The weekend before Sadie's birthday, we went up to Stormy Lake for a long weekend. The kids were on spring break and we had no plans to go anywhere, so Matt took off a few days and we headed up. My parents also came up for the weekend and Matt's parents, as well as Tyler, were going to be at their cabin, so we thought it would be a perfect time to celebrate our favorite 6 year old. I asked Sadie if she wanted to have her cake with her grandparents and then not have one on her actual birthday or wait until her actual birthdate and she opted for having it early with everyone (who can blame her?! Cake is always more fun with lots of people, right?!)
Her choice for her cake this year? A princess castle
(the two different shades of pink didn't show up real well on the photo and the flowers ended up looking more like snakes! oh well..she loved it and that's all that matters, right?)
You can see the different shades of pink a bit better on this picture--and you can see her reaction when she saw it for the first time!
She loved having everyone here--yes she loves being the center of attention, but thankfully she is equally as excited for others to enjoy it as well when it's their turn!
**pure joy**
After dinner, she piled up all her gifts on the couch and very patiently waited for the adults to finish talking so she could open them. I'm not sure what was going on in this picture, but it made me smile when I saw it!
Coloring books---she loves anything having to do with art, coloring, painting, crafts
Gotta love the surprise on her face in these pics...one of her favorite movies is "White Christmas" and she has the dance scenes memorized to a tee...but each time she does the song 'Sisters, Sisters' she complains that she can't do it without a fan (imagine large fan with feathers on the ends).....
My mom found one online and she couldn't even believe it was right in front of her...
She was equally as excited when she got the balance beam and mat for her doll McKenna, the gymnast, from Grammy and Papa
And Grammy knows how much this girl loves to dance, so what could be better than a grass skirt to wear this summer at Stormy Lake (and she got her an extra to share with a friend!)
Her final gift was this cute little jacket made by Grammy herself....it's reversible (as Grammy's creations almost always are) and Sadie loved modeling it for all of us....pink, sparkles and ruffles..what could be better?!
Showing Nani and Uncle Ty her jacket
I snapped this picture after all the gift-opening had subsided and everyone was talking....I looked over and noticed Sadie dancing with her fan, doing the dance from "White Christmas" while watching herself in the windows...
McKenna on her new balance beam
(yes, Blake did attempt to stand on it and once that was put to rest, thought it could be used as a weapon)
When the idea of the balance beam as a weapon was put to rest, he found his plastic sword! (Notice the hand of Uncle Ty on the left using a magazine rack holder as a 'defense mechanism' and someone else's hand on the right trying to protect themselves)
Love this picture...Uncle Ty bringing Blake back to reality, reminding him that he's not the biggest guy in this fight, and Papa fully engaged in keeping the storyline rolling...
"Bring it Blake"
And then when Blake mysteriously 'lost' his sword (after nearly taking off Ty's head--several times), Papa said he thought it might be in Blake's shirt...
"..nope, not there...maybe in your ear?"
"Ohhhh boy, think we found it in your ear!..."
Ahhhh!! He found it!!
We had such a great weekend celebrating Sades and spending time with both sets of grandparents. SO thankful for them and the relationships they have with my kids!
Yes, the best part about Stormy Lake is the amount of quality family time we get to spend together. And in the winter, that means lots of snowmobiling, sledding, and playing in the snow!
There is an awesome 'bowl' out front that the kids have made several sledding 'runs' into and named each run (i.e., Wyatt hill, Sadie mountain, etc)
Here is a picture of Blake and Matt taking a breather in the basin before hiking out again
Nani, Wyatt and Sadie hiking out and planning their next run
Snowmobiling with the uncles!
And this was definitely a first--we went out to eat one night at a local bar that serves an awesome Friday night fish fry. (Let's just say that my parents raised this Wisconsin-born german girl right-- nothing beats a good fish fry at a local bar--topped off with a great beer!) We had found this place by accident the last time my parents were up and we were all anxious to go back. The first time we had gone there, the kids had tried the 'claw' game and of course lost, which we were hoping would teach them a lesson about those types of games. But when we were eating, another girl won a toy and had given it to my kids---how sweet is that?!
This time, the kids went over to the machine and looked longing at it, as if they had no toys of their own, when our waitress went over and opened up the entire machine, allowing each of our kids to reach in and grab whatever toy they wanted. Their eyes got so big and we tried to explain to them that even we, their old parents, had never seen anyone do this before!! They each picked out a stuffed animal that they keep up at Stormy Lake and the kids still talk about 'that time when that nice lady opened the game for us'.
And of course, lots of hugs/wrestling goes on up there as well!!
Such a fun weekend to kick off Sadie's birthday week!
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