Birthdays

Ainsley celebrated her 15th birthday in January. Kaylee celebrated her 12th birthday in February. It's well into May, and yes, I am just getting around to writing about these two girls who are growing up way too fast.

Ainsley kept it pretty simple this year. Her birthday fell on a Monday, so she had a couple of friends over for dinner and cake. The cake was a bit of a disaster. I was going to write something nice on it like, "Happy Birthday Ainsley", but the cake bag exploded, so turned into a modern art cake. At least it was tasty!

The weekend after Ainsley's birthday, she invited a few more friends over and they all went roller skating. After skating they came back to our house for a fire pit and games.

Ainsley now has her learner's license, is just about to finish her freshman year of high school, and will be headed to college before we know it. I swear I was just carrying her around in my arms yesterday. Oh wait, I was, when I was dragging her out of bed for early morning seminary, haha.

All kidding aside, Ainsley is a fantastic girl. She is directed and focused, and she makes excellent decisions. She is a good friend and knows how to have fun. I am enjoying watching her grow into the amazing young woman she is becoming. Happy 15th birthday (four months ago) Ainsley!

Kaylee celebrated her birthday on a Wednesday with dinner, presents, and dessert at mutual. She decided she wanted to spend her birthday evening at her first church youth activity.

Several weeks later Kaylee had an Amazing Race birthday party. It was difficult finding an available weekend for her party, but it was definitely worth the wait. Planning it was a lot of work, but I had fun creating different challenges for the racers. The purple team raced against the green team, and Ainsley and her friend Kylie played the part of the hosts, while Chris and I each chaperoned a team. It turned out exactly as I had hoped, and Kaylee had a great time.

The Purple Team.

 The Green Team.

Landon hung out with me and created some of his own fun. I asked him not to get too wet because we didn't have a towel. He didn't care all that much, so he ended up riding home soaked from head to toe.

The green team finished the Amazing Race first, but cupcakes and prizes were given to all participants.

Kaylee oh Kaylee. What to say about Kaylee. Kaylee is such a fun girl. She is way into Star Wars and calls herself a Fan Girl. She's developed her mom's love of a good "bad boy" and sides with the dark side much of the time. She is a lover of animals and will randomly moo at you, just because. Recently she accidentally mooed at school during attendance! School has never been her happy place, but she has found joy in her choir, art, and dance (no more PE for her!) classes this year. She is tender hearted and a delight to have in our home. Happy 12th birthday (2.5 months ago) Kaylee!