Since we were moving two weeks before Sierra's birthday we had an early pool party/ mini birthday celebration for Sierra. In the month before we moved we had a few pool parties. Part of this moving process has opened my eyes a bit. We'd wanted to have a lot of gatherings after the pool went in but kept waiting until it was "perfect". Sadly, we moved before things were perfect. I wish we would have just bit the bullet and had all of the parties that we wanted despite any "flaws" that we saw. Sigh.
Anyway, Sierra had quite the group of friends over for her celebration. They had a blast! So much fun to watch them be silly together!
Love this one!
Sierra's actual birthday at our apartment. She was too tired to "bust into a new year". It was more like a stroll.
She had a couple of friends over for a small celebration
I'm not going to lie... it's hard to look at the pictures of our old house. I miss the house, the land, the chickens, the pool. I miss watching the girls play with abandon in the pool, not worrying about who might see them (Sierra's hang-up). I miss our open living room. wall full of windows, and the fireplace. I know that some of this is being cooped up in this apartment while half of our belongings are in town. I'm sure it will be better when we our own house. And I know that we made the right choice to move for so many reasons. I just need to focus on those reasons and this view...
Off our balcony
I struggled with what to do for Laurel's birthday. In the spirit of biting the bullet, I went ahead and had her party here in our tiny apartment. I realize it's not that small, but when you get 15 excited girls in here... it sure feels like it! Her obsession with "Teen Beach Movie" gave me an easy theme.
The cake
Congo line to the soundtrack
Pin the flower on the surf board
After decorating picture frames they watched the movie
I had thought that they would all settle down when they watched the movie. It was great for about 30 minutes. Then, half the girls wanted to sing and dance during the musical parts and the others wanted them to be quiet. So... they all got a little rowdy by the end. Laurel had fun, though, and I think most of her guests did too. I'm glad that I bit the bullet and had her party here. It reminded me why I'll have parties at venues other than our house for the next few years!
Late night fun!
The grandparents came for a birthday celebration too (and Laurel got her precious Saige doll)
Laurel asked for cat donations for the animal shelter instead of gifts from her friends at her birthday party (in memory of Rummy). The parents kids were so generous! We took the items to the shelter and were able to watch some of the cats play with the toys.
