The Bishop takes up Racquetball

I thought this email was too funny – I just had to add it.  President Tillet, our former Bishop, sent the following email to some of the deployed men in our ward about Chris picking up racquetball.  Pretty funny…

“I thought it might be fun to give you a report on how our new bishop is doing...at racquetball! Steve, the bishop, and I played on Monday morning and I believe it was the bishop's first time on a r-ball court. Steve gave him a brief run-down on the rules of the game and then we just went and threw him in the deep end. Steve and I were pretty convinced that we would just run him around, trusting that old age and treachery would easily overcome his youth and inexperience. Besides, we've seen some other bishops play and they were never very impressive. There were, it seems, a few things that we did not consider. First is that unlike some other bishops you might have known, this bishop is young...I mean really young! The way the guy moves, you'd think he was 18 or so! Oh, and like some young people, he has a strong penchant for learning. It eventually got so bad that I stopped trying to make good shots because every good shot I made was soon used by that teen-aged bishop against Steve and I. Second is that this new bishop seems to have, surprise of surprises, athletic ability. Some people just seem to immediately adjust to having a racquet or a bat in their hand and it soon acts like an extension of their body. There are few things more humbling that playing against someone with athletic ability! Third is that this new bishop, in stark contrast to some previous bishops, is TALL, LONG, and has a wingspan of 3 meters (approximately). How, I ask, how are you supposed to do a passing shot on a guy that can practically stand in the middle of the court and touch both side walls? Forth, and lastly, this bishop, in comparison with some other bishops, is cheerful and friendly. There were no tantrums, no outbursts, no outward signs of frustration to let us know that we were getting into his head. He does have a nice laugh, though. : ) Well as you can see, it seems that our new bishop is practically perfect!  And I'm not just sayin' that because I won one of those games yesterday. It was actually quite a bit of fun playin' all together. We laughed and joked and even got a bit of exercise. It makes me think of just how much fun we are likely to have once the two of you are back. Oh, we never did get to any stake business. Guess we were having too much fun!”

Last trip to the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch

The kids were pretty excited about our LAST trip to Edelweiss.  Well, not excited that it was our last trip but excited for one more trip.   It was a short 48 hour trip since we wanted to be back for church on Sunday. We left Thursday after work and school and got to the hotel just before 8:00. We settled into our two adjoining hotel rooms and made piles of ski clothes for each person to be ready for the next morning. Then we went to bed exhausted from all the work that had to be done just to GET to the resort --- or maybe that was just me.   I have to say, this trip was ‘heavy’ on the preparation side. Buying, borrowing and packing layers and layers of ski clothes and sledding accessories took a fair amount of time.

Friday morning we woke up early, headed to the breakfast buffet at the hotel…

and then headed straight over to the ski lodge. Ryan, Katie, Emily, Megan, and Luke were signed up for ski school. Chris hoped to ski but after the long process of getting everyone ‘boot and ski fitted’ and looking at the clock, he figured he didn’t have enough time to really make it worth it and hoped he might ski the next day. Plus, he enjoyed hanging out with the kids as they were learning and seeing their progress.  Next time he’ll be able to take them and continue the training himself.

This was ski day #1 if you can believe it. Our kids have never skied. Ryan snowboarded last year with the scouts but, without any training, he spent most of the day sitting on his snowboard and riding it down the hill like a sled.

So with no experience, 5 VERY excited kids headed out to the bunny hill ski school area.  Megan and Luke were in the 5-7 year old class.  Here they are learning to clip their boots in.  It was 20 degrees outside and snowing the whole day.  The kids were plenty warm though. Luke is on the very left and Megan on the very right.

Ski School for Megan and Luke

Going around in circles with one ski on…

A little later in the afternoon they practiced their ‘pizza’s’ trying to slow down on a slope.  Luke was actually pretty good at it.

Ski School – Ryan, Katie and Emily

Emily did great on her first day of skiing and really enjoyed herself.  It was fun to watch her.  Ryan did too…. but the star of the day goes to Katie who out performed almost everyone there.  She especially loved having to weave around the cones down the hill and was the first one to do it successfully.  Ryan and Emily tried, but I think they were more into the speed of going straight down.  They all had a great day!

Watching ski school – Matthew

Matthew hung out in the lodge with Chris and I – mostly playing Dad’s iPad but occasionally venturing out into the 20 degree weather to see what the kids were up to.  There was a curly slide from the deck out into the snow that he did over and over again.   Then he’d happily come inside again.

