Birthday Fun

These first three got out of order - but here are our kids dressed up in random outfits: surfer Ian, cowgirl Rachel, and princess Josie.
We aren't quite sure why a princess has to have a leg warmer on her arm, but in Josie's mind it is essential.
Cute Austin and Payton at IHOP for Rachel's birthday.
It's fun having Bridget and Rachel's birthdays a few days apart, but it makes for a busy couple of weeks! This year the festivities started with a big surprise - sweet Lorena Swanson threw Bridget a surprise party! She is an incredible cook and made all of this food herself. The fun guests made it for a really fun afternoon. Ann Jeppeson, Teri Dixon, Natalie Rich, Kristen Morris, Laura Long, Lorena, and Wendy Shaw were so sweet for coming!
They had me squeeze in there too to prove I wasn't in my pajamas at lunch time.
Ian has been learning about staying healthy this month at school and so they got to wear their pajamas one day when they were talking about sleep. He was SO excited and made pajama day at school last all day by wearing them out and about in the afternoon.
Josie is officially obsessed with books. You wouldn't think you'd hear either Justin or Bridget saying, "that's enough books!" but it's a phrase that is now commonly heard around these parts. Here she is asleep with some of her favorites beside her.
She likes to sit in the middle of the floor with a blanket and look through huge piles. It's pretty cute and this training is helping with a more reverent Josie during Sacrament Meetings.
Rachel's birthday fun started when she got to wear the dress she picked out to church. Here she is smiling with her mouth closed to hide...
her crazy loose tooth!
Justin gave Bridget these beautiful flowers on her birthday and Rachel did this sweet drawing to match. We then headed to a delicious dinner at the Spaghetti Factory.
On Rachel's big day Justin surprised her with flowers too and she has been delighted with them.
We then had her request for dinner: bacon and sausage (we added a candle on the pancake to make it a little more birthday-ish). Yes, she is also drinking a Capri Sun that her teachers gave her. We let anything fly one day a year.
To help Rachel be a little more motivated about staying at school for full days while she has been getting used to Chinese we made this chart and her prize was "cowgirl boots". She was one happy buckaroo when she was able to get them!
To continue the celebrations Rachel finally lost that crazy front tooth. Then her crazy mother accidentally cleaned it into the sink when she was cleaning the kitchen. We're hoping the tooth fairy will take a note in lieu of the actual tooth.
After swimming at the Rec Center we headed to a fun dinner at IHOP with Grandma, Grandpa, Parker, and the boys. It was then present time and the birthday girl was pretty excited about a real cowgirl hat and an awesome cupcake seat to go with her desk.
Probably her favorite gift this year was this spy kit which she has been using ever since.
Our cute little cowgirl.
Happy 7th birthday!

At Rachel's checkup she was 50 lbs (49%) and 46 3/4 inches (31%). Despite horrible genes, her vision is still looking good as well.

At 7 years Rachel is quite a character. Some things about Rachel at 7 are:

Her favorite movie is the Princess Bride.

Her favorite song is "Are We Human or are we Dancer?"

Her favorite church songs are "I'll Seek the Lord Early" and "I lived in Heaven".

She likes us to sing "Shenandoah" at bedtime.

Her favorite things to eat are: sausage, bacon, spaghetti, and frozen fruit (strawberries, grapes, peaches, etc.)

She likes to play Just Dance on the Wii.

She loves being read to and her favorite book is "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon."

She is always doing projects - drawing, writing, painting.

She loves to bake in her Easy Bake and would do it all the time if we allowed.

She loves watching the Amazing Race as a family.

She is a good little runner and loves running at the track and riding her bike.

She has lost 4 of her teeth.

We love Rachel and she really is such a sweet big sister. She loves saying she is a "service princess" and then trying to do kind things for Josie and Ian. She is such an important part of our family and we are certainly lucky to have a girl with so much personality.