Our original vision of the perfect PARK party was unfortunately shot down due to Mother Nature bringing on the heat.
Yep, it was a HOT one alright!
So we sent out last minute texts to our invited guests (just 40 of our closest family members - we are blessed to have a "built-in-blood-related" guest list) and alerted them of this change of location...McKenzie's back yard! We had to do some scrambling to get the house in order, but we managed to pull it together.
We decided it would be a good idea to set up chairs downstairs to keep the food & beverages and to offer up some much needed AC relief.
We don't use our basement much, so it was a nice change of scenery for a boring "at-home" party :-)
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Let the photo bombarding begin!
I wanted to snap a quick mommy/daughter pic before she would inevitably spill juice, rub cheetos and stain grass (& don't forget dump green nail polish) all over her pretty WHITE tutu dress :-)
Me and my FOUR YEAR OLD princess. And let me just say she is acting more "four" each & every day, and this is not necessarily in a good way. Little miss Att-it-ude. It's as if the "Fours Fairy" came over night and taught her how to be snotty & bossy". uggh. This too shall pass. right? :-)
I still love her of course...
Luckily her bad behavior, knock on wood, only encompasses about 2.7% of her awake hours of 7:30am - 8:30pm. So I can handle it.
"There are times when I worry she feels lost in the cloud of special needs attention, but I think this less and less as I trust my instincts and they tell me she is fine. Because there's a whole lot of special that comes with the one who makes someome a mama, and I know she knows this. After all, she is four." ~ Kelle Hampton
The four flower girls...T minus 5 days till their big debut!
Houston, Texas here we come :-)
McKenzie helped decorate the deck the stairs. She was quite proud of her decorating abilities.
The Fairy Princess cake she picked out all by herself :-)
Erika, Grandma Harnisch, Aunt Keri, Great Grandma Salisbury and Aunt Heather watching the babies crawl on the cool floor.
Grady, Neeley & Macy are all really getting around these days.
trouble. who me? YES YOU!
The big boys...Dalton, Dylan, Brook & Colton
Cousin Sam checkin out the slide.
Macy says "okay, I'm ready to go outside too...let's get this party started!"
McKenzie & Anna hide from the camera
Looks like Dylan is telling quite the story!
Hi handsome Harrison!
Anna & McKenzie sneaking some treats.
I just wonder what goes on inside that wondrous brain of hers some times.
HAPPY drinks (Heather serves as a hand model - a little to the left - great job sis)
looks like Kenzie & Grandpa Lee are having an involved conversation. Grandpa knows not to believe everything she says...or should that be the other way around??
ha Colton...gotchya!
check out Sam's shiner...it's his first one! He was pretty proud of it :-)
Brook swingin' high
Anna telling me that she too is four..."me am four" :-)
pronouns are tough! But we're learning.
Sam & Macy building train tracks...correction...Sam building, Macy KNOCKING OVER train tracks...Sam didn't seem to mind thankfully :-)
two pretty girls (Anna & Ally) playing in the playhouse
McKenzie was excited to have all her cousins (minus a few who were out of town) playing on her new swingset that daddy built.
time to open some gifts.
She tore right into them...slow down there slugger!
I finally had to just give up. Looks like she's running the show now.
This is a sweet exchange between Grady & Ja. I think he's telling his daddy what he wants for HIS birthday next month...
Ha, nice Heather! :-)
All the big kids and adults sit in the cool (well okay, not scorching) shade while Kenzie opens her gifts.
Ally & Harrison observe the gift opening closely.
Anna being oh so helpful. "Here Kenzie, open this green one next". :-)
Me and my sweet neice Anna.
Get cozy Dalton.
Me and my other sweet niece Danielle.
Toby enjoying some extra attention and dropped crumbs today!
candle lighting was a bit of a struggle...the slight breeze kept blowing them out.
finally!
Toby knows exactly where he needs to be...what intelligent dog WOULDN'T want to sit directly under the cake?? btw - who needs a broom or dustpan when you've got a dog to catch crumbs all day long. I highly recommend anyone who has a toddler have one of these efficient floor cleaners. :-)
So...here's a picture of Kenzie having a major meltdown JUST as the Happy Birthday song is being sung...
you see...The nail polish she caught from the pinata a few moments prior lost it's lid and was spilling all over her lap at that very second. major drama. good grief. girl, pull yourself together. THIS is your shining moment!
Whose idea was it anyway to include NAIL POLISH among the prizes & candy for the pinata anyway! ooops. FAIL.
Right as the song concluded she managed to get up, put her "big girl pants back on", make a wish, crack a smile and...
blow out those candles like any self-respecting four year old knows to do!
Anna is having very good hair day in this pic...the backward momentum of the swing is giving her some extra lift I think :-)
Let's all go in to the air conditioning for some CAKE!
CAKE TIME!
Ally cheesin' it up at the big kid table.
Macy was excited to get in on the ice cream and cake action too.
What a ham! Check out her new expressions.
Love her.
Anna tries the broken pinata on for size.
Dylan was the true "pinata king" however. (there will be a separate pinata post next)
Grandpa's Harnisch & Lee chatting it up.
silly Dani
We even had snacks available for the tiny tots...
there were four one & under's present at today's shin-dig :-)
The twins Grady & Neeley are almost one!
playing the wiffle ball game.
Thank you to all of our amazing family who helped us celebrate our precious angel. While, sure she can be a handful at times, what kid isn't right? I think that's just part of the gig, comes with the job of being a kid. She is, 97.3% of the time, my BEST friend and partner -in-crime. I JUST love her to pieces and I can't wait to see what this new year has in store for us :-)
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After the party we were all so pooped out, that we closed the door to the basement, loaded the girls into the car, and took a Sunday drive. It was just what the doctors ordered :-) We drove down near the Missouri River to take a peek at the ever-increasing water. Several roads up North closed due to water spilling over the roadway. These next few weeks are going to be interesting. My heart goes out to so many people affected by flood waters. What a disaster!
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