Pixie and Pirate Party Extravaganza

We celebrated Abby's 4th birthday the best way we know how...surrounded by fun friends!  Abby loves TinkerBell and fairies so we did a Pixie and Pirate party.  It was so much fun!  In fact, we had so much fun that Roy and I are still in recovery mode. :)  And so is the house.  But what matters is that we all had a great time.

The fairy pirate boat brownies were served with Neapolitan ice cream, Abby's current favorite.

Abby showing off some of the decorations beforehand.  You can't really see them very well, but if you look carefully, you can see little specks close to the ceiling.  We hung her 6" TinkerBell fairies from the ceiling and they looked like they were flying.  It was my favorite decoration by far!

Table 1 of 3.  Believe it or not, we had 3 tables out and there was barely enough room for all the friends.  If we counted right, there were 17 kids there plus a handful of adults.  Seriously, it was absolutely fabulous for Abby to have so many people she loves all in one space together.

More decor.

We left out only a few toys, including this Matchbox car pirate ship.  I'm pretty sure the boys played more with this than with any of the games.  :)

We started the party by dressing up all the kids in pirate or fairy costumes and then had games and activities through the house that they could do.  Of course, they were mostly themed around pirates or pixies.  Then Roy took them on an adventure through the jungle (he was dressed as a pirate fairy...or maybe it was a fairy pirate...he put on every piece of unused costume and it was awesome).  They walked through a jungle, down into a valley, jumped over the ever-expanding river filled with man-eating crocodiles, and finally up a mountain.  He told them that they had to dance for their fairy treasure (goody bags) and they did a freeze dance game, accompanied by their very own now-famous pirate fairy.  I put the freeze dance video below because it features some awesome dancing and it's just fun to watch so many friends having fun together.

Here they are, attempting to sit still so they can get the fairy treasure.  We had so much fun with Abby's friends yesterday and she was spoiled.  I love to see these friendships developing and watching these kids grow up together!

Christmas Outfits

It snowed last week.  I know it's January, but it's still kind of a bummer that we have to deal with snow.  But the kids loved it!  We put them in their new, warm Christmas clothes and they got to run around on the deck that had a light dusting of snow, just enough for toddler-sized snowballs.  My favorite is the third picture.  It makes me smile every time I look at it!

Christmas Eve Extravaganza

We spent Christmas Eve with Grandma and Baba Z and then all went up to celebrate with Uncle Steve-o, Aunt Catherine, and family.  Roy and I had choir practice so the kids got some good cuddle time with both grandparents, although if I understand correctly, they ditched Grandma as soon as Baba got to the couch. :)  

We had a Christmas Eve pajama dinner, which turned out to be a lot of fun.  All the cousins got to open their new Christmas pjs and wear them to eat.  My master plan was to wear them out so they'd fall asleep on the drive home and sleep through the night, but they were too excited to fall asleep in the car.  

We played games on Christmas Eve, including making snowmen out of toilet paper.  It was hilarious to try to get the toilet paper to continue to unroll as fast as Abby could spin.  Sam just loved being all wrapped up and thought it was "fuffy" (funny).

After the games, we had the cousins and some of the grown-ups dress up in nativity costumes to act out the story.  Abby was the perfect Mary.  She was the perfect balance for Sam, the wayward shepherd.  He enjoyed driving cars through the scene and trying to distract his parents with his funny antics.

Cousin Zachary (cast as Joseph) and Abby were so concerned for the baby Jesus and happy. It was a beautiful moment and made me one proud mama.  

Happy Birthday, Abby!

We celebrated Abby's birthday down in Williamsburg with Grandma and Baba Z and Roy's brother and his family.  Abby was so excited to have her cousins around to celebrate.  We started the day with Mickey Mouse pancakes (tradition), went to a bouncy house, had a pizza lunch, opened a few gifts, took some time for quiet time, and then continued the party.  Roy took the kids into the sunroom with glow bracelets and they had a dance party-turned sword fight.  Abby wanted cheese fondue for dinner and brownies with strawberry ice cream for dessert.  It was a happy birthday for my 4-year-old girl.

 Abby in front of her tree at Grandma and Baba Z's house.

Abby at the bouncy house.  Roy and I traded off which kid we chased and we were exhausted by the end.  Abby and Roy raced and she totally won. 

We got Abby a big Mega Blocks set and she and the cousins were so excited about it!

Dance Party!

 Sam got Abby some roller skates and she was so excited!  We went out and practiced within an hour of arriving back at home, we were on the sidewalk practicing.

Christmas Day!

We had a great Christmas, starting with stockings, gifts under the tree, and then church.  Roy and I sang in the choir and it was so fun!  Luckily, Grandma and Baba Z were there to sit with the kids.  We came home to open more gifts, attempt to talk to family, and have some of the Zwahlen clan over for a Cafe Rio dinner. The kids were spoiled and it was so fun to watch both of them get as excited for each other's gifts as their own.

 Abby was thrilled to get a Sleeping Beauty set.

Sam loves, loves, loves his Cars books and seems to be constantly asking for more book reading time.

Abby showing off her new Polly Pocket doll.

DC Temple Lights

We went up to the DC Temple a few weeks before Christmas to see the nativities from around the world and enjoy looking at the lights.  We all loved it, especially the kids.  And we got the traditional pictures with the temple in the background!

2011 Summary

Here's our letter summarizing 2011, which hopefully made it to each of you.  But just in case it didn't, here it is!

Dear Family and Friends,

After 2 moves in 2010, we felt honor-bound to move once more in 2011.  Our landlord decided to get married, move into his place, and not have four extra roommates.  We moved a mile down the road and managed to stay in the same zip code. 

Abby will have turned 4 by the time you receive this letter.  She already has the vocabulary of a teenager and even has boys at church that have crushes on her (daddy’s not pleased).  She still sings everywhere she goes, mothers her brother, and has a level of enthusiasm that makes our ears bleed.  Abby did soccer and ballet classes at the Rec Center and loves her co-op preschool once a week.  Her favorite part of the year was probably her time at the splash pad and visiting cousins and grandparents (cousins provide the fun and the grandparents finance it). 

Sam’s year can be summed up by his favorite expression, “I’m funny.”  His mother describes him as a “whirlwind of fun” and his father describes him as “happier than a tornado in a trailer park.”  He is all boy and has mastered the timing of giving hugs, cuddling, and smiling so that he can get out of any major punishments.  Sam loves cars, Cars, trains, and dinosaurs.  His parents are still amazed that in one year he went from babbling and crawling to terrorizing the neighborhood dogs, babies, and his sister.

Michelle has been busy with the kid’s activities, teaching a 5 year old class at church, running several mommy and me activity groups, and being pregnant.  Lydia Jane Zwahlen will join us sometime in late March 2012.  Yes, her neurotic parents have already chosen her name, her career, whom she will marry, and how many grandchildren she will produce and at what time in her life.

Roy managed to stay in the same job, if not the same the house, this year.  He enjoys his job and traveled to Seattle, New York, San Francisco and Montreal this year.  Of particular note, Roy finally passed the Virginia Bar and is officially licensed to kill…er I mean sue somebody (much less fun by the way). 

We pray that this finds you well and wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, memorable 2012.     

Love,

  

Roy, Michelle, Abby and Sam (and Lydia) Zwahlen