The kids were done at 3:00 but they were welcome to stay on the bunny hill until 4:30 if they wanted to… and they did.  Without any line on the tow rope they went up over and over.  Chris tried to give Megan some more instruction and even she got a little better on the slope.  Luke was happy to have his day to ski but was done and looking forward to the swimming pool – as his kept mentioning to his ski instructor.

After the boots and skies were off we decided to extend our marathon snow day and hit the sledding hill on our way back to the resort.

After stripping a couple of layers back at the room, we headed to the buffet for dinner and then, as much as I would have liked to just relax on the bed, we headed to the swimming pool.  It just wouldn’t be an Edelweiss trip without a trip to the pool.  Chris was a good sport and got in the main pool with the kids.  I headed straight outside under the chilly night sky and got into the hot tub and then into the sauna after that.  After we were all showered and changed we watched an episode of ONCE UPON A TIME.

We slept in on Saturday, got dressed and headed to the buffet again for breakfast.  When we tried to figure out a plan for the day the kids voted for an extra hour at the resort so they could play ‘spies’ in pairs.  Chris and I hung out in the main lobby after checking out while the kids ‘spied’ all around us.

Then he headed back up to the sledding hill for a little while before heading home.

The kids were laying it on thick with their ‘boo-hooing’ as we drove out of Garmisch.  We’ve had some fun vacations here.  We’ll miss you, Edelweiss!  Auf Wiedersehen!

A report card for Major Johnson

We army wives sometimes joke about that fact that our husbands get a report card from time to time filled with evaluations on performance and potential.  Actually we’re kind of jealous.  We want one of those…  I can’t help thinking about one of my friends who began to verbally ‘write her own’ that was quite humorous.  That said, I really am proud of my man and figured it would be neat to have this written down so that the kids can look back on it, from time to time…

“Major Johnson is an outstanding AMEDD officer who is well rounded and versed as both a clinician and a leader.  His contributions to the MEDDAC extend well beyond the excellent clinical care he delivered through his practice as a Medical Corps radiologist.  In addition to radiology, his efforts toward the USAMH-wide preparation for the 2011 Joint Commission survey spanned the areas of performance improvement, credentials, and governance and resulted in a successful survey for accreditation.  Within his department, Major Johnson significantly improved patient satisfaction, quality and patient safety through a mammography evaluation PI project that resulted in a 90% increase in patient compliance with follow-up studies, expansion of a mammography self-referral program, and a facilitated appointing process for all patients.  He voluntarily expanded his radiology interpretation role to accommodate coverage for three outpatient clinics within BMEDDAC as well as call coverage for the Regional Medical Center.  Major Johnson’s actions demonstrate a provider absolutely committed to improving the care he delivers personally as well as the care delivered by the organization as a whole.  He is a model Medical Corps officer.  This officer has initiated a MSAF360 evaluation. 

Unlimited potential for promotion and leadership within the AMEDD.  He is ready for the full responsibilities of a LTC now.  Major Johnson’s outstanding work ethic and interpersonal skills ensure his success in positions well beyond the usual scope of the Medical Corps radiologist.

One of the top two of the 10 mid-level Medical Corps officers within the organization.  Major Johnson’s clinical expertise coupled with his ability and willingness to positively influence all areas of patient care set the standard for the MEDDAC mid-level leadership.  His efforts expanded the positive influence of his specialty well beyond the department of radiology to enhance patient care and staff comradery. 

Major Johnson’s potential is unlimited.  Promote to LTC without hesitation and select for resident ILE.  Continue to groom this officer for the most challenging AMEDD positions.”

Funny little boys

LUKE   (41/2 – 5 years old)

Luke has been saying some cute sincere and pretty funny prayers lately…

• “Please bless that we can have blessings.”
• “Please bless that we can eat… (looks up at food on his plate)… potatoes… and (looks up again)… corn”
• “Please bless that we can play Wii.”
• “Please bless that we won’t fight or scrunch.”
• “Please bless Dad that he can have a blessing to be better when he was sick.”
• “Please bless that I will like eating green stuff (asparagus) when I grow big like Megan.”
• “Please bless Emily won’t be the best crier when we’re mean to her.”
• “Please bless that Mike will find a girl to marry and then please bless that he will have a fun time with the wife that he found.”
• “Please bless that I will ALWAYS say the prayer.”
• at least he’s saying “Please Bless” now.  He used to start every sentence with ‘Make Sure…”

“I really need to learn Spanish.  I really really need to.”  Why?  I say.   “I’m just kidding.  I don’t need to.”

