An Eventful Week

Last Saturday we had The Eldest's fourth birthday celebration. She's been telling us for months that she wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. We obliged, also following her direction for the decorations (a blue butterfly and blue dinosaurs):

We had an excellent turnout for the party--everyone we invited came! Here you can see The Eldest devouring cake with her friends, E---- in the red, M----- next to her:

Instead of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", we had "Stick the Candle on the Cake". The Eldest helped Miss Bubbly find the cake:
And here's The Eldest in some of her birthday presents, which included a princess dress and several pairs of princess shoes. The crown is an A--- G---g original from last year. The Eldest is standing with her best friend, HH:
After the party, Miss Bubbly and The Eldest stayed in their getup and spent some time with their Omay (The Momma's mom). There was a little fighting over the shoes until The Hub was finally able to convince The Eldest that she couldn't wear all seven pairs at once.


The beginning of the next week was spent in mad preparations for Christmas. Then, on Thursday morning, I flew to Utah to make sure that my brother S really got married on Friday. He did.
It was a wonderful day, and H, S's bride, has a most entertaining family. It was a good trip for catching up with a few friends and a LOT of family I haven't seen in a while. The wedding went off wonderfully, the luncheon was fantastic, and the reception was beautifully decorated and very organized. I loved her color choices of light green, lavender, and dark purple. I was also very glad to spend some time with my grandparents (Hi, Grandma!), my Aunt M and Uncle D, and my aunt A. I think if Auntie A had her way, we'd all live on a family compound and celebrate every occasion together. Sounds like a good idea to me. Now we just have to agree on a location.

This is a picture of me, my brothers (who finally grew to be taller than me. It's about time, boys! :D), and my mom.
The VHs were gracious and allowed me crash on their couch that night, and P the former Marine was generous enough to take me to the airport the next morning. After an uneventful flight home, sitting next to my dad and stepmother, I was welcomed with much rejoicing by The Hub and the girls. I'll let The Hub post his experience--I'm sure I couldn't do it justice.

It snowed a lot while I was in Utah, but I was delightfully surprised that aside from the ice on the roads, it didn't bother me at all. I like the cold. So does The Hub. Thus the reason we're leaving Arizona at a run--we're just not cut out for the heat.