would be face paint at her party she actually gasped!

We borrowed Jon's parents parachute and it proved to be a lifesaver. We thought it might be a good backup if we had extra time after doing all the other games and activities, but we needed everything we had! Lydia said that playing sharks with the parachute was one of her favorites of the party.

 The piñata went over well too. For a minute we thought we might need a sturdier bat, but it didn't take long for these kids to whack that elephant to bits. It isn't really Meena, but it was the closest thing to a SING piñata we could find, and Lydia was happy with it, so that was what mattered.

Jon had to talk Lydia into doing a fishing pond. She was sure there needed to be water and if there was water, it sounded okay, but otherwise maybe not. Well, Jon took some extra materials he had lying around and put together this awesome pond (that Lydia approved of) and the kids loved it!

 We asked Uncle Tophe to come and help if he was able. Thankfully he said he could make it because even though I was hoping he could oversee a game Mia needed to be held the entire time. Until Tophe got there I was holding her and she wasn't about to let me set her down. She drank her body weight in lemonade and was pretty tired halfway through, but as long as Uncle Tophe was holding her she was happy.

 Musical chairs was a hit to begin with. We bought a few prizes for the winners, thinking that four rounds would be about right. Sophie was pretty sad when the mermaid Barbie she was hoping to win got chosen first, but she kept playing. Lydia purposely got out when it came down to either her or Sophie getting the last empty chair. She was doing whatever she could to keep people from getting upset. And some of the kids really liked playing until the end, though the last round only about five of them joined in. The music was fun and the kids could jump on the tramp, or play on the swingset or in the bouncehouse when they got out if they weren't in line for face paint.

These guests were so generous and thoughtful with their gifts! And Lydia was super appreciative of everything she was given. She's already written 5 or 6 thank you cards by herself and wants to draw a picture of an animal on each card. It might take her a few more days, but she'll get it done!

Such a cute group of friends! Lydia is so lucky that there are so many kids her age in our neighborhood. It seems like lots of families youngest are her age and there aren't nearly as many Sophie's age. Poor Mia is in nursery with only one other kid. Hopefully we get some more young families moving into our ward before too long.

Sunday the primary sang to Lydia at church and she finally got to choose her "Hi Chews" treat she'd been looking forward to since Sophie's birthday. Maybe all year. And after church we went to the Farmington Cemetery where we visited Jon's Grandpa Steed and Uncle Buff. Jon told us a little bit about them and we talked about WWII because Grandpa Steed lied about his age so he could join the navy when he was young. Other than that, there isn't much Jon's family knows about Grandpa Steed's experiences in the war. Sophie said, "Grandpa Andrus didn't fight in the war. He was hit by a car." I was a little confused by that, but I think she was thinking we were talking about dying and she knew that Grandpa Andrus didn't die in a war. It led to an interesting conversation and was just so nice to remember family who have passed on. We went to Salt Lake and visited Matthew. We talked about him at dinner with Mom and Dad, Isaac and Amber and Tophe. They pulled out the book of pictures and letters that were put together after he passed away. I was so happy to find that the picture of me holding Matthew had made its way back into the book after I was sure it had gone missing when I was in elementary school. I'd done a report and included that picture and thought that I'd lost it years ago. Jon said I looked just like Lydia looking adoringly at one of her younger siblings.

And then we celebrated Lydia some more! We sang to her and she opened sweet and thoughtful cards from Grandma and Grandpa and Isaac and Amber. Uncle Tophe knows our girls well, and when Lydia opened the karaoke microphone from him she was ecstatic! She couldn't wait to open it so she could get right to singing. She's going to be on the radio one day, in case you were wondering. Such a fun and peaceful day spent with family!

 And today we got to celebrate some more with Jon's family! Cupcakes this morning and more gifts.

Lydia was so excited when she opened Mr. Moon. She was hoping for him more than anything for her birthday. And the SING soundtrack will get lots of listening too. I'm excited for her and Sophie to use the Troll Walkie Talkies from the Pynes, and the Lite Brite from the Talbots will be so fun! That gift brings back so many memories! I had no idea those were still out there. Lyds kept her shopping trip with Grandma and Grandpa a secret so that the rest of us finally found out about her puppies today. Hours of fun with those! I think she'll look super cute in her new dresses, though they were for sure not exciting at all. And her bubble bath flamingo will be a lot of fun too. So many sweet and thoughtful gifts from everyone and then the fun really began!

 After the quick celebration we all headed to Lagoon for our first trip of the season. Lydia kept telling me that this was "the best birthday ever!!!" And the girls had a great time riding rides and running around. Mia seemed to like the rides much better once she was off of them, but if you asked her if she was having fun, the answer was always yes. I would have told you that she absolutely wasn't having fun by the look on her face. But what do I know?

 There'll be many more trips to Lagoon with these fun cousins. It was a great way to spend part of her birthday! And lunch at McDonald's afterward didn't upset anyone.

 Lydia, Jon and Sophie all tested out her new microphone. Such a great gift! Thanks again Uncle Tophe! We're looking forward to hours and hours of fun and entertainment with this in the weeks and months to come.

And in case anyone was wondering, she grew a little more than three inches over the last year! Which explains why she's looking so grown up! And of course we just love her! She is the sweetest and so much fun. Six looks good on you Lyds! Looking forward to this next year and all the adventures you're going to have!