If you needed proof that she loves to sing...

An overdue post about Addison's birthday

which was cute and from which we are all still recovering. 

He day began in the morning, early.  She was convinced on Saturday that she was going to be 26 for her birthday.  When she woke up, she had decided she would be 6.  Who knows where were at today.  Since we started getting ready the night before, she was super excited to get all set up.  Princesses was the theme, with a few plastic swords for the boys, and oh-so-much PINK!   

This was the final party outfit.  We danced around to Disney Princess Playlist before guests arriving to get in the spirit.  

Papa went out of his way to build a beautiful stage for Addi to dance and sing on.  Our requested a few months back...a little stage that she could sing on.  Nothing fancy.  What we got....

Pink galore! with handpainted stars (courtesy of nana and aunt lyndsey) and the phrase "Everybody Clap Now" - a common phrase (instruction) that Addison says when she's finished her latest performance.  

Complete with side entrances. 

And a microphone, High School Musical (no, we've never seen it but it was the only one we could find ANYWHERE so we are learning "we're all in this together" quickly) which was opened a bit later.   

We were joined by Uncle steve & uncle stan

Conor, who is cute as a button

Eva, who sang back up, and Krista, who sang lead most of the afternoon.

Parker, who was almost old enough to enjoy the cupcakes.  

And Aunt Lyndsey

There was a point where Addi got a bit tired and slightly overwhelmed...

 but nothing a rest couldn't fix.

We ate cupcakes which were delicious.

And opened too many presents

and fell in love with her shopping cart from aunt krista and uncle stan.  

And then danced and sang the night away.   It was like a flashback to a 60s night in the park as Will played the guitar.

And yes, that's a recorder.  I bought 10 and took back 6.  My response to the lady at Target that asked "is there anything wrong with them?"  "They are too damn annoying to keep in the house!"  They are not nearly as loud as I remembered from when I played one in 3rd grade.  Word to the wise...do not buy these if your neighbors find kids annoying.  They may just send them over the edge...

It was a great afternoon.  She went to bed that night asking if we could go to her party again tomorrow.  Will laughed....364 days he said!  

Is she three already?

Since it's so late, I can say that officially, this little girl,

 is three years old.  I've spent the past 20 minutes trying to find the perfect picture to sum her up in.  Instead, I got a trip down memory lane of three years of great memories.  She came into our lives like a ball of fire, quickly and early in the morning on the 16th of August, 2006.  And from that day on, she hasn't stopped.  She is a constant source of joy, laughter, fun, sweetness, and pure joy for our family.  She makes us laugh out loud, cry, and take cover when her temper gets the best of her.  She is tough as nails and sweet as the tastiest doughnut you've ever had.  She is more than excited for her birthday party tomorrow and can't wait to dress up as a princess and dance to her favorite songs.  More pictures to follow soon but for now, here's the excitement building...  

She's sneaking a taste of sprinkles.  I think she purposely dumped WAY to many on the cupcakes so she could eat the extra.  

A glimpse of the tasty treats for tomorrow.

A final picture as a two year old-cuddled up asleep in daddy's arm.  Couldn't be a better way to end the night!

Sunriver

This summer marked our first trip to Sunriver.  I never spent much time in Sunriver as a kid because we always went to the cabin to play in the summer.  I do actually, now that I think about it, remember trips there in the winter for skiing and vacations with childhood friends...  Everyone talks about how great Sunriver is, and i'd have to agree.  The perfect spot for the outdoors-family.  We were only there as guest with friends for a few short days but man did we have fun.  

on Tuesday, the kids hunted for "snipes".  Apparently I am the last person in the world to know what snipes are.  And since Will is reading everything in sight, I'll let you ask your own mom and dad about the specifics of these little devils but let's just say that they are real hard to find.  And in order to catch one in the tall grass, at which point you are supposed to tackle them, you must very loudly say "Snipe, snipe, snipe" in a high pitch voice.  If I can remember, I must get snipe hunting on video.  Picture this though...6 children, one official snipe hunter (rob-who knew?!), and a snip hunter in training.  It was great.  

We also rode bikes with Will on tandem and Addi in trailer.  We did the whole loop past the Deschutes, the airport and the golf course.  We played in the indoor hot tub-whoever built Sunriver knew what they were thinking, and ate at the cute little town.  Rob and I also drove up to Bachelor and reminded ourselves of how much we want to teach the kids to ski and how Bachelor is the perfect place to do.  

On our last day there we popped over to the Lava Fields and then to the Lava caves.  If you haven't been, go.  The lava cave is a 1 mile+ walk down into the earth.  No ligthts (you can rent lanterns) and no other way out than the one you came in.  Both kids did great.  We may have been a little under dressed but that just made us walk faster.  It was crazy in there.  Dark, wet, cold, sandy...amazing.  Will and Rob made it all the way to the VERY end where they army crawled their way to a wall of sand that just ends...almost as quickly as it begins.  Addi got tired of crouching down to walk and didn't quite grasp the army crawl move yet so we sat just a few yards away.  Next time!

Let the Snipe hunting begin!
A cold dip in the Deschutes on our bike ride

Will is contemplating the creation of lava fields here.  It makes my head hurt. 





Both kids are mastering the camera which means more pictures of Rob and I...good for the memory books but that leaves you stuck with silly pictures liek Rob pretending to hold up a rock.  See it woudl have been so much cuter if you just saw the one of Will...

The group before heading down...

The stairs down are long.  I think I heard a kid count 76 steps down.  And then you start climbing over rocks. 

Here's a family photo for the Christmas card!

That's the army crawl move and Addison deciding maybe it wasn't such a good idea...