Party Like a Rock Star

Last Tuesday Joey turned 5 years old!  I have been a mother now for almost 8 years and am still amazed at every birthday at how quickly time seems to go by.  We started off the day with birthday waffles and presents.  Joey's life was made complete when she finally got a Spider-man skateboard.

We didn't do much that night because Shelby had her school musical that night.  It was based on "Where The Wild Things Are."  We did get to eat dinner and have cupcakes with Grandpa, so she was pretty happy about that.

Today was party day.  She has been counting down forever.  She originally wanted a Spider-man party, but I talked her into a Rock Star theme since she has already had a superhero party before, and since she loves to listen to music and sing songs...like this one:

As guests arrived they each decorated their own guitars.

After that we learned the 4 steps to become a rock star.  First, they learned about instruments and rhythm.  They all sat in a circle and each had a different instrument and played slow and fast and passed the instruments around.  I learned that the drum was everybody's favorite.

Step 2 was learning how to dance.  First they learned a few moves from Just Dance, and then they showed off their own moves with some freestyle dancing.

Step 3 involved fueling up and getting a big ol' sugar high so they'd have lots of energy on stage.  

This cake was soooo good.  It was a Neapolitan cake, so it had layers of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla cake.)

Step 4 to becoming a rock star was looking the part.  Everyone got (temporary) tattoos, bracelets, colored hair extensions, a microphone, sunglasses, a guitar pick, and then they grabbed their guitars and headed over for their concert on the stage.

I debated on whether or not to open presents with everyone there.  Is it rude not to?  It is always so chaotic with kids crowding around and the child tearing open presents faster than I can write down who gave what.  But, we did it and it was chaotic, but Joey loved it and was very kind and thankful. (Side note:  last night as we were going to bed I was lecturing Joey on being gracious and told her, "I don't care if someone gives you a piece of poop wrapped up in a bag, you WILL tell them thank you.")  

After everyone cleared out and Lucy and Jeremy were napping, the girls and I took advantage of clear skies and played outside.  The girls were cute with their American Girl My Life dolls and having them skateboard with them.

Shelby cracked me up outside.  It was getting hot so she asked if she could take her shirt off (she was wearing a tank top underneath) and said, "My tank top isn't spaghetti noodle."  Lol.  Then a bit later I commented that the breeze felt good and she said, "Yeah, and it makes my hair look good.")

All-in-all, I think Joey had a great day.  She even thanked Heavenly Father tonight in her prayers for having such a great birthday.  Joey is such a smart, beautiful, hilarious girl, and we love having her in our family.  Happy 5th Birthday, Joey!

Easter 2015

We made the trip to Hattiesburg for Easter again this year.  In the almost 15 years we have been married we have only missed 1 year, and that's because Joey was due two weeks later.  It's a hard trip to make- we get there late Friday night, have the family reunion on Saturday, then leave early Sunday morning.  It's a very quick trip, but we are thankful to spend time with family when we can.  We also stopped in Bastrop to see Mamaw and give her an Easter basket.  I wish that visit could have been longer too, but Lucy was sooooo tired and cranky at that point.  Anyway, here are the pictures I got from the weekend.  (Note:  None from Bastrop because Lucy was melting down.)

(The first few pictures are from the two egg hunts we went to here in Rockwall the weekend before.)

Oh, Joey

I don't know what we're going to do with this girl.  When she started pre-k I was so worried because she was shy.  Well, now she gets play date invites everyday and her social calendar is busier than mine.  Over the weekend we went to a party for two boys in her class.  For an hour and a half all the boy moms told me how Joey was their son's girlfriend.  It was hilarious!    

So this afternoon we had a play date with Jake B. at the park.  The two walked in the grass and picked flowers and then walked over to a tree.  Just as I was joking to Jake's mom about them carving their initials in the tree...they leaned in a gave each other a quick kiss!  Whaaaaaaat?!  Then Joey promptly ran away shouting, "Shelby!  Jake B. and I just kissed!"  After, as we were eating dinner, I was explaining to Joey that she shouldn't be kissing boys, and just before I could go further and explain it wasn't appropriate for little girls to kiss, she interrupted and said, "Oh dang it!  I should have done it at the temple!"