Luke got a CTR ring at church and I helped him put it on his ring finger.  Without me noticing he took it off and put it on his middle finger.  Then all the way down the hall he excitedly showed everyone his new ring with only his middle finger up.  A series of chuckles informed me of the change.

Luke wet his pants while being distracted playing Wii and came up and said, “Mom, I peed in my pants.  Don’t spank me!”   Frustrated I said, “What should I do then?”       “Just say bad words to me.”

Luke really can’t say  ‘Scout camp’.  It always came out ‘Scamp Cout’ – every time.  So funny.

Luke includes me whenever he’s playing pretend.  “I’m Luke Skywalker and you’re Mommy Skywalker.”  “I’m Link and you’re Link’s mommy.”  I always get to be the ‘mom’ when he’s playing pretend.

About the German kids at the park Luke said… “Those German ones live with us and we live with them and they live in our Germany.”

After quite a while of Luke playing Wii and getting kind of grumpy I said, “Luke, you have 2 choices: take a nap, or play something besides Wii.”  Luke wrinkled up his forehead and said, “THOSE AREN’T THE ONLY CHOICES, THAT JUST DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!”

Katie responded to Luke by saying, “Really? Seriously?”  Then Luke said, “You sound like Lissie when you said, ‘Really? Seriously?’ cause that’s what she says when I say she’s beautiful!”   (Lissie is the 17 year old who Luke has a crush on and isn’t afraid to talk to her about it.)

On Luke’s 5th birthday he woke up and said, “Mom, I think I know how to read.  Because I’m five, maybe I know how to read now!”   AND… without me knowing he went and measured himself on the wall and wrote his name.  Pretty cute.

Luke, in a recent primary lesson about families, said “If a girl kisses a boy then a girl gets kids in her belly.  You (pointing to me) married Chris and then kissed.  Kissed makes true power to make kids.”

Chris said to Luke in a firm voice… “You do not climb on that!”   Luke said, “My neck gets scared when you talk like that.”

After watching Luke rush down the snowy hill on a sled I said to him, “Was that scary, Luke?”  He answered…   “No… well, my stomach was scared but my face wasn’t.”

That one reminds me of one he said awhile ago that I can’t remember if I already recorded on here or not… when I confronted Luke about yelling he said, “I was mad and I yelled.  My brains were telling me to do that.  It got in my head and it came out my face.”

“I just smacked my head because it told me to do something bad but I didn’t  listen.”

 

MATTHEW   (3 – 3 1/2 years old)

“I want to watch STAR WARS… Matthew David Johnson STAR WARS not Luke Skywalker STAR WARS.”

Matthew in the bathroom… “I can pee so much because mine thing is so big – look, it’s so big.”

Matthew’s been rediscovering the Baby Einstein videos lately and thinks the puppets are so funny.  When I walk in the room he grabs my arm and says, “Keep staying and don’t go away.”  He just loves to make me watch all his favorite shows.

Matthew’s been really interested in babies lately.  When he saw a cute baby on one of his videos he said, “Oh, that baby is so cute!  I want to marry her when she gets to be a girl.”  So cute.

At Megan’s soccer game Matthew would cheer and say the cutest thing… “Megan, you can do it, really you can!!!”

One day Matt looked at his macaroni and said, “You made it good and I like goodness!”

When we were talking about our asparagus at dinner Matthew started singing a new version of Coldplay’s Paradise (a family favorite)  “Aspara – spara – sparadise”

Emily’s New Year’s Resolutions

Emily worked on New Year’s Resolutions at school and brought home her goals with a colored picture of how she celebrated the new year – sitting up in the window ledge of the boys room staring out at the Sankt Leon fireworks. 

My New Year’s goal for home is… “to practice piano every day for 30 minutes and to get every check on my responsibility chart.”

My New Year’s goal for school is… “to get straight A’s”

One of my favorite memories from last year was… “going to the swimming pool in the summer and jumping off the diving board for the first time.”

5 Adjectives to describe me as I start the new Year…

1. Smart
2. Artistic
3. Funny
4. Fast
5. Veracious Reader

Matthew, waking up.

When Luke wakes up, he immediately wakes up Matthew.  Sometimes they come downstairs first thing but usually they just start playing.  The giant Geotrax train set is right there in front of them and they just can’t resist to start in on all the day’s fun. 

