Party, Party, Party!

The last week in June - just before we headed out to Utah for a month - was nothing but one big, crazy party.  First of all was Lise's birthday party.

Lise decided to go for a mystery theme.  We asked the guests to come with their trench coats and detective gear and boy did they follow through!

First the girls had a "mystery lunch" where you ordered your utensils off the menu, but didn't know what you were going to get.  Here they are trying to eat their pizza with spatulas and ice cream scoops for forks and bowls and sippy cups for glasses.

They also had a scavenger hunt and a "Mystery gift exchange" (aka white elephant gift).

This was followed up with a game of - what else? - the classic game of Clue.

I asked Lise if she had a good birthday party and she said "YES!"  Woot, woot!  Success.

Next we were on to Kate's birthday party.  She wanted a water party in our yard.  (Um???)  Chris came to the rescue with his massive tarps of plastic so the girls could have a slip 'n' slide in the backyard.  Of course, they needed to test it out the night before when we set it up to make sure it worked. ;)

The kids loved the slip 'n' slide!  It did start to get a little muddy after awhile though.

Next it was on to the hot dogs and the My Little Pony Pinata!

The best way to finish off is with some beach ball relay races and cupcakes.  Another success - hooray!

And finally, this was not just any birthday for Kate -  it was her 8th birthday, meaning she would be able to get baptized!

My Dad and the Paine's came into town to support Kate and celebrate with us.

We had a yummy gourmet s'mores fire. . .

. . . lots of hugs . . . 

. . . and all the usual silliness.  

I love seeing my girls having fun with their cousins.  That is one of the best feelings.

Another awesome thing about having family come to visit is that they can be part of your baptism program!  Kate had Aly and Rachel give the talks, Analise and Rebekah give the prayers, and Uncle Jeff and Grandpa Jackman as her witnesses.  It really made it special for her to have so many people there loving and supporting her.

We are so proud of Kate and her decision to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Way to go Kater!