Super-Elijah Birthday Party

For Elijah's 5th birthday he wanted a Superman party. 

He had been talking about it since the day after his 4th birthday so I felt quite a bit of pressure to make this party awesome and all his little dreams come true!

So I stayed up super late and spent a ridiculous amount of time on crazy crafts and decorations and it was total and utter chaos... HA! 

But! 

Elijah did say it was the best party ever and the kids left happy and hyped up on sugar. 

:) 

(I was so busy that I forgot to get pictures of everything but I was pretty proud of it before all the kids destroyed it)

My amazing friend sewed capes for all the kids to start their superhero training.

They then tested their superhero skills with an accuracy test of throwing darts at balloons, 

practiced using their x-ray vision for "pin the symbol on the Superman," 

and had a superhero obstacle course. 

There was an incident where one little boy got stabbed in the foot with a dart...

and juice and popcorn and Kryptonite suckers where everrrrrrrywhere... 

and it was total craziness and I never want to throw a party again until he's at least 8...

But from what I heard the kids still had a lot of fun! 

And I had a lot of fun with my annual use of creativity. :)

{But seriously no more parties until he's 8.}

a cake filled with rainbows & smiles

This cake to me represents the love Adam has for me. 

I'm sure of it. 

My birthday didn't really turn out how I wanted it to. 

Seems the older I get, the more disappointing birthdays are. 

I had to go fix the car and run errands, Elijah was nuts as usual and my errands were cut short because I didn't even want to deal with his tantrums anymore, Adam was in school all day and didn't get back til late, I had a big long to-do list for things to get ready for baby, and taking myself {and Elijah} out for lunch turned out to be a huge bomb. 

So I was throwing myself a good pity party & feeling really upset when Adam called to ask what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. First, I couldn't even believe he didn't even have a cake already planned AND that he had obviously forgotten or ignored my requests when he asked me the same question a few days and weeks before. 

I can't have chocolate, it makes me sick. 

Too much sugar makes me sick. 

I like fruit. 

Something like a strawberry shortcake with whip cream. 

This was my request. 

And I was angry I had to explain it again while yelling at Elijah to stop running down the street. 

I was not a happy person as you can see. 

Yes, I was bitter. 

And hormonal. 

And exhausted. 

So Adam kindly finished the conversation and said he would be home in a little bit. 

Once he got home, he took Elijah inside so I could have some alone time to paint the baby's dresser and stew in my thoughts... I later came inside to a small pile of beautiful presents & this cake that Adam put together. 

I about cried. 

After being so bratty and rude and emotional, Adam still was willing to do all that he could to turn my birthday around and make it special. 

He doesn't really know how to make a cake... but he tried his best and made it so beautiful & presentable as he could. 

I couldn't stop smiling. 

I kept telling him that it was exactly what I wanted. 

And it was! 

He got me. 

I'm so grateful for a loving husband who, after having to deal with an overwhelmed & extremely rude pregnant wife, still makes the biggest efforts to make my birthday special. 

He went out of his way and took the time to show me that he loved me even with all my flaws. 

I feel so undeserving to have Adam as my husband. 

He truly is too good for me and puts up with way too much. 

I love him & could not ask for a better way to end my birthday. 

Even after a rough start, it turned out to be a pretty fantastic day after all. 

----------------------------------------------

The winner of the Cuisinart Baby Food Maker is..... Sarah [she said: I love how versatile and compact it is! And this peaches with bananas and rice recipe looks great:  http://www.cuisinart.com/baby/recipes/stage_1/273.html"] Congratulations, Sarah!! Email me and I will get you all the information for your prize :) 

And thank you everyone who entered! 

two-six

Crazy that this little budding fashion star {kidding} is already 

twenty-six!!  

As I've gotten older birthdays have become more of a reflection than a celebration for me. 

It's cool & weird & eye-opening

[& honestly sometimes disappointing]

to look back and see where I'm at and what I have accomplished. 

Sometimes I think I haven't done enough or fulfilled any of my big dreams that my little girl heart was set on. Sometimes I feel like I've hardly done anything at all with my life and just wasted time. 

In fact, I found a timeline the other day that I made in elementary school that said I was going to be famous by the time I was 20 or something... 

hah! yeah, that didn't happen. 

But then I remember that I have been able to reach some of the more important goals & dreams. 

I found another little memory page where it asked 

"What do you want to accomplish in 20 years?" 

My answers: 

- get a degree 

- write for a newspaper 

- get married in the temple 

And you know what? 

I did those things! 

I may not be a movie star, 

or famous singer, 

or a professional spokesperson. 

No one really even knows my name except the people in my small circle. 

Only Elijah requests songs from me. 

And he hates my lectures. 

But I have my family, my beliefs, and my education. 

I am happy & healthy. 

I have people around me who love me and who I can turn to. 

And that's all that's the best birthday present around!

Here's to being one year older!! 

Can't wait to see what 26 has in store :) 

happy {little} campers

On Monday we had a camping party to celebrate Elijah's 4th birthday. 

It was SO much fun to plan and put together. But totally exhausting. 

