This is how we do it

Madison turned 5!

Our sweet little Madison is a big 5 years old! We celebrated her birthday while in Utah for Thanksgiving. So far her birthdays have either been at Nana and Papa's in OR or Grandma and Grandpa's in Ut. She loves having her family there but I think she is starting to realize that she is going to all these parties for her friends but her parties include big adults! I think I will have to start celebrating her birthday before we leave for Thanksgiving with her friends and then have a little family celebration while at Thanksgiving. However, she is such a laid back kid and pretty much happy with anything, I don't think she minds too much. We started out in search of a turtle party. She wanted a turtle party since Ronnie and I told her about the turtles in Costa Rica and brought her back a stuffed animal turtle. I searched high and low but turtle party things were not to be found without swords, bandannas, and nun chucks attached. So, we resulted to my crafty skills and I told her I would make them out of green plates and cups and a sharpie. I don't think she shared my vision and decided she would rather have a princess party. Fine with me, that was super easy to find! She hasn't had a princess party yet and I think she will soon grow out of princesses so we did it up. I made a princess cake out of a Barbie and a cake cooked in a bowl. Madison, Bethie, and I had a great time decorating and creating the princess. I have no formal training but each year, have found myself loving the cake creation aspect of my kids birthdays. I think I get a little too into it and spend quite a bit of effort on something that is eaten in a few seconds anyway. But I do get satisfaction out of seeing what I can come up with. Maybe I should take a class and see what comes of it!

We started off the birthday fun with a trip to Jump on it. It is a new facility in Lindon Utah that I have heard about from friends. Basically it is a huge warehouse filled wall to wall with trampolines. The kids, little and big, had a blast! Bex loved to run and throw himself forward landing on his tummy. He even tried to catch some air by bending his knees and trying his hardest to propell himself upwards. That kid was in heaven, he was able to run wherever he wanted at full speed, bounce around like a monkey and not get yelled at. He smiled from ear to ear the entire time. Madison had many laughing fits as we bounced her around while she tried to get up. Even the big kids had a great time. Bethie and I showed off our flipping skills (Bethie has amazing action potography skills!) and Ronnie tried to master the wall trampolines that were at an angle. Seriously, if you are in the area, we highly recommend a trip to Jump on It!

After the trampoline madness we picked up some papa murphy's and headed home for pizza, a pinata, a present scavenger hunt, and cake and ice cream. I think my little five year old had a great time and was royally spoiled, just as she should be. A big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Chapman for hosting such a wonderful event!

We love you Madison, we are so proud of the sweet little girl that you are. You amaze us each day with your sponge like memory, your silly laugh, your beautiful smile, and your sweet personality. You are a great big sister and the best daughter a mom and dad could hope for. We pray that you will continue to enjoy life to it's fullest, get a huge kick out of anything and everything, and keep that same excitement for even that smallest of accomplishments. We love you bug, Happy Birthday to you! love, mommy and daddy