Girls' Birthdays

We decided to combine the girls' birthdays this year and have a petting zoo party with all of their friends. Makenzie and Ashlyn love animals so they were very excited to spend the morning petting, holding, and feeding various animals. The particular petting zoo we booked through Cathy's Critters provided guinea pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits, pigs, a llama and a duck. They also provided all the feed, hand sanitizer, did the set up and clean up afterward, so other than making the cakes/cupcakes, we didn't have to do too much. The girls had a blast, but I'm pretty sure the animals were eager to return to their cages after 20+ kids handled them for over and hour!
I love the last picture of Grandma helping Ashlyn carry the goat back to the trailer as all the animals were rounded up to leave. I think for her, this was the highlight of the party!!!!

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

Makenzie's birthday celebration continued with a trip to paint pottery with her grandma. The girls had so many options to choose from and in the end, Makenzie chose to paint a cup for her grandma and Ashlyn painted a plate for herself. We picked grandpa up and ate lunch at one of our favorite pizza places in Plano, and then headed to a park for some outside play time. The girls absolutely love their grandparents and enjoyed spending the day with them!

5 Years Old

I can't believe my baby girl is 5 years old! Makenzie really wanted to have donuts on her birthday, so her best friends Kylie and Zach met us up at the donut shop near our house to celebrate before all the kids went off to preschool. Then it was more sugar at school as I sent Makenzie to class with the green and pink cupcakes she helped me make the night before. Makenzie has really been wanting to watch Tangled, so what perfect timing for the film to be released on her birthday! While she was at school, I rented the movie, picked up some popcorn, and asked my friend Brook if Kylie could join us for a movie watching event. Makenzie was so excited to finally see the movie and Kylie seemed equally excited although this was her second watching of the film.

It's hard to imagine that Makenzie will be starting kindergarten in a few months. Just the other day, she asked if I would drop her off at preschool and let her walk through the doors by herself. What? Was she serious? It's bad enough that she won't let me walk her to her classroom anymore. I have to stop at the end of the hallway and watch her enter the class. The anxiety that I am starting to have is not something I anticipated. I am excited for my daughter, but fearful for what her newfound independence will bring. I am reminded of Proverbs 22:6 that says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. " Here's praying that the things we are teaching Makenzie (and Ashlyn) at home will stay with her as she enters the "real" world.

Early Birthday Celebration

The four of us celebrated Makenzie's birthday a couple of days early this year due to Aaron's work schedule. We have been spoiled in the past to have Aaron take off on the girls' actual bd, but this year there was too much going on. So, we celebrated on Sunday by taking the girls to a wildlife rescue and education center in Wylie that specializes in exotic cats. It is definitely evident that the lady who owns the place has a passion for felines when you see the "before and after" photos of the rescued cats. We saw numerous tigers, a lion, black leopard, cougars, and bobcats. Makenzie wanted a hamburger for dinner, so we took the girls to what has become one of my favorite hamburger joints, Twisted Root Burger Co. Then we headed home for birthday cake and the opening of presents. My next post will be about her actual birthday, so I will stop here with pictures.......