Where has the time gone?

How is it that my little baby girl is 5 now? She is such a blessing to our lives! Her big smile, her amazing hugs, her love of people and animals, her wild imagination, her individual personality, and the overall spirit about her blesses us everyday! I can't believe she is already 5 and so close to going off to Kindergarten. Of course I have my moments like most mothers do where I need a little break, but I will miss her puttering around the house with me, our trips to the grocery store, Target, and of course lunch dates at Chick-fil-a. I definitely need to soak in the next 6 months before she is off to school.

This year for her birthday she requested another party at Telge Park, her favorite park because of the big red slide. Because her birthday is in February, the weather plays an integral part in the planning. One day it can be snowing (this year anyway) and the next it is 70 degrees. Last year we had her party at the same park and the week before was gorgeous and then a cold front blew through and it was 45 degrees and extremely windy the day of her party. You can read about it here. This year I was careful and watched the weather forecast before sending out a last minute email inviting all her friends. God blessed my patience and the weather was picture perfect. Bright blue skys, 70 degrees, and a light wind. I thought it might be a little chilly because we held it in the morning but we were pealing off our sweaters almost immediately. All the kids arrived and enjoyed running around and playing. I am so thankful that two years in a row Elizabeth has chosen this kind of party because it is so simple and cheap! Needless to say, the party was a huge success and we could have spent the whole day out there!

I think this picture is classic Elizabeth. I was trying to catch her swinging and just as I snapped the shot she made this funny face, crossing her eyes!

If you looked back at last year's post, you would have seen a similar shot of all the kids on the slide except all bundled up!

Elizabeth even requested a homemade cake which is great on the budget! It is a good thing my kids like the cakes I make. It saves a lot of money!

A shot of some of the kids eating cake.

Elizabeth was very excited to get more Barbies and Polly Pockets and here she got a purse with kittens on it. She has carried it everywhere already.

Just before we left, Heath took the kids for a walk back on the trails through the woods. This is Elizabeth and Caleb and the 3 of the Richard girls.

It was a busy February with competitions and birthdays and now we are into March and a week away from spring break and two weeks from Caleb's birthday. We are in the planning stages for that so I'm sure I will be blogging about that soon. Time is flying and I am sure summer will be here before I can blink!