May...birthday month to birthday par-tay!!

So I have always loved going over the top for me on my birthday(especially since I became a mom), which then turned into birthday week and then birthday month...to be honest I totally deserve it!!!!  And I don't feel bad admitting that...as a "super" mom and wifey it is SUPER fun to just celebrate ME!!!
However this year I started thinking my girlies and hubby are just as SUPER as me so I decided to start birthday month for them as well!!!  Plus they are more into my birthday month...knowing they will receive the same royal treatment during their month!!  And honestly it is so much fun making others feel so special!!! So first up...MAY...Ava and Kaylinn...who happen to share a birthday...most of you know that but just a fun little fact to throw out there. I mean how many people share a birthday with a sibling?!?!?! (crazy enough my dad's sister do...is that something that runs in the family???)
My plan is to do a small gift each week...since we all have birthdays at the end of our birthday month this works out really well...birthdays that never end!!!  For Ava and Kaylinn I did weekly gifts of sunglasses, socks & sandals(slides is their real name???, so much lingo you have to learn as a parent to stay "cool"), books and swimsuit & towel(in their fav color).  As the girls get older I really try to get gifts that fit their personalities...not what I would want...which is hard...however when it really fits them it is so wonderful to feel that you "nailed" it when you see that look of pure JOY and appreciation on their faces!!!

Sunglasses...week one...little upset I didn't take pics of ALL weekly gifts...I guess I can't do it all...LOL!!!

And we topped it off with a birthday party on the last day of May...we invited some neighbor friends and I truly believe fun was had by all!!!  I honestly didn't even realize that we had 12(I think I counted right??) kiddos here that we were entertaining.  What I was most amazed by is the thoughtfulness that went into the gifts for the girls...so incredibly thankful to have landed in the neighborhood we have...the girls got things that just screamed who they are!!!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Ava's ballet shoe cake...BEFORE & AFTER...I let them chose what they want every year!!  And then somehow make it happen.

Kaylinn's cake...OLAF...BEFORE & AFTER

Cake's complete and ready to eat!!

Presents!!!

Cake & ice cream...yes PLEASE!!!

Thankful Thursday...week 2...for me...

Here I am linking up again with...Katie Elizabeth, Mia at Make Me Up Mia, Carly at Carly Blogs Here and Kristal at The Strong Family... So glad that I am able to focus on a few things that I am thankful for each day!!!  Reminds me how sweet my life is...and of course keeps me in the right frame of mind...and focusing on the good, great and AWESOME!!

~Thursday 3/6~ Well I have got to tell you going to my children's conference's is just what this momma needs for a little boost...after listening to my girls' teachers speak so highly of them I have to admit...that filled my mom cup!!!  Especially when I hear how willing they are to help others in their class and their teachers!!  And I was also VERY thankful for the Target $1 bins...I mean...need I say more!  I was able to snag tons of fun party items for the birthday club party that we hosted on Saturday.  Oh and one other amazing thing about this day was I got to get coffee from my fav coffee place...Brews on 7th...oh how I missed you during my 28 day detox.

~Friday 3/7~ With hosting birthday club on Saturday and having it be a gymnastics competition weekend...I had a "to-do" list as long as my leg...and I had to decide what could be done a day ahead and what I could ONLY do the day of the party...so I was of course SUPER thankful for my pint size helper...love her...and she clearly understands that there is a perk to helping mom make cake and brownies.  I also visited Zurcher's for the first.time.ever and I must say...where has that store been my whole life??  I could lay in that store and bask in its awesomeness all day...not even kidding!!! #partysupplies is a weakness of mine...a close second to #officesupplies!!  

Once again Bailey amazed us with her grit, grace and determination at the Crystal Cup gymnastics meet...hosted by our gym Olympus Gymnastics...so proud of her always!!  She once again took 1st place on bars with a 9.3 and had a great overall showing. (I will do a more elaborate post on the meet once done sifting through some AMAZING photos!!!)
~Saturday 3/8~ Our first ever neighborhood birthday club(soon to be a monthly occurrence)...an extension of our neighborhood book club...created for two reasons...#1 some gals wanted in on the fun without the reading AND #2 we hated waiting 4 weeks in between seeing each other!!!  How awesome is that!!!  We decided to make it a family event and not just a #girlsnight and I must say it was super fun watching the "BOYS" bond.

~Sunday 3/9~ Thankful for my gift of crafting...and my ability to do many types of projects from sewing to knitting and crocheting...my goal this year is to make each girl a blanket...making good progress on Kaylinn's!  

~Monday 3/10~ YOGA!!!  Thank you for letting me release the weeks tension...see you next Monday.
~Tuesday 3/11~ Once again my ability to craft has me on the happy train...love making gifts for all the new babies that keep popping up.  Also was super thankful to my neighbor who found a piece of my mail blowing in the wind by his house...it was my labels for the pieces I will sell on Etsy...definitely would have been sad to never know what happened to them.

~Wednesday 3/12~ And of course super thankful to this blogging community...so many fun blogs/people...and great ideas of all kinds...one being bento boxes and thanks to a great blog post by Jess at Craftiness is not Optional...I was able to get some great inspiration and links to all the tools I needed to get the bento party started at our house...of course I will document this new adventure!!   And last but not least for this week...in the almost 2 years that we have lived in Utah...I just can't get over the beauty of it!!

Till next week...always many things to be thankful for...so be on the lookout!

adVEntURE #11...CamPiNG with the LaBarge'S

We finally did it...headed out to camp...in a tent...overnight!!!  Brandon and I have been talking about camping for the last 3-4 summers...we finally made it happen.  Our neighbors, Ryan and Lyndsey, also went with us.  We chose to do one night to see how the girls would like it and it allows us to get things done on the weekend around the house.  We had a great double site with a little creek to keep us cool, hiking trail close by and great views all around since we were tucked into the middle of the Wasatch mountains.