Britta's First Birthday (Day and Party Pics)

Britta is ONE!  Wow!  A whole year with this sweet and happy little soul.  What a gift and blessing she has been in our family!  The smile on her face says it all.  

 The day began at one of Kari's soccer games.  (And just check out Kari in-goal...just thrilled at this point to be playing, eh??)  Britta played happily on a blanket in the shade.  The back of her little outfit is just too sweet--big bow and all!  It was a warm day so the light cotton fabric was perfect.

After naptime, it was time for the festivities to begin!  In keeping with the polka dot theme, we played a game of twister.  Daddy was a good sport and got in on the action and Britta really enjoyed getting down and playing too!

Dinner was served and Britta really liked the chicken and fruit!  (She is my best eater--in both variety and actual physical eating; very independent.)

Nom.Nom.Nom.

Grandpa Harvey may just be her favorite person ever.
Her face just lights up when she hears his jolly laugh enter the room!

After dinner, it was time for gifts!  Watching a one-year old enjoy their gifts is a gift in itself.  She honestly enjoyed every one of them!

Itsy-bitsy spider book

Tub of plastic zoo animals

Little play center

Little People's Farm (a big hit with all of the little girls)

A new copy of one of her favorites, "Pat the Bunny"

Ju Ju models her set up

Reading "Pat" with Grandma

 And then it was time for cake!  Would Britta be the "one" who breaks the cycle of not wanting to get into their cake??

 Hmmmm...does she dare??

 Yes!  She dares.

Nom.Nom.Nom.

The grand mess that I was hoping for?  No.  However, it was still the best showing by one of our babies!  Great job, Britta, and Happy Birthday!!!  We love you more than anything and are so thankful you're a part of our family!!

Britta's First Birthday (Decor and Food)

It was all about polka dots for Britta's first birthday!  Such a fun little party to do too!  Most of our decorations came from Hobby Lobby, Target, or Walmart.  The "Happy Birthday" banner was one that I had done for Kari on her first birthday.  The fabric on the table were just some big pieces that my mom had had and given to Emily to use--but I got to them first for a table cloth and runner!

 My mom made this beautiful banner of Britta's first year!  It now hangs in her room and Britta loves looking at it and pointing to pictures of herself.

 A few sweet baby pictures and flowers finish off the decorations.

Food was simple, but colorful!  The cake came from some local cake makers (some years I make cakes, some years I don't!)  My mom did the fruit kabobs--all of the colors of the rainbow!  And I made the chicken and veggie kabobs!  (They were really delicious too!)

Apple-picking 2015

This year we went apple picking at the Flynn's orchard with our friends, the McArthurs.  They recently moved to Omaha (for only a year *sniff sniff*), but what a fun family!  They have five kiddos--four girls and one little boy.  Their oldest is Em's age and the two girls are good friends.  Kari also has a buddy as well and their little boy is Ju Ju's age.

So, after piling as many people as possible into the gator (with the rest of us trailing on foot), we set to work picking lots and lots of apples!  We LOVE this tradition and are so grateful to Pat Flynn for continuing to open up her property for everyone.

"Look!  Apples!"

Pretty Emily, growing up so (too) fast!

My handsome fellas

My beautiful girls!

Check out Christian's funny face--he must've found a yucky apple!

Silly Kari

Big girl, Britta, starting to walk!

This photo may be the one (and only) picture of everyone looking at the camera and smiling.
If you have a big family, you know what an anomaly this really is.

I'm pretty sure at least part of Heaven looks just like the Flynn's property.

 More silly Kari.

 We're back and moving on to the cider-press!  The bees think cider-making is pretty great too and poor Christian got bitten or stung right on his ear!  Luckily, Pat had some baking soda and ice and that helped him to feel better.

 The kids all love this gigantic swing on the most perfect tree.  Christian went on it with the littles and Emily and Gracie took it to new heights!

What a fantastically-fun evening!!!

Vala's with Ju Ju

Field trip time!  I got to go with Juliana and her class to Vala's pumpkin patch.  It had been raining, so we wore our boots and raincoats and prepared for being wet, but when we got there, the skies cleared and it was a beautiful morning!

The kids had fun learning about apples and then going out into the orchard and picking a few to bring home.  We went for a hayride and played for a little bit longer before heading back home.  Grateful I was able to spend this one on one time with my Ju Ju.

Kari Plays Soccer (Again)

It was not in our grand plan for Kari to play soccer in the fall.  But, when her friend Alexa's dad (who used to be our neighbor and still is a good friend), said that his team needed one more player and that Kari could play for free AND that he would drive her to practices, Kari became a soccer player!  We did warn Rob that in season's past, Kari's soccer playing consisted of running around for 5 minutes then being "too tired" to play anymore.  But, he was undeterred and, until the very last game or two, she actually played hard in all of the games!  I was amazed.  And she had a great time.

At one of the games, a friend from high school was there, cheering on her daughter, who was playing for the other team.  She also happens to be a REALLY good professional photographer and was kind enough to take quite a few pictures of Kari!  (Little did she know that one of my children had smeared peanut butter remnants all over my phone and so all of my pictures have the lovely smear campaign you see going on in the above picture.)  Thank you, Stephanie!

 Kari is a kindergartner.  The league she was playing in was first graders.  I thought she may have been intimidated to be out there among girls who were taller and faster, but she hung right in there and wasn't afraid at all!

 In fact, Kari was honing in on the family's goal-keeping skills and turned out to be a really good little goalie!  (I suspect she enjoyed being goalie in-part because it meant she didn't have to run as much, but since she wasn't afraid to get in there and stop the ball, she must've actually liked playing the position as well!)

Just check out that focus!

Sooo cute!

Right in the mix!

I was so happy that Kari had a fun season.  Rob was a fantastic coach--very encouraging, engaging, and focused on fun and safety.  The team was a good little team too and finished with a winning record (only one or two losses--not too shabby!).  Loved watching my little ballerina get out there and run!