A TANGLED Party!

Ashlyn turned 4!

CRAZY!

And after seeing a friend's blog of her little girl's Tangled party, she knew just what she wanted!

So, off to work we (I really) went!

Most of the ideas I got from this blog:

http://www.supermommoments.com/2011/01/tangled-party-decor-food/

We made the invitations (Morgan helped a lot with the braids)!

Got the decorations together....

Sunburst banners and lanterns.

Let Rapunzel's hair out the window...

(This braid actually almost drove me mad. It took 2 hours to make. The problem was I started it when Ashlyn and Madelyn were still awake. And they wanted to help. After cutting 80 strands of yarn, it was all too TANGLED (ironic really) to braid. So, one by one I straightened it out between Morgan and Hayden (couldn't of done it without them). Then, while Hayden held the end of it, Morgan & I set to braiding! It was so long, that while I was braiding, Morgan was near the end following my moves so it wouldn't get tangled again! Two hours after we began it was done! Phew!)

We set the table and waited for the guest to arrive. 

I got the cake idea from my friend Nancy's blog.

It didn't turn out as good as hers, but Ashlyn was happy!

Boats floating on blue jello.

If you don't get the boat reference, than you haven't seen the movie.

If you haven't seen the movie.....then WHY not?

Once all the guests arrived we set out to do the floating lanterns.

***Forgot to mention***

The party was originally scheduled for 6-8pm, mainly because I wanted to set the lanterns off at night. BUT Hurricane Irene decided to come the very day of her party! 

How RUDE!

Conditions were to get worse right around 6:00pm. So, the night before I decided to move the party to 11:00am rather than cancel it all together (after all that work this party was happening!).

The rain was still coming around noon though, so we moved the lantern lighting to the beginning of the party.

It was all very exciting. The blue lantern above flew up and got stuck in the trees-still on fire.

At least we were expecting torrential rains, right?

We tethered the rest of the lanterns so we could control their path (away from the trees).

The girls loved it.

It was so fun to watch them watch the lanterns!

Once back inside we carried on with the party games/crafts!

Pin the frying pan on Flynn Rider.

Painting Sunbursts!

And making Pascal Blowers!

Then it was time for lunch.

I had thought of making something to go along with the movie (like Hazelnut soup), but opted to go easy and kid friendly-so pizza it was!

Then time for CAKE!

The party was a smashing success!

Ashlyn had a blast, and I think the other girls did too.

We finished up before Hurricane Irene made her appearance, and all made it home safely.

I'm still a little baffled that my little girl is 4!

It seems like yesterday she was born.

Ashlyn & I share a birthday and a middle name.

She is my little buddy.

That can sometimes drive me bonkers.

(ex: hair cutting, stubborn, mess making)

And make me laugh at the same time!

She is full of more energy than I know what to do with!

But I love her to pieces!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AHSLYN!

Mother Nature

This past week has been a busy one for Mother Nature around here.

On Tuesday there was a 5.9 Earthquake.

I myself did not experience it, as I was flying home from Denver at the time.

 But I heard stories when I got home!

Apparently Brian and Ashlyn were taking a nap, and were awoken to the bed shaking.

Morgan, Hayden and Duncan were playing in the family room, and said it was "Awesome!"

Ronan was upstairs, and very scared when the house started shaking. He said he went to run outside, but it was over before he made it downstairs and out to the deck.

We had a few things fall off walls and shelves, but nothing broke.

My store room downstairs had cans all on the floor, but all was good.

Then 2 days later we began preparations for Hurricane Irene.

We were told to be prepared to be without electricity for a few days, and have enough water for 3 days as well. I bought this 7.5 gallon tank in preparation.

Madelyn instantly claimed it!

The empty tank went everywhere with her for 3 days before the storm hit.

It came in the car with her.

Sat next to her on the couch when she watched TV.

Was next to her chair at dinner.

And when she INSISTED that it go to bed with her as well, I just had to take a photo!

Saturday afternoon I filled it with water, and that's when she stopped lugging it around.

Well, by the time Irene arrived in our area, we were only under Tropical Storm watch, no longer hurricane watch. I let the kids play outside in the wind/rain for a few hours. They enjoyed not having lightening associated with it. Once the winds picked up, they came in and we waited to see what she would bring. The worst of the storm came in the night. I woke up to the sound of the winds, and watched the trees swaying out back.

But, at morning's light, we found that we were largely unaffected!

We never lost power (which is really lucky, as I've learned so many of my friends did).

And there was no damage to our house or property.

 Just a lot of branches and leaves to clean up.

 Sunday morning (after the storm) Church was canceled, and we went on a drive to survey the damage in the area. We found the Patapsco river rushing, reaching the tree branches.

We also saw this poor house on our drive.

 The tree didn't fall during the storm, but around 10:00am Sunday morning.

The shallow roots were just saturated with the amount of water we got that they gave way.

 Then we found where the river had completely flooded and the road was closed.

 We saw poor fish swimming amongst the trees, and then trying to flop back across the road to get up stream. The kids enjoyed watching that.

All in all we feel very lucky by the little effect the storm had on us personally, and so sorry for those who suffered damage from it.

Today.....

1. I ran into the road to stop a car because my 2 year old was following me to the mail box (without my knowledge). Heart pounding!

2. Called the HVAC man because a son cut the wire to the AC unit. (Bless that child-and bless his mother too please!)

3. Supervised said child in chores to pay back bill for HVAC man.

4. Sorted and labeled school supplies for 4 children.

5. Sharpened 48 pencils.

6.Cleaned gum off the couch (2 year old got into my purse)

7. Tried to fix the broken vacuum....couldn't and the only repair shop is 30 miles away-great. At least it's covered under warranty.

8. Baked zucchini bread with little girls.

9. Started to pack for flight tomorrow.

10. Sent husband to bring home dinner. :) 

Just another day in Paradise.....I need some chocolate.

Beauty Shop

Today after church the girls and Duncan played 'Beauty Shop' with me.

It was quite the 'do'

Madelyn kept jumping up and down screaming "Pretty! Pretty!"

So, I figured I must of looked good!

Thanks for the afternoon of fun guys!