But if Matthew wakes up first he comes straight downstairs to find me.  I just had to capture it this morning… totally Matthew.  Wearing his favorite Nike t-shirt paired with his favorite BYU jammies (that are 2 years too small and are now capris), his messy hair, his red rosy cheeks and that adorable Matthew smile.   Oh, and his buddy Wolfie, who cozies up with him at night and isn’t quite ready to be left behind. 

He is a happy boy in the mornings.  Happy to see me.  Happy to be awake.  And really happy that the next stop is the kitchen table for cereal – which is definitely his favorite food these days.  

After I took his picture I said, “Matt, I’m going to look at these pictures and remember how much I loved you when you were 3 and a half.  He grinned and said, “Mom, you’re beautiful” which kind of means the same as “I Love You Too!”

A Little about a Lot of Us

Just some random day-to-day things about each of us right now…

CHRIS

1. Chris is spending his nights on organizing videos and making highlight videos for several of our great trips last year. Trying to keep his mind busy so he isn’t going crazy thinking about where we could possibly be going this summer.
2. He’s watching Downton Abbey with me.  He gave me Season1 and Season2 for Christmas AND agreed to watch them with me (even though I’ve already seen them)  and then continue on to Season 3.    Half of our nights involve an episode with popcorn and drinks.  The other half of the nights involve Chris watching Football.
3. Chris has been waking Katie, Emily and Megan up at 6:00 and reading scriptures with them (and Ryan) before he takes Ryan to seminary at 6:15.  Then he drops Ryan off and goes to the gym before work (when he doesn’t overdo it with his hip and his shoulder).
4. He’s enjoying the last of ‘Egg Nog Season’ and is a little proud/disappointed that Ryan, Megan, and Matthew love it just as much as he does.

LISA

1. I just finished reading THE SELECTION.  Katie got it for her birthday last year from friends and has been dying to have me read it.  It was fun. Now we’re looking forward to the next book coming out in April.  Now I’m on to Emily’s book… PRINCESS ACADEMY.
2. I’ve been blogging a ton lately – it feels good to have everything recorded!
3. Feeling so anxious to know where we’re going this summer.  We’re not feeling like any of our top choices will be considered so we’re getting used to the idea that they really could send us anywhere. ???
4. Trying to get in bed by 11:00 these days.  At least that’s the goal… and it’s going pretty good so far.

RYAN

1. Enjoying basketball through the rec league on base.  His YM president is his coach… and three of his good buddies – Mark, Tate and Alexander – are on the team.   They all haven’t played basketball for a couple years so it’s been fun to practice together.  Chris is assistant coach and practices are M and W from 6:30 to 7:30. 
2. Ryan is whipping through the Harry Potter Series again in record time.   He started the first book again just before Christmas and even though he has new books to read from Christmas he still is determined to always ‘finish the series’ before he heads to something else.  He’s reading them just under a book a week.
3. Ryan is eating a ton.  One day he asked how many mandarin oranges he could have in a day.  “Seven” I said thinking I was so funny.  “Oh, good, I’ve only had 5 so far.”  He still asks if he can eat stuff but now in stead of saying “We’re just about going to eat dinner”  I just say…. “sure, whatever.”  I know he’s going to eat dinner too and then some more.
4. Ryan’s started working on his EAGLE SCOUT project.   It’s got to get approved still but it’s going to be a good one.  Stay tuned.

KATIE

1. Katie made it to the top 3 of Mr. Osborne’s Spellers and hoping to go to the school wide Spelling Bee.
2. Katie is starting to work on CHOICE and ACCOUNTABILITY goals for Personal Progress.  She and I have been asked to be in charge of a Choice and accountability Activity Night for the Young Women in late January.
3. Katie loves wearing her navy owl pajamas to bed.  Remarkably they are in pretty good shape still.  They are a size 8 and when I gave them to her in Georgia, 4 years ago, they were way too big and she had to roll the waistband a couple times but loved them so much she wore them anyway.  Now at 12, they finally fit her and aren’t even too short.  She wears them with her long sleeve navy tee and they are her favorite.
4. Katie eats lunch with her six best friends… Emily & Rebecca (twins and friends since her 5th grade class), Mercedes (friends since 5th grade class) Jamie, Amanda P (church friend who moved here the same time we did) and Ashlenne (church friend who moved here at the end of the summer).

