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!
