First grade class performance.

Friends Ashley and Ixchel and my teacher.

Cupcakes Mommy made for the class Fiesta party. There are no pictures of the party because the kids never stopped moving!

Obligatory bluebonnet pictures

It was a bad flower year-- we are very lucky that Isabel's school seeded a portion of the front lawn, so we can always find at least a few!

Madeline's best friend Firyal had her birthday party at a farm, and I got to go too! We had a blast riding horses, petting goats, and chasing chickens.

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My seventh birthday party

Cake made by Mommy. I chose a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. You'll notice Mom got savvy and used the same colors for the cupcakes as well.

Me with my best friend Ixchel.

My violin-playing buddies Andrew, Jeremy, and Ian.

Neighbor Michael.

The Dads prepare the cake.

Snacking on the back porch with the redheads.

For the entertainment section of the party, Mommy made homemade modeling clay. We created figures, baked them in the oven, then painted them. We were so involved that it was hard to convince any of us to stop working to eat some cake!

On my birthday

Sharing some Hello Kitty cake with my birthday buddy Kathryn.

From Sarah, Ryan and family, squinkies, the newest craze to sweep the first grade.

My Josefina doll, at long last!

Cupcakes!!

These are all ready for me to take to school tomorrow, and I could not be more excited! For the past month or so, I have been trying to garner special treats.
"Since it's almost my birthday, how about I don't have to clean my room?"
"Since my birthday is coming up, can I have some Sprite?"
"Since it is the month of my birthday, will you buy me this toy?"
"Since it's my birthday soon and not Madeline's, shouldn't I win?"
"We should buy this for my birthday party."

Mommy might be getting a little impatient, but she is older and wiser-- after last year's hysteria over what sort of cake I wanted, Mommy declared that no one gets to pick their cake ever again. They are always a surprise. That explains how I am having a non-pink cake, a rarity in our house. Instead, a sweet little pansy graces a green swirl of frosting. For simplicity, my cake will coordinate with them. My party won't be until next week, but I will have cake with my classmates and open family presents tomorrow before sharing my favorite dinner (red beans and rice) with my favorite birthday buddy Kathryn.

Madeline and I had to share a bed on this trip. Since it was cold, we often ended up snuggled together, which I guess Mommy thought was cute. Notice Puppup, who is never far from Madeline's side.

Mommy found this snow cone stand hilarious.


We attended Mass at Utah's cathedral--the cathedral of the Madeleine!

These parents of mine are always dreaming up weird stuff to do. We went swimming several times in an outdoor swimming pool-- WHILE it was snowing! I added a video instead of a picture so you can see the steam and the snowflakes.

Skiing