EMILY

1. Emily is having a race reading Harry Potter books with Ryan.  They are both on Book 5 so Emily was nice enough to borrow a copy from her school library so Ryan could read the family copy.   She realizes that he reads like a maniac but she’s up to the challenge.  If anyone could give him a run for his money – she could.   She’s reading several books these days… she’s at the end of PRINCESS ACADEMIES and one called WORTH for school too.
2. Emily loves that her hair is long.   She keeps her hair clean and brushed well but still has a pretty sensitive head.   Curled is ok but she prefers it straightened with a clip.
3. Emily’s  4th grade teacher just moved up to Wiesbaden (an hour north).  We were sad to see Mrs. Smith go.  She was great and adored Emily.   With Heidelberg closing down this summer people are leaving left and right.  Emily has a new teacher until the end of the school year… Mrs. Thomas.  Emily thinks she’s great.
4. Emily loves her Heidelberg purse that Chris and I got her for Christmas.  As super organized as she is, she has in in perfect order.  It holds her camera in it’s blue camera case, her wallet (made out of duct tape by Katie), money, gum and cherry chapstick.
5. Emily likes to read on her bed and loves listening to music or books with her new headphones.  I think she’s enjoying her own room.

MEGAN

1. Megan is loving the MERCY WATSON books she got for Christmas to add to her collection.  They are cute books – a little below her level but she reads and re-reads them all the time.  She just finished a book report on one of them and had to make her own cereal box with a cereal title, picture about the book, what the shape of the cereal would be, a list of ingredients (characters) down the side, a summary, a game on the back and a prize inside all having to do with the book.  She LOVED working on it.  ‘PIGGIE TREATS’.  It’s pretty cute but I’m glad it’s done.
2. Prefers her hair curled but likes a good ‘back ponytail’ as well, especially for PE days. 
3. She loves sports and tells us that she wants “to be a sports girl.” 
4. Megan has mostly boy friends at school and on the bus.  Some of them have been in the same class as her for 3 years now and she has them all thinking she’s so great.   Megan gave a couple of them a Christmas card.  Once back to school in January one of them returned the favor with a card saying “Thanks for the card.  You are a good friend.”  She said that the day after that they were ‘fighting about love’.  “What do you mean?” I said.  “Well, he said that I must be in love with him because I gave him a card and then I said ‘WHAT? You are the one that’s in love with me for 3 years!”   Then he said, “Well you gave me a card.”  and she said “Well, YOU gave me a card back!”    Yes, this is a fight about love for a 2nd grader.     He made the mistake of telling Megan how she felt.  Big mistake.   But they are still best friends.
5. Megan falls asleep quick as a wink once she’s in bed and we always have to go in to her room and turn off her lamp.  She always has her next day’s outfit laid out on the floor like a person.

LUKE

1. Luke is participating in ‘school time’ every day with me.  Sometimes we practice writing a sentence.  Sometimes we do the Opposite puzzle.  Sometimes we practice writing his name in lower case.  Sometimes we roll a dice and write what number it is on a piece of paper and then talk about which number was rolled the most and least.  I think he’s liking it. 
2. Luke unloads the dishwasher for me almost every morning and is doing a good job.  He also brings his dishes over to the sink without being asked.  If I call him up to do a random job for me then he has a pretty good attitude about it.
3. He’s going through a phase where he’s scared.  Scared of going into a part of the house where nobody else is.  He gets mad if his sidekick, Matthew, doesn’t want to go to the same place he wants to.   Or scared about the dark and would rather go to sleep in Mom and Dad’s bed then his upstairs by himself.
4. Luke is loving the Wii these days.  Thank you Santa.  But he gets a little out of control sometimes when Matthew doesn’t do the right thing and it makes him die.   We must work on controlling our temper.

MATTHEW

1. Matthew is a new little sunbeam!!  We have 1:30 church now so he’s kind of tired once Primary comes around.  It doesn’t help that I sit with Luke’s class on the row opposite him.  He did great in his class though.  Sis Tillett is awesome.
2. A couple of times a day he asks me if he can eat cereal.
3. He likes to play on the computer and calls starfall.com ‘HIS’ game and friv.com ‘LUKE’S’ game.  He prefers ‘Luke’s Game’ but he knows he has to put in some ‘ABC learning’ time before he can jump to the other stuff.
4. He still LOVES Little Einstein shows.  Definitely his favorite.
5. We’re going to story time at the library most Wednesdays and he and Luke both love it – especially the art time at the end.  They really love putting their masterpieces on the green magnetic boards in their room.