I stayed up the entire night before after being up the night before that with stomach pains and contractions, not to mention moving is just becoming harder & more painful... 

But I still loved doing it all and seeing all my ideas brought to fruition! 

After not throwing a party for 2 years, the party planner bug was reallllllly nagging at me and I was ready for a good project. And I think it all turned out pretty well. :) 

I designed and made all the tags, labels, and invitations mostly using PicMonkey. 

[did you know you can design blank pages on PicMonkey now?? so awesome!!]

That's one of my favorite parts to design the graphics and images. Makes me feel legit, ha. 

For food I tried to keep with the camping theme and had a trail mix bar [with peanuts, M&Ms, marshmallows, and raisins], teddy grahams {for the bears in the woods, obviously}, granola bars, and fruit leather. I also made fruit skewers and a vegetable plate. Cause being outdoors encourages healthy eating habits right?? 

And of course, Elijah got his big chocolate cake! :)

I found these really cute white bottle brush trees at Joann's and then made a small burlap bunting to go on top to match his "Camp Elijah" banner on the table. 

Now we have a ton of chocolate cake left that I can't eat... So Elijah will have a sugar high for a while. 

For activities we had a fishing station set up where the kids got to "fish" for goldfish. 

Adam was a good sport and helped out with all the kids fishing. 

We were laughing cause as adults it doesn't seem like the fishing activity would be that exciting especially because the way it was set up they could totally see what was happening. 

But the kids loved it and were SO excited when it was their turn. 

Simple minds, simple pleasures right?? :) 

I also had a scavenger hunt planned out for them to go and find different things in the park, but it ended up being sooooo ridiculously hot [as you can tell by all the kids' red faces!] and we kind of skipped it. It would have been fun and I saved some for maybe a fun activity to do with Elijah another day. And I love how the handouts turned out. I was so bummed the heat was so bad... 

{I really hope no kids got heat stroke!} 

We also set up a mini campsite scene with a fake, tissue paper fire, a small tent, little chairs, and a sleeping bag. That was another thing that I kind of thought would be a cute visual but underestimated how much the kids really liked it. They had so much fun pretending to camp, roasting fake marshmallows and taking turns in the little tent. It was so cute! 

And at the end of it all, the kids got to take home a goodie bag that had a s'mores kit, "fish bait" gummy worms, a mini compass, and a little flashlight. Pretty fun stuff! 

There were some things I wish I added or did a little differently [or I wish I could have made it cooler!] but all in all I was really happy with how it turned out. And I absolutely couldn't have done it without some wonderful friends who pitched in to help and donate cute decoration items. Because of them I was able to pull it off.  

And Elijah seemed to have a lot of fun and LOVED being able to play with all his friends. Seeing his excitement and huge smile all day {and the days leading up to it} made all that planning and late nights worth it. :)

Happy 4th birthday, E-rock!! 

I will celebrate you any day! 

FOUR

It's hard to believe that this little sweet baby is FOUR years old today. 

FOUR!

I just pulled an all-nighter getting ready for his big 4-year-old birthday party. 

[party planning = reason why this blog has been neglected]

Because I love that boy. 

And I want more than anything for him to always feel special. 

Especially as his last birthday as an only child. 

And now I'm sitting here crying, looking through old baby pictures, and missing my chubby sweet baby, even though I know he's in the next room over sleeping peacefully. 

This boy has my whole heart. 

I love him more than I feel like my body can handle sometimes.  

These last four years have not been the easiest. 

Motherhood has been hard. 

But a lot of times I feel like that's on me, not him. 

I need to learn to be better. 

Cause truly, he is perfect & amazing. 

Elijah is my baby, my hope, and my will to live. 

He has changed me. 

He teaches me. 

He makes me a better person each and every day 

{even if I'm grumpy...} 

I love the way he always wants to cuddle with me. 

I love the way his little mind works, always trying to figure things out. 

[He's waaaaay too smart for me already!] 

I love the way he talks, his little voice melts me every time. 

I love the way he does his "robot dance." 

I love the way he's sensitive & kind. 

I love the way he wants to help constantly. 

I love the way his personality. 

I love his eyes, his eyelashes. 

I love his tiny nose and the way he scrunches it when he is trying not to smile. 

I love the way he knows what every song is called on the radio. 

I love that he knows all the words to "Story of My Life" and the dance moves. 

I love his curiosity. 

I love his ambition. 

And at times, I love his energy. ;) 

Most days I get really nervous thinking how I could ever love another baby as much as I love Elijah. 

Or how in the world my heart will grow to love both. 

I look at Elijah and I just swell with pride & adoration. 

I love him so much. 

He will always be the one that made me a mother. 

He will always be the one that pushed me and strengthened me more than anything. 

He will always be the one that taught me how to love more fully and unconditionally. 

And tonight for his lullaby, Elijah requested I sing the "Baby Elijah" song I made up for him so long ago. I felt like it was a perfect song on the eve of his birthday. And I sang it with all the love I could convey. 

He will always be mine. 

Always my baby. 

cheers to 25!

