Happy Birthday Elise - Fairy Party

Elise had a fairy themed birthday party this year.

Mike stayed up late with me and helped make this giant paper tree.  We taped it up with blue painter's tape, and in the morning the whole thing was on the floor.  Whoops!  So we re-did it with duct tape.  The toadstool seats are the flour and sugar pails from my pantry, with felt and pillow stuffing to make the tops.

The girls decorated paper bag baskets for a scavenger hunt.  They also painted rocks to look like lady bugs.  Elise thought of the rock painting all by herself.

Earlier in the summer, our next door neighbor cut down a tree that had seen better days.  He was so nice to cut these pieces for me to make a cake pedestal, and then Mike assembled it.  Thanks Rob and Mike!  I was nervous about it tipping with the cake on it, so during the party I used it to display a platter of "fairy berries". Elise's grandpa Clint contributed the giant pinecones, aren't they cool?

My talented friend Kristin offered up a custom made cake for a Relief Society service auction.  I was so excited I won!  Kristin made the most amazing cake to fit the party theme.  Elise was delighted, and all the girls at the party crowded around oohing and aahing, and calling dibs on different flowers and mushrooms.  It was so nice to have one less thing to worry about while preparing for the party, plus this is above and beyond anything I could have done.

We had a nature scavenger hunt.  The girls had a hard time with some of the items on the list (live bugs!), but that was part of the fun!

For this relay, the pool was filled with clear flat marbles (dewdrops!) and they had to get them out with their feet.  If I had it to do again, I would have put the marbles in a bigger pool and had all the girls doing it at the same time.  It was so hot outside, it would have been more fun that way.  Plus, I decided that party games are more fun when they're not as competitive.

I made these cookies as party favors, along with the head wreaths and felt wings.

Elise is growing up so much.  Sometimes she acts like a sassy teenager, but most of the time she is thoughtful and helpful.  Now that we have rearranged the bedrooms for the new baby, Elise is glad to have her own room in the basement, but I think she's still likes having Lydia straight across the hall from her.

Elise has many hobbies like reading, art, making jewelry, and collecting all kinds of pretty and interesting things.  She writes the cutest notes, stories, and song lyrics.  She keeps Lydia and Tyler entertained, cooking up elaborate pretend scenarios with them, and she loves putting on little dance shows for our family.  She is starting to have her own sense of fashion, putting together outfits and accessories without any input from me - which is good, because she's way more stylish than I am!

Earlier this year, Elise had 2 teeth pulled at the dentist because the new teeth were growing in behind them.  She was pretty brave about the whole thing, and very excited (though slightly skeptical) about the whole tooth fairy thing.  She left a note under her pillow with the teeth, wanting to know the tooth fairy's name (Pearl!), and also asking her not to take the teeth because she wanted to keep them. :)

If Elise is given a choice out of an assortment of anything, she always chooses the most rare or unique thing.  The one oddball spoon, the only blue pencil, whatever.  She likes things that are special and one-of-a-kind.

Happy 7th birthday, Elise!  We love you and think you are special and one-of-a-kind too!

Happy Birthday Elise - Rapunzel Party

Elise decided on a Rapunzel birthday party. The internet, usually a wealth of party ideas, was mostly void of anything Rapunzel themed. But Elise did have one clever idea for a game. It would be like a fishing game at a carnival, except that instead of a fishing line, the guests let down their "hair" from somewhere up high, and pull it up to find a prize.

The "somewhere up high" could have easily been the stairwell, or the deck, but due to some luck (and a little pettiness on my part), we happened to have a refrigerator box on hand, perfect for making a Rapunzel tower.


The story behind the box is a little funny, so I'm going to tell it. Recently we got a new oven, and the kids and I made an awesome playhouse out of the cardboard box. We kept it in the family room for a couple weeks, until Mike got sick of it and threw it away one evening while I was out. I was so mad that he didn't check with me first, so to spite him, I procured an even bigger box from a neighbor who had just ordered a new refrigerator!

I painted it with leftover latex paint, and decorated it with fake vines. The tower fit perfectly over our coffee table, which gave the kids something to stand on to reach the window. If you ever have a need to paint a cardboard castle this website is very helpful. Or you could just call and borrow my tower. It's still folded up in the basement, unless Mike has thrown it out. ;)


My other big project for the party was making hats for all of the guests. Elise insisted on inviting a few boys, so I came up with a generic Robin Hood type hat for them,

and the girl hats were a simple cone shape with a long yarn braid.

At the party, we started off coloring pictures of Rapunzel or her prince.

Then we played that silly baby/wedding shower game where you cut a piece of string (yarn hair) and have to introduce yourself for as long (or short) as it takes you to wind it around your finger.


The activity that everyone liked best was making a giant tangled web of yarn hair in the backyard. I stole that idea from my friend Stacy, and it was perfect for a Rapunzel party.


After making the web, the kids ran a few races through it. They really liked that part too, especially the boys. If I ever host a Spiderman party, I'll have to remember this.


