Erika's Pony Party

Her big day had finally arrived!!  

Streamers courtesy of Bradley, Sign courtesy of Kelly, Luke and Bradley.  Balloons courtesy of Noah, Luke and I.

We messed up and didn't get her favorites for meals this time, but I still fed everyone so that was a plus :).  It was a pretty busy morning/day!  But we made it work and Erika was SO HAPPY!!

She got to take her cute poster to school with her pictures on it.  She came running out with a cute crown on her head and a big smile on her face.  She got to give her class dum dums.  She wished everyone would just take what they get and not throw a fit, but I think she learned a great lesson in manners.  I'm so glad Mrs. Piper makes birthdays so exciting.  I almost cried dropping her off for school.  I hate missing out on parts of their birthdays.

She got to play with Kate all afternoon which I was grateful for since I was still working on her cake.  The day was just not going as planned :).

Erika was counting down the minutes until Charity and Kelly got home.  She had figured out that the party started right after that, so that was what she was looking forward too :).  Kinda funny.

We got her pony cake done (kind of wishing I'd gotten a better picture... bummer.  

She had painstakingly picked out all the features of this cake, gathering ideas from several on pinterest.  I was pleased with how it turned out.  I think she liked it too.

This was before I realized everyone still had their coats on :)  that's what happens when mom is preoccupied as the guests are arriving!  But thanks to Kelly who totally took over on the Cutie Mark making...

Coat-free

The other angle.

While our Cutie Marks dried, we played a balloon game and then Pass Fluttershy.  They LOVED this game and even though Maya didn't stop screaming, I think it was a big hit.

She knows her friends are all nuts :)

that's what that face is :)

Nate was so patient with Molly the whole time.  She kept getting woken up by all the screaming.  I think Nate wanted to still be able to enjoy the party though, so he hung back a little :).  

One of the many helpers- Bradley was in charge of stopping and starting the music.

I love that in a lot of these pictures, people are covering their ears.  I'll never forget how loud this party was!  I hope some of the more sensitive guests were not too overwhelmed.  We had a lot of complaints from the peanut gallery.  Doesn't mean we didn't try to get the screamer to stop!

And another helper- Kelly seriously made this party!  I was so overwhelmed with things with Heidi, it was hard for me to focus.  I was so glad that they had Kelly to keep it fun and upbeat :).  She's so good at this type of thing.

Our Cutie Marks had dried so we played Pin the Cutie Mark on Rainbow Dash.  I am still laughing about the sticker Kate chose to put on hers.  It says Margueritaville :).  Why we have a sticker that says that and why it was on the table to decorate Cutie Marks, and why Kate chose it.... I do not know :).  But either way, it makes me laugh.  I hope she took it home and Emily got a good laugh out of it as well :).  

Poor Morgan.

Kelly even drew our pony for the game too... had to document that :)  It's so nice to not have to pay money for these kinds of things and have it be even better!

Morgan had to leave early :(.  Such a cutie.

Pinata time!  I can't believe we did a pinata in November!  Everyone was so cold.  And I can't believe we used a real bat!!  We're getting really careless in our old years!  We've had too much experience with these things to be making these rookie mistakes!  Luckily, all was well.

Time for presents.  I couldn't believe how long each thing was taking.  I had racked my brain for more game ideas or something else to fill the time, but came up short, so this was kind of a relief.  I think we had just the right amount of stuff for the time that we had.

I just love these two.  I love that they have each other.  I hope it lasts too.

I loved what Bradley got for Erika.  He spent a good 20 minutes choosing just the perfect pole for her.  Then bought it with his own money.  And even made her some fishing coupons at Church on Sunday (must have lost them though, because he didn't give them to her).  They've got plans to go fishing tomorrow :)  He calls her his lucky charm and they've really done a lot of bonding going fishing all the time.  I love it!  I love that they are building this relationship and that it is growing into something substantial.  That is one of my many goals for this family.  Lasting friendships.

I just thought this was cute- Erika posing with "Morgan" who had left early, with the present she gave her.

Charity was a gem during this party as well!  She took care of Molly once Nate was needed.  She was so tough, withstood all of Molly's fussing before getting her to sleep then kept on once she was startled awake by some more screaming :).  Forced smile, but hey- she's smiling :).  We love her.

Is it not the cutest thing ever that she's got her arm around her little brother while she's being sung to!?  I love it.  I also love that Jack's face has four hour old frosting on his face.  

This is how Erika parties :)

A couple more presents after the party guests had left.

Luke duct taped his shut... took her about 5 minutes to open :)

This was such a fun party.  I hope Erika enjoyed it because I sure did.  I loved meeting her new friends from school and being able to spoil her.  I loved watching her eat up their attention.  She doesn't usually get into that, but she was, and it was so fun.  It was cute to see her being such a good friend to all of them at once.  That can be difficult.  She tried so hard not to favor any one friend and made everyone feel a part of things.  I loved it!  She's growing up to be such a cool girl.  I just can't wait to see what this girl does with her life.  I know she's going to do big things.  

Some of her interests include playing with Kate, playing with Jack.  Doing fashion shows with Kelly and fishing with Bradley.  We just discovered she's got an eye for fashion- helping Kelly pick out outfits :).  She loves purple, cats, meatballs, and rollerblading.  She doesn't like mashed potatoes (or anything potato-y).  She takes good care of her cat Cali, but doesn't love cleaning out the litter box.   She's getting really good at reading!  She's got about 20 sight words under her belt and get get through a verse of scriptures with very little help.  She loves school and especially Mrs. Piper.  She loves to cuddle with Mom and still takes a nap every now and then :).  We love Erika and are so blessed to have her as part of our family.

Happy Birthday, Erika!  We love you!!