Movin’ On Up…

Another belt down… Brooksie now has her purple belt with black stripe!!  I’m SOOO proud of her and so happy she found something she loves to do!!

 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!

Even though Brooksie’s birthday celebration was our trip to the zoo last month, we decided to let her have a little, low key get together… just to invite over a few friends and have some ice cream. Now, for someone who loves to party plan and entertain a ‘low key get together’ is bound to become a full blown shin-dig!!

Trying to find a party idea that’s different from the many parties we attend is no easy task so the ice cream party was perfect (yes, we’ve upgraded from low key ‘get together’ to a ‘party’!!) I found lots of super cute ice cream party ideas online… pink, fluffy, foo-foo ice cream party ideas!! Anyone who knows Brooksie knows she’s no girly-girl and hates pink!! How do I make this a party for and about her….? I’ve got it… make it gross!! Which, to Brooksie, was a totally awesome idea!!!

Our toppings became items such as worms (gummy worms), dirt (crushed oreos), snail eggs (m&m’s), rainbow rocks (nerds), bear bits (teddy grahams), monkey brains (banannas), and no ice cream is complete without a bull’s eye (cherry) on top!!

It was a perfect “Brooksie” style party!!

Come on in….

topping table…

Ice cream cake pops, inspired by Bakerella…

Brooksie with the “snot” (aka dyed marshmallow cream)

The kids LOVED piling on their own topping!

This is how you do it… an ice cream in each hand!!!

Thanks for coming, don’t forget your goodie bag!!

School Days…

I can’t believe summer is finally over!!  (I just wish Mother Nature would follow suit, I’m done with this heat!!)  As summer comes to an end a new school year begins… welcome to 2nd grade!!

It seems like we were just starting kindergarten, where is the time going?!

Brooksie and Rylan became really good buddies over summer… I was worried about how Rylan would adjust to his sister not being home.  So far, it’s been ok.  He would cry a little when we would drop her off at school, but it wouldn’t last too long.  He still asks for her as soon as he wakes up from his nap.  It’s definitely become more challenging keeping him occupied without Brooksie around to help entertain him.  Maybe we need to start a gymnastics class or something!

A Day with the Animals…

We decided to celebrate Brooksie’s 7th Birthday a little early this year at the San Diego Zoo. Granddaddy and Uncle Jesse were coming for a visit from Utah (Uncle Travis had to work so he didn’t get to come this time) Aunt Kathy and cousin Jesse were also in CA visiting from Texas! Her shock when she opened the door to find Granddaddy and Uncle Jesse standing there was priceless!! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, Brooksie had her taekwondo belt testing the next day! She was very excited to have them there to watch her test!! (that will be a post for another day) After TKD Brooksie’s buddy Jayden came home with us to go to the zoo the next day. The kids had a blast having a big sleepover in the living room! Reminds me how much I miss having family close to us.

Uncle Jesse, Jayden, Brooksie and Rylan at the San Diego Zoo

Uncle Josh, Aunt Shelia, and the kids met us at the zoo too! They brought us some YUMMY Submarina sandwiches for lunch. After sandwiches and cake pops we were off to see some animals!!

Rylan really enjoying his sandwich!!

Brooksie loved the kangaroos and Jayden thought the flamingos were really cool, Rylan kissed a sheep in the petting zoo, and Jared and I saw the jaguar up close, what a gorgeous animal!! We saw lots of cool things we hadn’t seen before! Brooksie was brave and decided to ride the sky tram with Granddaddy and Uncle Jesse!! The kids had a great time and were so good!! It was a perfect day at the zoo!!

Monkey see, monkey do… Brooksie and Jayden just hangin’ around!!

Bri, Jeremy, Jayden, Brooksie, and Rylan

Dad, Mom, Rylan, and Brooksie

So I don’t overload this post with pictures more than I have here is a video of some of the animals we saw…

San Diego Zoo 2011