Erin Go Bragh

I feel like we are still in party mode, just going, going, going.  Sunday we went to mom and dad's for dinner since the girls hadn't seen them in over a week.  Then Monday we took the girls to see Cinderella with my mom, and met up with dad afterwards for dinner.  I was looking forward to a nice quiet Tuesday, but it was St. Patrick's Day!  I'm a McGrath...I can't NOT do anything to celebrate!  So we had goofy green glasses and mustaches, and I made rainbow rolls, sausage and cabbage, and shamrock shakes.  Mmm!

Spring Break 2015

Another great Spring Break is in the books!  We debated for a long time on where to go this year, and in the end, decided on going back to Disneyland.  Shelby is kind of growing out of the princess phase, so I wanted to go back one more time before that magic ended for her.  It was such a long week, but so, so fun.  I will recap it all and then post all the pictures and videos.

Friday night: Arrived in L.A.  It took forever to to get our luggage and rental car as it always does at LAX.  We got to to the hotel in Beverly Hills to find they upgraded our room to a suite.  Sweet!

Saturday: Lots of sightseeing- Rodeo Dr., stalking Bravolebrity spots such as Villa Blanca and Pump, the Hollywood sign, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater.  We then stopped at the beach to let the girls play for about an hour and made our way to Disneyland to find good luck at hotel #2- top floor with a balcony right across from the DL entrance.  We watched the fireworks from the balcony before bed.

Sunday: Up bright and early and at DL as soon as they opened the gates.  We learned the system pretty quickly last year and spent the day seeing princesses, gathering fast passes, using stroller passes, etc.  We hit everything we wanted to that day and didn't wait in any lines longer than 20 or so minutes.  We ended the night at Fantasmic, which was fantastic, and the girls passed out in the bed.

Monday: We went to California Adventure.  I loved that they moved all of the Frozen stuff to this park- it was much less crowded.  We waited about 20 minutes for Anna and Elsa.  We DID have to wait about 30 minutes to get a pager to see Olaf, but were able to go on other rides while we waited for the pager.  We kind of downplayed the scariness of Tower of Terror to Joey, who rode it and ended up crying at the end, but we were so proud of her for riding it!  Shelby was very cute and consoling when Joey was crying saying, "Joey, you are the COOLEST and BRAVEST 4 yr old I know!"  Again, we rode everything we wanted to without waiting more than 20 or so minutes for any ride, with the exception of Goofy's ride, which we just didn't have time to ride.

Tuesday: Back to Disneyland with our Magic Morning.  We made the most of our day riding everything we didn't get to ride last year- the Monorail, Autopia, It's a Small World, Storybook, etc.  We took a break for lunch and headed back over to California Adventure for the parade and to catch Aladdin.  Lucy peed on me 5 minutes before the show began so we left Jeremy and the other two girls there while we headed back to change.  We met back up with them for dinner and donuts.

Wednesday: EARLY morning breakfast with Mickey and Friends and then off to lunch with my grandparents.  That was pretty special since I haven't seen them in at least 12 years, and the girls had obviously never met them.  We then made our way down to Carlsbad where we found incredible luck with hotel #3.  Awesome view of the pool and ocean.  Spent the rest of the day playing on the beach and eating Mexican food.

Thursday: Early morning photo shoot with Julie, then spent the entire day playing on the beach or swimming in the pool.  Yummy Italian food at a local Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives place.

Friday: Again, spent the entire day on the beach or in the pool.  Met Julie, Jazmin, and Jaeda for Mexican food.

Saturday: Scenic drive through La Jolla and around San Diego as we made our way to the airport to head home.

We really had such a good trip, and I am absolutely dreading work tomorrow.  A lot of these pictures are out of order, but oh well.

33

Jeremy turned 33 (wow!) on March 1, which also happened to be my 11 yr anniversary for work (wow!).  Birthdays are a much bigger deal to Jeremy than they are to me, so I always feel a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations.  Haha!  This year it was particularly difficult because of the snow we kept having.  Jeremy had really wanted to go to Six Flags for opening weekend the Saturday before, but they ended up closing because of the cold weather.  So, we got a babysitter instead and went shopping, had lunch, and saw a movie.  Then on Sunday (his actual birthday) we had my parents over for dinner (breakfast for dinner featuring tomato gravy and biscuits) and cake.  Here's a little video I made:

We wrapped up the birthday celebrations on Monday night with a Mavs game with the girls.  I hope it was a good birthday for him.  He is such a hard working, loving husband and dad and he deserves it!  Happy Birthday, Jeremy!  We love you!