Hannah's 10th Birthday

Hannah's 10th birthday

September 20th, 2011

Kaleb decorating for Hannah's birthday

Paper covered candy bars I made for Hannah and her friends

I made Hannah a happy birthday sign

Hannah's request for her birthday breakfast in bed

eggs, toast, and bacon.  Later in the day Richard and I brought Hannah Panda Express for lunch.
 

Grandma Nelda sent Hannah a Justin Bieber pillow case and blanket for her birthday in the mail.  Hannah was so excited when she received it!

Noah lighting the candles on Hannah's ice cream cake.  She really liked the mint and chip ice cream cake I made her.

She looks a bit scared, I don't think she liked the idea of Noah lighting the candles and scooted back in her chair and the fact that 10 candles can really produce a big flame.

Thinking of a wish before she blows out her candles
 

Hannah had a little party with a few friends.

The party started at 4:30 in the afternoon on Friday, September 23rd at our home.

We started the party by having dinner.  We ate pizza, bread sticks, Caesar salad, fruit parfaits, root beer, and candy.

A few of the items I put in the goody bags.
 

I thought it would be fun to dress up the drinks too!
 

Lydia, Hannah, and Reese eating dinner

Kaleb even joined in the fun.
 

After dinner she opened gifts and then we got into the car to head to the Ice Sports Center to see Cody Simpson in concert.
 

The girls waiting in line before the concert.  As soon as we got in line it started raining and then the wind and dirt kicked in. We waited in line for over an hour.
 

The wacky weather we put up with in order to see Cody Simpson

We were even lucky enough to see a double rainbow while waiting in line.
 

As soon as we entered the building the girls headed straight for the stage.  They are little and were able to squeeze themselves through the crowd.  I decided to hang out in the back.  I thought that they were up front having a good time and listening to the music when I look in the corner and see all three girls siting on the ground crying because they can't see.  I was thinking oh no what did I get myself into.  I told them to get up and just come back by me and they could see.  They got up and decided to head over to another spot.  When the concert was over.  Kaleb and Lydia ended up with orange bracelets, which meant they had back stage passes to see Cody Simpson.  Oh no, was what I was thinking! Hannah and Reese didn't get back stage passes.  Hannah started crying and saying, but it's my birthday I should of got the pass.  I told her to go find Scott who works at the Ice Sports Center and see if he had any extra wristbands.  Unfortunately he didn't.  I was then frantically trying to call and text Kaleb to please let Hannah have his pass. He really didn't want to give it up.  He was behind the stage at this point and they wouldn't let anyone back there without a wristband.  Just when I thought Hannah was going to have a complete meltdown, Scott found another wristband for Hannah.  Now I only had one problem, he only had one for Hannah, which meant that Reese was the only one not back stage.  I was thinking wow I had no idea this party would cause so much drama.  I then was begging Kaleb via text message and phone to please give his wristband to Reese.  After what seemed like forever he agreed to give her the wristband.  He wasn't to happy about it, but Reese was super excited and even hugged Kaleb before she ran back stage.  I asked the security guard if I could go back stage to just take a picture of the girls, but he said no.  I thought, great these girls are going to meet Cody Simpson, but not have any proof, no picture.  Luckily Reese came back over to where I was standing and asked if she could borrow my phone for a picture. I'm so happy it all worked out because it could have been a total disaster.  When the girls came running back to me after they met Cody Simpson they were all smiles.  We put on ice skates and skated for a few hours before heading over to Tutti Frutti for a frozen yogurt treat.  I dropped the girls off around 10:45 and headed home.
 

Cody Simpson
 

The girls with Cody's best friend
 

Hannah, Reese, Cody Simpson, and Lydia
 

Ice skating with friends
 

Enjoying a frozen treat

A few minutes after arriving at home Hannah was out! Must of been an exhausting day!

Campaign Week

Hannah decided this year in 5th grade she wanted to run for student body vice president. I wasn't actually thrilled about the news at first, in fact I even tried to talk her out of it. I was being selfish and just thinking of all the posters and stickers I would be in charge of making for her campaign. I was also thinking that she didn't need to be pulled out of class for another thing, since she goes to chorus one day a week and band two days a week.  I'm glad she didn't listen to me and followed through with her task. Back in elementary school I was very shy and didn't have the outgoing personality that Hannah has. I would have been terrified to get in front of the whole school and give a speech. Hannah was able to memorize her speech in no time at all and didn't seem nervous at all on the day of her speech. Her first job was to find a campaign manager. After she asked her first campaign manager to help her write a speech and the little girl said No, I want to go play instead. Hannah found a new campaign manager to help with the tasks. 

The posters we made

 

Hannah and her friend Audi(her campaign manager) on the day of the speech.

Even though Hannah didn't win, I'm so proud of her for trying. This little setback didn't damper her spirits in fact she said, "Next year I'm going to run for president." 

River Rafting Trip

Way back in the month of July Noah had the opportunity to go on a river rafting trip on the Klamath River with the youth of our church. He left on Monday, July 18 at 5:00 in the morning and was gone until Saturday, July 23rd. He had a wonderful adventure exploring the outdoors. The only part that wasn't exciting was the 9 hour drive.  Below is a picture of Noah and his new friend Kirk which they called Nemo because he had trouble getting into the raft one day.

The campsite along the river
 

Noah trying to start a fire
 

A New Talent

Noah has developed a new talent while taking a drafting class at school.  He even showed his siblings tricks on how they could make the same picture.  It's exciting to see him excited about learning a new skill. 

 

 

Having Fun...

in any situation...  Since we spend a lot of time at the Ice Sports Center Hannah has learned to make the best of any situation.  They had these yellow lockers set up inside the rink and Hannah was entertaining us with all her different poses.

Enjoy the Moment

Most of the time Noah is working hard at work and I feel like he misses out on a lot of family time.  So I try to make a point to do something special with him too. I think it's cool that he still likes to hang out with his momma on a Saturday night.  Sometimes he has to remind me to enjoy the moment. I was done eating my ice cream and said let's go and he said, "Don't you want to just sit here and talk with me."  Of course I sat there and chatted until he was ready to leave. I have to seize the opportunity because he is growing up way too fast!

Noah in his work attire enjoying Cold Stone ice cream