[Adam bought me a Snickers ice cream cake! looks weird, tastes delicious!!]

i usually love birthdays! 

i make my family celebrate all month long, i play the whole "but it's my birthday!" card to get out of everything and anything on my actual birth day, i want big parties & cake & presents & sugar.... 

the.works. 

but this year i've been feeling really bummed and weird about it... 

the closer it got to my birthday, the more i started feeling down and in a rut. 

to me, 25 was this big, huge, culminating, milestone age where i felt like in a way it was my deadline to do all things awesome. 

and after that it's just all downhill. 

{obviously that's not the case, i realize this. but this is how i felt my whole life. 25 is IT!} 

but as the days ticked by until i actually made that big leap in age brackets, i felt like i really haven't done anything of worth to truly celebrate the last 25 years of my life. 

basically i've just been feeling really bad for myself. 

[but i mean, what's new right??] 

Adam has been great trying to boost me up and make me feel important, which i greatly appreciate. 

and i know that i have many blessings & things i should feel more grateful for than i am right now. 

so for my big 25th birthday, i thought that it would be good {for me} to write 25 things i'm grateful for to remind myself that life really isn't as bad as i make it seem sometimes. 

so here are my

Twenty-Five Thank-titudes 

for my 25th birthday!

{in no particular order}

1. i am grateful for my amazing husband who loves me & supports me through good times and bad. 

2. i am grateful for a feisty & loving 3-year-old who keeps me on my toes and continually helps me to strive to be better. 

3. i am grateful for our extended families who are there when we need them & love us dearly. 

4. i am grateful for our little apartment [and everything in it] where we can live safely & comfortably, especially in this blasted heat!

5. i am grateful for our educations, that Adam is able to attend a great program to further his career, and that i was able to finish my degree in a emphasis that i love. 

6. i am grateful for our dear friends who are always there for us, even just to vent and eat ice cream. :)

7. i am grateful for our health and bodies and that we haven't had anything terribly serious affect our family. [yet?]

8. i am grateful for the Gospel and the peace & comfort it brings to my life. and i'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the love He gives me and His sacrifice. 

9. i am grateful for our car, even if it's totally a piece sometimes, that it is able to transport us safely and comfortably and hasn't broken down on us completely yet. :)

10. i am grateful for my calling and the opportunity to work with the Young Women in my church

11. i am grateful for technology so i can stay in contact with so many friends and meet amazing new ones. plus i able to do something that i absolutely love, write. 

12. i am grateful for clothes and shoes & able to have fun with it all. it's something i know i take for granted daily, the fact that i'm able to have clothes to choose from. 

13. i am grateful for modern amenities like laundry machines and dishwashers. after living in an apartment without them, it has been a life-changer. and something again i know take for granted too often. 

14. i am grateful for books and reading, one of my all time favorite things to do. 

15. i am grateful for the gift of music and how much it blesses my home. 

16. i am grateful for the temple and the incredible peace and enlightenment i gain when i go there. 

17. i am grateful for the experiences i have had in my life and all the great memories i have made.

18. i am grateful for ice cream, Oreos, and other sugary treats. cause we all know i'm plain addicted to that junk. 

19. i am grateful for the beauty of the earth: fresh flowers, majestic mountains, and rainbow skies. the world we live in is absolutely breathtaking. 

20. i am grateful for the power of sleep!! enough said. 

21. i am grateful for the finances we are able to manage, though meager at times, and the jobs we have had in the past and currently that helps us with all of our basic necessities and take care of our family. 

22. i am grateful for photos to capture all the precious moments i wish to keep forever. 

23. i am grateful for this country we live in and the freedoms we enjoy here. 

24. i am grateful for my life. though hard at times, i am just blessed to be living and enjoying so many great experience with those i love the most. 

25. i am grateful for having an abundance of love in my life.

all you need is love. 

maybe there are things i wish i did differently or things i wish had accomplished by now, 

but that's how it will always be right?

we'll always wish for something better or something more. 

but there is so much more that we i am missing out on when we i choose to only focus on the 

i-wish-i-hads. 

the bigger picture: the happiness that is right here around us now. 

"Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now."

-Denis Waitley

so here's to another 25 years!! 
full of love, happiness, and even more gratitude for this wonderful life. 

Birthday Bash: Albion Fit $100 Giveaway

let's start this Birthday Bash off right shall we?? 

i have a great giveaway today from one of my favorite stores, Albion Fit

i have been eyeing Albion Fit's swimsuits for months! 

they are so cute and different from others i have seen around lately. 

i love the bright colors and patterns and ruffle details. 

they would be so flattering on any body type! 

here are some of my top picks:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

there's so much more to choose from on their site from two-pieces to sweaters, sports tanks and tennis skirts. everything they have is so cute and there's something for everyone.

today, Albion Fit is giving away a $100 gift card to one lucky winner! 
{so jealous! :)}

you can also get 20% off anything in their store by using the code mrsrobinson20
(expires July 30th)

be sure to visit them on their other links as well:
facebook | twitter | instagram | pinterest 

[enter below]


a Rafflecopter giveaway

:: and the winner of the June group giveaway is..... Heather Ellsworth!! CONGRATULATIONS! i will be sending you an email soon :)