I'm Here for the Party

Willow is 3!!!

We had two birthday parties this month.  Our sweet friend Stormy's daughter Willow (www.sunshineoveruganda.blogspot.com) turned 3 and we celebrated her special day with her at her birthday party a couple of weekends ago.  The kids had a weenie and marshmallow roast and just a good time running around and playing.  It was a parent's favorite kind of party - STRESS FREE! Thanks for inviting us, Stormy!

 Happy #3 Willow!

 Could they get ANY closer?!

Silly girl!

This girl LOVES to swing!

They had THE best time riding this thing down the hill.  Marlie just giggled and giggled and giggled.

Weenie Roast!

Happy #4 Palyn!!!

Yesterday, we went to a classmate's home to celebrate her 4th birthday.  Palyn is her name and this girl is something else! Such a grown up acting little girl.  She & Marlie are in the same classroom at Harbor.  I grew up around Palyn's mommy, grandparents, aunts & uncles.  I hadn't seen them in such a long time.  Like 20+ years.  It was good to see everybody.  I adore their family! Sophie's mommy had to work so she went with us.  These three girls had a GREAT time! Fun, fun party!

 

Palyn :)

Strawberry Shortcake theme.  Too cute!

Present & Pinata Time!

Drive it like you stole it...

Sophie coaxed Marlie into hopping in the Jeep and they took off! Look at Sophie's "I'm on a mission" face. 

 

I absolutely LOVE this picture! Sophie's all smiles and Marlie's like "Oh no!"

 Hahahahaa!

 Marlie's turn...

 LOVE!

 Palyn & Marlie

Palyn & Sophie

Sophie, Marlie & Palyn

Marlie's First Sleepover

Marlie spent the night away from home for the first time on Saturday.  Her best friend Sophie invited her to her house for a sleepover.  I got a text from Sophie's mom, Megan asking if we had any plans because Sophie wanted Marlie to sleep over.  We had been talking about getting the girls together for a few months now.  We had a birthday party to go to at 5 that evening.  I asked Marlie if she wanted to go to Sophie's house after we left Willow's party.    She gave me a BIG grin and said yes without hesitation.  She even said she was going to spend the night.  So we hashed out the details and I dropped her off around 7:00.  Luckily, we only live about 5 miles from Sophie so if she called in the middle of the night, it would take me no time to get there.  On the way over, M fell asleep but as soon as we drove up, her eyes popped open and she was gettin' it trying to get out of the car.  Sophie asked me to come in and see her room.  What is it about girls and their rooms? I went in, looked at the girls' rooms and sat and talked with Megan for several minutes.  

I never felt hesitant about letting Marlie stay with them.  Megan has been so friendly and helpful since we moved back to Alex City.  When we decided to move back to AC, I posted on FB, asking for suggestions for daycares in the area.  She referred me to Harbor Learning Academy and I decided to enroll Marlie there.  Luckily, our two baby girls got placed in the same class.  Megan & I were both excited! Over the past year, this sweet friend has been such a blessing to our family! She takes pictures at their school functions for me when I can't be there because of my demanding job.  She reminds me of important dates/events at their school because Lord knows I can't keep up with it.  She takes Marlie to dance for us.  Oh and on top of that, her husband works out of town so she has a lot of stress on her plate. She does all of this knowing that there's very little that I can do for her in return.  What a sweet friend!

Sophie has an older sister named Marli.  She had a friend over too.  Her name was Maggie.  I will NEVER forget that name! Marlie has asked me "What's dat big gurul's name?" a million times when she got home on Sunday.  Hahaha!

Enjoy the pictures! I stalked and stole from Megan's FB page.  If you don't like them, message me and I'll give you all of her contact information ;)

 

 Marli & Maggie and Sophie & Marlie

Too cute!

 No clue?

 They are hidden somewhere under that life-sized Mickey Mouse.

 Hahahahaa!

 Two lovely dolls!

Pumpkin Picassos

We skipped pumpkin carving last year because we had so much going on.  We had just moved back to Alex City.  Derrick was still living in Birmingham, his work schedule was hectic and it just wasn't a festive time of year.  Although we have a lot going on right now (we just moved, I just got back from Uganda and life is hectic in general) I told myself that I was NOT going to make the kids skip this tradition again this year.

We didn't go to a Pumpkin Patch this year so Marlie & I got up today and headed to Wal-Mart to pick out four pumpkins.  She got a little one at the pumpkin patch at her school but it was tiny that I got her another one.  The boys stayed him and soaked up some peace & quiet - a luxury they don't get when the ladies are home :)

Alex wanted a scary pumpkin so he decided to do one that looked like it had been cut several times on the mouth and then stitched.  I'll let you decide how that turned out.

Derrick wanted something easy so he went for the easy, typical pumpkin.

Marlie didn't really have a preference and I wanted her to be able to help me so I decided not to carve hers.  Instead we hot glued some black buttons to say "BOO".

I decided to do a "Mummy" pumpkin.  Oh, it was going to be so stinkin' cute! I carved it and then painted it white to look like bandages.  It was a complete failure.  Papa Johnny (what the kids call my daddy) came up while we were working on our pumpkins.  He's a jokester and of course he, along with Derrick & Alex made fun of mine.  

* Excuse the date on the pictures.  I didn't realize it was wrong.

 

 Marlie was SO excited about decorating her pumpkin...

 

 ...then she was SO over it and decided to ride her tricycle.

 Derrick gutting his pumpkin

                   Alex is not a fan of "diggin' out the guts".

  "Can't I just turn it over and dump it in the trash?"

 Alex carving away

   The hot glue gun burned one of her fingers so she was very hesitant about touching her pumpkin. This is the best picture that I could get.

THE FINAL MASTERPIECES:

 

The Allen Family Pumpkins

My pumpkin

 Marlie's pumpkin

Alex & Derrick's pumpkins

Pick A Peck of Pumpkins

Marlie's school (Harbor Learning Academy) had their annual Pumpkin Patch this past Friday.  I did good to pay the $2 for her pumpkin and get there there and since I work 30 minutes away, I couldn't be there.  I am glad that HLA posts their pictures on Facebook so I can snag them off there.

Ms. Brannon's class with Ms. Rose, the scarecrow

 Ms. Brannon's class with Ms. Olyvia, the scarecrow

 Ms. Rose & Ms. Olyvia

 Ms. Brannon & Ms. Olyvia

 Marlie & her classmates.

Marlie's "best frand" Sophie :)