The Party Lasted Two Weekends

We had big, big plans for Elise's 10th birthday.  Double digits!  The plan:  a sleepover with friends Friday into Saturday, then a family party Saturday afternoon (the day of her birthday).  I bought groceries for the birthday dinner (tacos) plus snacks for the sleepover and breakfast the next morning, bought a cake for the family party and ordered a decorated cake for the sleepover.  Then Mother Nature did her thing and dumped a bunch of snow on us, which shut everything down for several days.  No sleepover.  We would NOT let the weather stop the celebration, though, so we took Elise out for lunch on Saturday and had both cakes back at the house that evening. 

Celebrating with lunch (and presents) at
Elise's favorite restaurant.

There can never be too much cake on
one's birthday!

This cake was supposed to be for the sleepover.  Oh, well!

By the following weekend the snow was gone, temperatures were in the 50s (gotta love Virginia weather!) and the rescheduled sleepover was ON!  Friday night we celebrated with more cake, then sleeping bags and DVDs in the family room.  

Elise and her besties ready for a sleepover!

Saturday was a fun-filled day and it was all girls, all the time.  Elise got her ears pierced, we ate at her favorite restaurant for lunch (Italian),  had Rita's Italian Ice for desert, then went to paint our own pottery!  It was a truly awesome day.

Getting her ears pierced.  She said it hurt a
little, but not too bad.  She did much better
than I did when I got my ears pierced in 4th
grade, passed out cold and ended
up on the floor.

Beautiful!

Two weekends in a row with lunch at Castiglia's.  They are getting
to know us there!

Rita's Italian Ice!  I didn't think it was
 warm enough for a frozen treat, but these girls
love Rita's no matter the weather!

Painting pottery with these creative girls was a pleasure!

Elise's First Basketball Season Comes to an End

Elise and Anja played basketball for the first time this winter, and it was a ton of fun.  Anja was in the youngest group and they did skills building, with some scrimmages but no games.  Elise's age group practiced for a few weeks, then had games twice a week against other girls' teams in her age group.  They did very well, especially considering about half the girls on her team had never played before.  During the regular season they lost only two games, which meant they made it into championship play.  In the semi-final round they played a team they had previously lost to, and won by one point!

After the semi-final game, they were pretty excited!

In the final championship game they played the other team they had lost to in regular play, and hung in pretty close until the end, but could not pull ahead.  Elise was pretty sad they lost, but she did make a basket in the game and felt good about that.  We all think coming in second of all the teams in her age bracket is pretty good!

You can a short video of Elise making her basket here.

Happy Birthday, Elise!

Yesterday our adventurous, smart, strong, independent girl turned 10.  Double digits!  She is growing up fast.

Birthday interview

What is your name:  Elise
What is your favorite color:  Pink and black
What do you want to be when you grow up:  librarian
What is your favorite book:  Wings of Fire
What is your favorite show:  Avatar the Last Airbender
What is your favorite thing to do outside:  play and do whatever
Where is your favorite place to go:  petting zoos
What is your favorite food:  tacos
What is your favorite restaurant:  Mimi's Cafe
What do you think is your greatest accomplishment so far:  being nice to Anja

Visiting a Violin Maker

Earlier this month Elise's Girl Scout troop visited the William Mason Violin Shop in Fredericksburg to see how violins are made.  Mr. Mason makes handmade violins, and we got to see his showroom as well as his workshop.  It was fascinating to learn how much goes into making a violin.

Mr. Mason played some violins so we could hear how each
violin sounds unique.

The girls got to hold and look at some violins, but they didn't play.
Some of these violins cost thousands of dollars and it made me
nervous that they were even allowed to touch them.

In the workshop, Mr. Mason showed us the steps in making a violin.

In the workshop, Elise asks a question.

Utah 2014

Last summer, with the craziness of moving to Virginia, we did not make it to Utah for a visit, so it had been two years since we had been out there.  We were excited to get there this summer and see everyone, including two new cousins (my nieces) we hadn't met yet! 

Heading Out!

Utah, here we come!

Getting comfy on the long plane ride.

A New Baby
One of the first things we got to do in Utah was meet our new niece/cousin.  Originally, her due date was supposed to be the last day we spent in Utah, but she decided to come into the world a month early, so we got to see her nearly every day we were there!

Cousin Fun
With fifteen cousins around, there is always something to do!

Our other newest cousin!

Elise loved reading to these two!

One of the great things about having bigger cousins around is
there is always someone to push you on the swing!

Cousin Kaleb got a workout this day!

Cousin Davon makes a good
place to rest.

Exploring 
Park City
One day we headed up to Park City and enjoyed their street fair.

This balloon man on stilts was so cool!

Taking a break!

Bean Museum
We also spent an afternoon at the Bean Museum (not a museum about beans, but named after  Mr. Bean).

Elise giving a hand during the program.

Anja was surprised by what she grabbed while helping.

Getting up close and personal with a snake, these girls' favorite thing!

Sucker with a scorpion.  Yes, she ate the whole thing.

Sucker with ants.  She ate most of it, then her sister finished it.

We had a fun time with Tyler and our cousins!

Family Pictures 
One afternoon we all got together to take family pictures.  Getting thirty people in one picture takes some organization, but it was fun!

All the grandkids in one picture!

Grandgirls!

Grandma and grandpa with all the grandkids.

Grandma and grandpa with Tyler and the girls.

Me and the girls.

Awww, there were some special times here.

Time to Go Home
The time goes fast, and before we knew it we were headed home, already looking forward to the next time we can visit!

This little one was not feeling good and slept
almost the whole way home.

Elise is quite the seasoned traveler.