Family day at the arboretum

I finally had a weekend off. It has been 7 weeks since I had a full weekend off (and that was when Steve and Emy were out of town- so even longer since the 4 of us were together AND I had a weekend off). Anyways, this weekend the opportunity presented itself for me to have the entire weekend off. No shoots. No editing. Nothing.

I jumped at the chance. The weather was great. The kids were great. Steve was great. It was blissful.

Saturday morning we headed to the Dallas Arboretum. I am there fairly frequently but Steve and the kids have never been. The timing was perfect since the always beautiful arboretum still had two special exhibits going on- the pumpkin village and the Chihuly glass exhibit.

The kids (and Steve and I) had a blast! It wasn't that crowded and it was the perfect amount of exploration and playing for everyone.

Everything was perfect until we decided to stop at the outdoor cafe on our way out for a quick bit of lunch. I guess the birds around the cafe are used to getting fed because they kept landing on our chairs and table looking for scraps and it was scaring the daylights out of Emy and Ash. Literally, blood curdling screams every time  bird landed near. Steve and I were cracking up though. Bad parents:)

Emerson's 5th birthday party

Emerson was very specific when I asked her what she wanted to do for her party, "I want a Fancy Nancy art party" she said. Okay. Not sure what that is but let's run with it.

Fancy Nancy is one of Emy's current loves. If you are not familiar with this character, she is a little girl (age 6 or 7 I think) who likes all things fancy. She dresses fancy. Talks with big fancy words. And does everything with flair. She really is a cute character.

Like any typical 5 year old, Emy is obsessed with different toys and characters every month. Her taste is always changing. One thing has stayed constant since she was a baby. Emerson loves art. LOVES it. So, her request for an art party was not a surprise at all.

I had a few road blocks when planning Emerson's party this year. 1. I wasn't sure how to tie Fancy Nancy and Art Party together. 2. Emerson's birthday happens to fall smack dab into my busiest time of year business wise and therefore my time allotted for party prep was really small.

In the end I decided to basically plan an art party and then decorate it "fancy". It definitely was not the most coordinated and themed party ever but it was girly and artsy and Emerson loved it.

We decorated with tons of streamers and sparkly tulle and lace placemats. We hung balloons overhead. When we put them up Emy said, "Oh Mommy. I love that. Can we keep it like that forever?" It was cute.

The kids arrived and got to pick out some "pearls" and a ribbon halo to wear. They had to get "fancied up". Then they snacked and painted a "mural" on a wall while we waited for everyone to arrive. When all the guests were here, the kids had an art lesson with Miss Kristi. They painted cupcakes. After the art class, the kids got to decorate their own cupcakes. Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday. Afterwards, the kids went back to painting and some just ran off the sugar high.

Overall, Emerson had a blast. She loved having all of her closest friends with her. She loved getting fancy and obviously, loved the art. Afterwards she kept hugging me and saying, "Mommy thank you so much for the best party. You are the best mommy". Can't beat that!

Emerson is FIVE

Emerson's actual birthday was a Thursday this year. That worked out perfectly because that is the one day a week that we don't have a scheduled activity in the morning. So, we could really celebrate and make the day special.

We played around the house and snuggled and watched cartoons. Once we finally got our act together, we went to Chick-Fil-A for a special birthday lunch. Emerson was wearing a pin that said, "It's my birthday" on it. Let me tell you, she got more "stuff" on her birthday because of that pin! Case in point, at Chick-fil-A we ordered our lunch just like normal and when they brought out our food they had a bouquet of balloons for Emy and told her happy birthday. She thought that was the coolest thing!

After lunch we hopped in the car and headed to the airport to pick up Mimi! The kids (and myself) were super excited to see Mimi. We hadn't seen her in a few months and it was extra special for her to arrive on Emy's special day.

We came home and the kids rested while Mimi and I got caught up. Afterwards, it was time for dance class. Emerson always has dance on Thursdays but this week was extra special. Not only was it her birthday but her class got to wear their Hallloween costumes to class AND perform a special routine for the parents.

After dance, Emerson got to pick where we went out to eat. She chose Flying Fish- no surprise... She is in love with their shrimp and hush puppies: ) We did family gifts and dessert at the restaurant before coming home to end her special day. She enjoyed it and had a great time and LOVES being able to say that she is 5!