Sweet Pea's Eighth Birthday

Sweet Pea requested a Rapunzel party {last year} for her EIGHTH BIRTHDAY. I was super excited knowing we'd have a tall "tower" in our entry perfect for draping a yellow braid. :) I enlisted some assistance from the Sister Missionaries staying with us and was able to braid a 14 foot braid. Here's a link to how I did the braids. My mom put up the "bricks" and we had our tower. I added some "Rapunzel" Suns and was so pleased withthe end result. Her guests loved it too. For activities, I braided eight more shorter {six feet} braids and purchased some flowers for them to put in their braids. We also had a "Pasqual in the Frying Pan" relay and let the girls draw chalk on the driveway and blow bubbles. They also decorated their own lanterns. We had a little extra time, since it started to rain, so the girls watch a bit of "Tangled". It was the best... party... EVER!!! Here are a few pictures.

Getting to braid the long braid

All done with the 14 foot braid

All eight braids

Pasqual and the Frying Pan

Lovin' the Cupcakes

Having fun with all the braids

Our little Princess

She wanted to see if "her braids would fly"

Tower and Suns

Picture Opportunity

Blowing out the Candle

Love my two toned frosting

Grandma Valerie hung up all the streamers and balloons.

The Sister Missionaries had fun with our "tower" also.

Rapunzel Braids

In preparation for Sweet Pea's birthday party, I {with the help of our Sister Missionaries} braided eight Rapunzel braids. I checked out some blogs on here and here on the hows and then blended and tweaked the ideas. I bought two One Pounds Skeins of yarn. I was able to get the 14 foot braid and three 7 foot braids from one skein.

Here are the steps I did: {for the 7 foot braids}

Place the chairs five feet outside edge to outside edge, then tape the start to one chair

Wrap the yarn around the chairs. I went around 35 times and the braid end up being 1 1/4 inch diameter.

Find a Cute Daughter to pose with the "braid in making"

Tie some yarn at your center point

for your part. After a few, I used a longer piece of yarn and after I wrapped it around a couple of times, then I tied the knot and braided it into the braid.

Find a place to drape the braid. Cabinet doors worked great.

Cut the bottom loop

Start BRAIDING

Tie off the ends and even then up

All done

Posing with all the braids

All looped together

WOW!! Lots of finished braids

To get the longer braid, I spaced the chairs, went around 60-70 times. Cut the one end and divided it into three groups. I tied each group to the high chair and enlisted the missionaries help. One made sure there were no tangles and the tenson was the same, the other two helped me braid. We bobbed and weaved "just like in the movie". It was so fun {and funny to watch}.

All finished. For the party, I added a bit more length by tying one of the other braids to the long one. I had to warn the girls not to pull on it; otherwise, it would come toppling down.

I took pictures with each of the girls here with their lovely hair.

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a lovely time at our Ward's {Church Group} Easter Egg Hunt.

Cutie Pie wasn't sure about the "hunting" for eggs, but she loved playing with them when Reed put the eggs within her grasp.

A little swinging time after the hunt

Cutie Pie loves to swing!!

Landscaping Before and After

We've hired an amazing landscape designer to do our front and back yards. Dave from EOLC has created the perfect space for us. Here are a few before and after pictures.

Forever Ours!

We **finally** were able to take Cutie Pie to the temple and be sealed to us forever. We were touched by our friends and family that were able to attend this special event with us. My mom made white dresses for the girls. When they brought Sweet Pea and Cutie Pie into the room, they looked like angels. After the ceremony, the sealer asked Sweet Pea to join us by the alter to look at the "forever mirrors". Our family went on forever! We took some pictures afterwards.

A bit of silliness

Sweet Pea want a picture of her dressed in white on the family picture wall

Such a beautiful girl

The kiddos

Momma and her girls

A small portion of our extended family

Watching our hungry, little miracle

Daddy and his girls

Our eternal family

Sisters

All worn out

We are so grateful to have Cutie Pie in our family and now ours FOREVER!!! We will be eternally grateful for her brave birth mom who lovingly placed her in our family. We also are so grateful to our friends and family who have loved, supported and prayed for us throughout this amazing journey and experience!! THANK YOU!!!!