Eden's "Coronation Ball" birthday party...

For Eden's birthday party this year, she invited her friends to a "coronation ball" and "Frozen" party. All the girls were asked to come dressed as a princess and it was absolutely adorable.

But before the festivities began, Eden was so excited all day long about all the preparations. She was so cute as she anticipated the party and the activities that were planned. This year she requested a strawberry cake, and stood beside me the whole time as I decorated it. She was so happy when I surprised her with the "Frozen" figurines that I used to decorate her cake. Her expression is adorable.

The girls were so cute talking about each other's dresses as we waited for all the princesses to arrive.

So in the movie "Frozen" there is a coronation ceremony when Elsa becomes queen, so we had a similar cute ceremony where Eden was crowned first, and then each of the girls received a crown too. Then we ate chocolates, just like at the ball in the movie.

The girls also each picked a microphone of some sort and sang and danced to the song "Let it Go" from the movie. They were so adorable.

Then they each decorated a treat bag with all sorts of craft supplies.

Once their bags were ready, we headed outside for the "Frozen" treasure hunt. Each girl was given a squirt bottle, and an ice block. All their princess treasures were frozen in the ice and they had to use their squirt bottles to get their treasures out. We ended up having to get a little hot water in the end because it was taking a little too long for some of their patience levels, but overall they really enjoyed it and it was fun watching them break out their treasures.

Once all the princesses had all their treasures, we went back inside for cake and ice cream, and opening presents. I love this age where their excitement is so obvious in their expressions. She was so happy and grateful for the fun things she received.

Overall it was such a fun party, and we are so grateful for all the good friends we have who helped us celebrate our sweet princess. Happy birthday Eden! We love you!

Here are some really great shots that Jesse took:

Eden is 5!

Five years ago today this little girl made me a mommy, and what an experience that has been! It's been an incredible 5 years full of amazing miracles and blessings. Eden is such a brave, strong, mature, understanding, loving, happy, creative, and funny little girl. She makes our lives fun and enriched, and because of her we have learned to be more grateful and to take less for granted. As each year passes, we marvel at the progress she has made and the amazing girl she is.

This year on Eden's birthday, Brad was able to take a half day off of work and after lunch we spent the afternoon at Cliff's amusement park (her birthday activity request!). We had a blast there going on rides and playing at the water park. On our way home from Cliff's we grabbed Dion's and came home to eat and open presents. Bentley was very anxious and would try to get her to start opening the next present before she finished opening the one in her hands.

This year's gifts included a lot of "Frozen" merchandise (the barbie dolls of the characters, and the costume) and she also got some new nightgowns and a white kitten on a leash (which I was fortunate to find this exact birthday wish, thank you WalMart! ha ha).

And of course, the birthday tradition of measuring her growth for the year. It was a good year for her, she hasn't gained too much weight but she has sure grown taller!

We didn't have cake because we were saving that for her birthday party, so for her birthday treat we did ice cream/soda floats. Grandma and Grandpa Malarsie were there to sing "happy birthday" and to celebrate with us.

Happy birthday sweet Eden! We love you so very much!

Cliff's Amusement Park

We bought season passes to the local amusement park and have gone twice so far. The kids LOVE it and we have had so much fun. They have tons of kid rides and a water park area that we spend most of our time in, but Eden has also been brave enough to even try out some of the bigger rides. She went on the big roller coaster twice:

And she even went on the log ride - that one she has decided she doesn't want to go on again. Unfortunately the picture is kind of small, but when I see it big on the computer her face looks absolutely terrified. When we went last time I asked if she was ready to try it again and she said, "No, not until I'm grown up, like 6 or 7". :)

But we have tons of fun going on the smaller rides over and over again. They love it.

Olivia is such a good baby. She just hangs out in the stroller and watches all the action in between eating and taking cat naps. She gets plenty of joy out of her own fingers. :)

The first time we went we were there most the day so Bentley ended up taking a little cat nap in the stroller too. He's precious.

We also love being at the water park to cool down after going on the rides. We only have pictures from the splash pad since that's usually where I hang out with Olivia.

Bentley's hands must be cold because Olivia doesn't look too happy to be touched.

And, of course, we enjoy lots of treats!

And all that fun definitely wears them out good! We love our long summer days...