After that we tried melting ice cubes with plastic rings inside. This turned into throwing ice cubes to break the ring out. :)

For the cake, I decided to make cupcakes in ice cream cones, because they look like little towers. They didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but Elise was still excited about them.


At the end of the party, we played "Let down your hair" to give out the favor bags. For the boys, we sent their prize down with the hair so they wouldn't have to wear a girly hat.

It was a fun day.


At 6 years old, Elise is so energetic and creative, and loves to have Lydia and Tyler follow her around and play along with her ideas. She is artistic and slightly competitive, has her own opinions, loves to be girly, and loves her friends and family. She writes the cutest little notes, and loves to surprise people. Elise is a wonderful daughter and a fun big sister.

Anyone want to help Elise with something?

Elise came home from school the other day saying she wished she had a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS! I asked her why, and she started telling me excitedly about this assembly at school, and how she would get a little water bottle if she brought enough money (like probably a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!). And she knew exactly what she would do with her little water bottle, put it on her bike and if she gets thirsty while riding her bike, she could just drink out of the bottle, and WOULDN'T THAT BE PERFECT?

Yes, Elise, that's very exciting, but what is the money for?

They give it to the people who have sick hearts, she says.

I checked her backpack and luckily the school sent home some information about this fund raiser. It's a good thing they don't rely on the 5-year-olds to pass on accurate information!

Anyway, they are having a Jump Rope for Heart event in a couple weeks, and the kids are raising money for the American Heart Association.

I helped her donate $5, which is enough to earn that little water bottle. But if she can raise a little more, she can earn a jumprope and maybe even a t-shirt. The deadline for fundraising is March 3rd.

If anyone out there feels like giving a little to a good cause, Elise would sure appreciate it.

You can donate online through Elise's Donation Page, or you can contact me if you want to send a check (made out to American Heart Association).

Trophies

Elise asked to play on a soccer team this year, because she heard somewhere that if you play soccer, you "win" a trophy. She was a good little runner, a bit timid about getting in the middle of the bunch and kicking the ball, but the best thing of all was seeing her divide her treats with Lydia at the end of the games. And sure enough, at the end of the season, she was given a cute soccer trophy. It instantly became a prized possession. I need to take a picture of her holding it, but here's one of her wearing her cute uniform.

She also entered the Reflections art contest because I told her that everyone who enters gets a ribbon. She painted a very nice picture of a rainbow and a flower. It actually moved on to the next level, and instead of just a participation ribbon, she won a trophy!

Funny Elise

"My eyes are closed, but I can still see you!"

Happy Birthday Elise!

(catching up from July!)

Elise turned 5 this year, and she had so much fun on her birthday. In the morning, we had a house full of kids over to celebrate her birthday. They wore mermaid tails (the girls), played with glittery salt dough and seashells, had a message-in-a-bottle treasure hunt, played with balloon "bubbles" and passed a seashell like a hot potato (if it stops on you, you lose your voice). If you didn't already know, could you guess I like planning themed parties?



In the evening, we continued the mermaid fun with the extended family. We had an ocean themed dinner including a watermelon whale and a tuna casserole made with shell noodles. Our families are so great to come to these get-togethers.

Elise is great to have in our family. She is so helpful with her sister and brother, and pretty independent when she wants to be. Elise is always having bright ideas. It seems like several times a day I hear, "I know! We could..." I am so glad most of these ideas are positive and constructive instead of sneaky and destructive.
Elise loves playing outside, inviting friends over, making crafts, reading and writing (with help), dress ups, family night, making surprises, playing school/primary/dance class with Lydia, anything girly, and games of all kinds. She is so cute and we love her very much!

Elise with the camera

The past couple of times I have uploaded pictures from our camera, I have found that Elise has been on a "shooting spree" with it. The last batch included at least fifty of her pictures. Here is a good sample:




I think the messy bedroom floor with the decapitated Barbie is my favorite.

Primary Program

Elise, who is a Sunbeam this year, had her first chance to be in a Primary program at church. She loves singing, and Primary songs are some of her favorites. Sometimes she bursts loudly into song in the middle of Costco, to see how many people will pay attention to her. Lydia has begun to join in too, and has picked up a lot from what she hears Elise sing.

So, I wasn't too surprised when the chorister told me a couple weeks before the program that Elise is one of the loudest singers. I was excited to hear what she meant. I was not disappointed, it was very entertaining to watch her sing her little heart out. The cutest thing about her singing was that she would tone it down when she wasn't quite sure of the lyrics or tune, and then when she was more sure she would turn up the volume again. People in the ward keep commenting to us about how well they could hear her, what a great job she did, etc.

She also had a speaking part, which she practiced a lot, but she froze when it was her turn to talk in the mic (wonder if that's inherited?). But if anyone would care to ask her, she will gladly repeat her part for you: "Teach me all that I must do."

Lydia had a fun time at church that day too, because my parents, Chris, Alan, and Alan's fiancee Dani, came to visit. Lydia just went from lap to lap as she pleased!