Best Gift Ever!

Mommy took the twins out to pick out gifts for Mia's birthday.  Aubrey obsessed over just the perfect gift, and settled on a  pair of roller blades.  Mia was thrilled beyond belief and declared them the best gift ever!  It was so sweet to see them bonding and having fun together.  Of course Big Boy picked out a toy he wanted to play with and tried to sell us on how much Mia would love it... Boys!

Party Time!

The Saturday after Mia's birthday we threw another party for the princess at Jump n Shout!  This one included all of her classmates, and her best friend Kiera.  Here they are manning the birthday throne!  It's so fun to see their little personalities developing into strong and independent little girls...  Our little girl is actually 7.  Wow!!

Handsome Boy!

Brandon sure loves a good party!  Unlike the other kids who attack the slides, he goes and buries himself in the foam toys...  Big boy has a very unique and fun personality.  He's endlessly entertaining and a giant ham!  That's why we love him.

The Sleeper!

After all the party's, Aubrey was done...  She is just like her Momma.  The car starts moving and she passes right out!  She's an angel when she's sleeping.  And occasionally when she's awake!

Mia's 7th Birthday Party - Part I

In keeping with the theme of Mia's current obsession with Star Wars, Momma decided it would be appropriate to plan a series of birthday parties to mark this momentous occasion.  So this past weekend we had a few dozen kids over for a block party complete with a snow cone truck and a Lego Star Wars cake!  Next weekend we're renting out the jumpy place for her class mates.  I give Momma grief for her excess, but it's so fun to watch her delight in making things so special for the kids.  Plus, it truly is amazing that Mia is already turning 7...  Times goes so quickly!  The other evening we spent time together looking through her blog.  She didn't even know she had one!  So we went all the way back to the very first post in China, and it was so fun to see her reaction to all of her baby photos.  I think it was timely as she shared with her teacher recently, during recess, that she has a sad story of her birth...  It was quite unexpected to hear that, and prompted some very deep and interesting conversations regarding her early childhood and adoption.  No matter the reality, all adopted children formulate their own story in their head, which rarely matches reality at that age.  Mia is an unbelievably special child and we're thankful for every day and every year that we all get together!

Party Animals!

For Mia's birthday party we literally had party animals!  The kids love to go to the Paradise Valley mall and rent time on these moving zoo animals. So, Momma decided we should bring the mall to us, and talked the woman into selling her three of them!  So after Daddy trekked them home, we had riding zoo animals for the party...  The twins were overjoyed!

New Playhouse!!

For several years Daddy has been promising to build a playhouse! Well, as time flies by, Daddy has finally accepted that some things simply need to be delegated or they aren't going to happen...  So we had a builder come down from Flagstaff and build the kids their very own home.  It's 2 stories with dual lofts, a deck with the tree running through it, lights, air conditioning, a hoist for Brandon and Aubrey's very own flower box.  And of course big sister Mia to oversee the whole affair.  The kids are absolute obsessed, and we haven't seen them much since it's completion!  I'm pretty sure this birthday present was a hit!

Construction Queen!

Mia was utterly obsessed with the construction of her new playhouse!  The guys worked for about 8 hours building it on Friday, and she never left their side...  She wanted to know how they were leveling it, how their tools worked, and if she could help.  They even worked into the night time, and she still wouldn't leave their side!  That is one curious little girl...