memorial day

we had such a nice memorial day

it really is the first day of summer since everyone is out of school now

and i was glad to have michael home so we could go have some fun together

we started by sleeping in

then slowly got up and decided what we wanted to do for the day

was go to salt lake and visit the zoo

 we had a popped tire on our stroller so we used a zoo stroller instead

it was pretty convenient for the kids hopping in and out

but it makes me glad we don't have a wide stroller like this

 other than being a little extra crowded, it was a great day to be at the zoo

we got to see the elephants getting a bath

and a really well done bird show

 lots of birds flew right above us

and the kids all enjoyed it

other than eleanor...who got antsy

and isn't a huge fan of the sun

noah wanted to take pictures the whole show

and took probably close to 100 but mostly of the back of people's heads

he did get this one of some doves flying over us

 afterward we went to city creek and ate at the cheesecake factory

with a gift card from michael's parents

i think this picture says it all :)

eleanor was on the table

michael looks kind of annoyed

it wasn't the greatest trip out to dinner as a family of six

but the godiva cheesecake we shared made it worth it

 then we let the kids get soaked before we headed home

we didn't get the kids in bed until close to 10

which seems like a bad idea, but they are still sleeping and it's almost 9 

so i'm not complaining

hazel's fifth birthday

hazel turns five tomorrow
but since sunday birthdays are kind of lame
we spent all day today celebrating her
michael took them out to mcdonalds for breakfast while i got her party set up

i'm not sure why i did her party from 10-12, i probably won't do that again

it was quite the rush to get things ready

here are the invitations we gave out

despite having friends that are boys that she really wanted to invite

she was dying to have a princess party

where all her friends dressed up 

i decided last week i would make her an aurora/sleeping beauty dress

so she'd have something new to wear to her party

aurora has been her favorite princess for a couple years now
so i'm sure she'll get lots of use out of her dress

 olive wore hazel's cinderella dress for the party

they are so cute together!

 even eleanor was fancy

i am a fan of homemade pinatas
because they aren't very hard to make and they're much cheaper
just the cost of streamers pretty much
 here's hazel's number five pinata i made

the party was pretty low key

and i didn't want to go crazy with the food so

 we just had some fruit, lots of sweets and trader joes frenchberry lemonade to drink

 i made some paper crowns for the girls to wear

and then bought little rings and necklaces for them to get all fancy

here are the girls eating their snacks outside on some blankets

  i intentionally made the pinata a little weak so they'd be able to get it open

they each got to hit it once and then we let hazel go for it

 here are all the girls

hailey, lily and aria are hazel's church friends and neighbors, evelyn, elliotte, and emmy are from ballet

and libby (and emmy) are from preschool. hazel met her friend clare at martial arts and her cousin sophie came down for it, too!

 noah wanted to be a part of things so we made him a cardboard sword

and he liked all the girl attention
(i love these handsome guys)

 opening presents

 last year hazel's cousin miriam had a barbie cake 

so hazel has needed one ever since

we got this one at target and she loved it

 eating cake with her friends

we also did a little coloring, played with the dollhouse and i read beauty and the beast

 we sent the girls home with little goodie bags

including a wand, candy and felt flower hair clips i made

it was such a fun party celebrating hazel

and we were lucky all of her friends made it

despite it being memorial day weekend

i can't believe she's five tomorrow!!!!

we spent the rest of the day going out to lunch at cafe rio

then saw the croods at the dollar theater

flew kites and played at the park for a couple of hours

it was the perfect evening and we all had so much fun

the last stop was frozen yogurt!

it was a super fun filled day celebrating hazel!!!

hazel is the nicest girl

she loves her friends, always helps with her sisters

and a really good student

she has even mostly outgrown her fits (yay!!!)

happy birthday, darling hazel!

noah's last day of first grade

first day of first grade : last day of first grade

it's crazy to me that noah is going into second grade!

today is his last day of first grade

he is growing too fast

we have loved his teacher this year, mrs johnson

she is so, so nice and made noah excited for school every day

(a huge improvement over kindergarten when he wanted to stay home every day)

he is really going to miss her

i am so proud of noah 

his handwriting is some of the best in his class

and his reading has improved this year

i just love this boy

and i'm excited to have all my little ones home for the summer

ps. noah has lost 6 baby teeth this school year and i loooove his new adult (and uninjured) smile

pss. check out the number noah has done on his shoes this year

last year his nikes still looked new at the end of the year

but these little new balances are about to go in the garbage can

sunday best: matching edition

i made this midi skirt for myself a couple of months ago

and with the left over fabric i made hazel a matching skirt

hazel wears hers all the time 

i think this is my first time wearing mine

  we went all out and wore black down east basics shirts

and our matching gold saltwaters

hazel even had me curl her hair

and was sad her hair isn't darker :) 

i love this girl of mine

and her love of matching me 

saying goodbye to the office

when michael and i first met, the office was pretty much the main thing we had in common

in fact, i remember the day after we met (although i'd seen him before) at a dance, 

we were hanging out in the mothers room at church while i nursed baby noah (scandalous)

and we talked and laughed about the office

then michael schemed to come see me at my parents house 2.5 hours away

to watch the next episode together, a few weeks later

it was truly a big part of our relationship

once we got married (and i'm sure while we were dating, too)

we watched every episode together

and usually ate a little caesars pizza with coke slurpees

highlight of my week, for sure

we often joked  that our relationship is based on the office

and that if ever ends, we end

we have literally seen every episode, and most of them several times

we own the first 6 seasons 

i bought michael a pam shirt our first married christmas

that says, "dunder mifflin, this is pam"

that is still going strong

even though i wear it a lot at home during my pregnancies

and even got some holes in it while stripping the stokke crib before olive was born

and it's covered in paint

the office is hilarious

it is awkward and sarcastic and so easy to relate with
my sister and i talk all the time
and we are constantly cracking each other up
with office quotes

so...it was with heavy hearts that we watched the series finale last night

me in michael's old pammy shirt

and him in his new birthday office shirt

we were so happy that steve carell made a cameo

and i think they did a good job wrapping it up

i do wish we'd planned better to have another office party

(we totally schruted it)

but i don't think we could've topped the last one

 goodbye my lover,

goodbye my friend

you have been the one.

you have been the one for me

hazel graduated from preschool!

hazel had her last day of preschool yesterday

here is a picture of hazel on her first and last day of preschool

tonight was her preschool graduation

isn't she so cute and fancy with her little purse?

 when did this girl get so old?!

 kisses 

 daddy's girl

 here's hazel and her awesome teacher miss jenny

we have loved hazel's preschool, little readers

she really did learn how to read!

she loved the projects, the singing, being social

hazel is such a smart girl

i am also happy it's over so i don't have to drive her to and from 3 days a week

holla!