Scanned Stuff

A couple of days ago I spent some time scanning some things into the computer.  I wish that I kept up on that kind of stuff better, but it just piles up in a ‘must do something with’ pile until I choose to tackle it.  Love January.  Some of these are little notes and some are hand drawn pictures that I want saved.   All are back dated to when they were created.

CHRISTMAS DRAWING TIME  (A snowman and Santa picture from Luke)

LUKE’S NATIVITY (The cutest Nativity picture ever)

MATTHEW’S FIRST FACE  (first face drawing)

PICTURES AND WORDS by LUKE (some of Luke’s first written words)

BOYS NIGHT  (Ryan’s options for a fun night Babysitting)

NOTES FROM MEGAN     (Love these sweet little notes)

New charts

We took some time over the weekend to get the new responsibilities and earning money charts organized.  It’s similar to the one we used last year with a few updates.  In September we switched to the Santa Bucks program so the kids could earn money for family Christmas presents but now it’s time to get back into our regular routine.  We’re ready and excited about it.  The charts started this week even though the kids aren’t back to school yet but have lots of time to get everything done each day.  So nice to have a week like this.

The four oldest each have 5 boxes each day…

1. MORNING – wake up on time, get dressed, make bed, eat breakfast, hair, teeth, etc.… with HAPPY ATTITUDE.
2. ZONE – the area of the house they are in charge of each week – it rotates weekly based on what I feel like needs to be focused on.   Right now: Ryan – Living Room.   Katie – Dining room, swept, chairs pushed in, new table cloth on.  Emily – Laundry taken down daily, sorted and a batch started and or switched over.   Megan – entry way and hall way clutter free and swept occasionally. 
3. PIANO – 30 minutes daily.
4. READING – 30 minutes daily.
5. EVENING – Make lunch for the next day, clothes ready, read scriptures, prayers, bed on time with HAPPY ATTITUDE.

If they can finish the entire week with every square filled or with only 1 miss – then they earn their age in dollars. Ryan – $14 Katie $12 Emily $10 Megan $7      If they miss 2 or 3 squares they’ll earn half their age.  If they miss 4 or more they’ll earn 0.    We are also implementing a ‘make up’ list  -- 1/2 hour extra practicing any day to make up for a missed square, etc. to earn back empty squares – but haven’t quite got that all fixed up.  I guess we need to decide by the end of this week.  We really do want them to get all of their things accomplished and for them to receive their earned money.

This ‘earn their age’ idea is new – we didn’t do it this way last year – we’re also switching from:

1. 10% tithing,
2. 50% savings,
3. 40% spending

to:

1. 10% tithing
2. 20% savings
3. 70% spending – with the focus that the kids will be responsible for their clothing -- paying for 50% of all their clothing needs (minus socks and underwear).  This is the Eyre family way and after reading “THE ENTITLEMENT TRAP” we’re adopting it for the next 6 months and will hold our own evaluation on it’s success within our family.  Katie is excited about the switch.  Ryan is not – he’s worried about his savings and feels like he should be putting more in savings… which he can choose to as long as he has enough for any clothing he needs.  He hardly ever spends money – unless it’s for Christmas presents for others.   The kids really don’t earn that much money – a little from babysitting and some for completing all of their responsibilities – but we feel like they need more to learn the lessons of actually managing it.  We’ll see how it goes.

Emily’s Night Owl Party

Emily invited her three best friends over, added her two very favorite sisters and had a fun ‘stay up late’ girls night over the Christmas break.  

First they ran downstairs to giggle and plan their night.  Then they came up for dinner – Emily’s favorite meal: pasta and homemade Alfredo sauce, corn, garlic bread and pink lemonade. 

After dinner they went back downstairs and Katie had them do an activity to answer questions about Emily’s favorite things.  Then they painted their faces and came up to ‘perform’ their     H  A  P  P  Y  B  -  D  A  Y    by flipping their hair up and saying their letters and cheering for Emily.  Cute girls.    Then Emily opened her presents… pizza recipe book and hot pad, fur real mini puppy, stickers, paper and cherry lip-gloss.

Then the girls (and Luke) made OWLS.   Then ate brownies and ice cream.  Then played Curses.  Then watched a movie and ate treats downstairs.  They sure have fun together.  Emily had a ball.  The girls took their owls and skittles home with them as they all complained that 5 hours wasn’t long enough.