Happy 9th Birthday, Hannah

Hannah turns 9 today. NINE. I can hardly believe it. I tried to tell her she couldn't, but she defied me and did it anyway...

We have parties for the kids on certain years. Nine isn't one of them, but we decided to invite her two new friends (since we've moved), Danielle and Isabella over for what Hannah deemed a "luncheon."

Isabella, Hannah, Danielle, and Julia

The theme of the party was VanGogh's Sunflowers painting, and after the girls ate, they all painted with watercolors. According to Hannah, it was "very fun, and I got to hang out with my friends which was awesome."

This is a picture of Hannah and I from Fall 2001. She was a little over 1 here. This has always been one of my favorite pictures of her and I.

Hannah is a wonderful girl: helpful and sweet and responsible. God has given her a servant's heart, and I wonder what He plans to do with it.

(So, now, sentimental, as Moms get, I'm going to go upstairs

and hang out with my not-so-little-any-more Hannah.)

Bowling

I had coupons that allowed the kids to bowl for free (I just had to pay for shoe rental, which by the way has gotten much more expensive compared to when we were kids). The oldest two have been bowling, but so long ago that I don't think they remember it. The younger two had never gone. I made it a surprise, and when they got there they were so excited.

It was funny to me how even in bowling their personalities really showed...

Hannah tried hard, but it didn't come easily. She kept with it and kept a good attitude (except for getting very flustered when she stepped over the foul line and set off the buzzer). Overall I think she had fun.

Jay was so excited when he got a spare (he actually wound up with 2 by the time we were done playing). He tried hard and did well for the most part (except for the time that his ball hit the bumper and bounced OVER it and into the other lane, WHICH was being used by some very nice people, and went into the opposite gutter and all the way to the end. Somehow, it didn't register as a gutter ball for the person who was mid-turn.) When it wasn't Jay's turn, he was either encouraging whoever was bowling or exercising in order to get stronger so he could do better when it was his turn.

Daniel's natural athletism showed even in bowling. He seemed to have the best form even if that didn't always mean he knocked down the most pins. He loved every minute of it, and in the end won the second game.

Julia was...herself. She started out SO excited and wanted no help from me. She wanted to struggle with the ball and barely roll it hard enough for it to make it to the end, ALL BY HERSELF. She could hardly stand to wait her turn. If she knocked down pins (which somehow she did most of the time), she was doing dances. If she didn't she grumpily declared that it wasn't working and that she didn't want to play any more. If she stepped over the foul line and it buzzed at her, she got really mad and grumpy. So, there is more than one picture of her, because one just didn't completely tell the story.

When I went to take this picture, I was actually trying to capture her EXTREMELY grumpy face, but by the time the camera "clicked" she had changed to a very cute smile.

A Tent in the Basement

I remember as a kid LOVING creating a tent in our basement and then sleeping in it. So, for something fun, I set up a tent for the kids to sleep in tonight. They were thrilled!