My Violet Girl is 9!

I honestly can't believe this beautiful girl can be 9 years old.  She has taught us so much in those years, and I'm thankful for every second of it.

It was a week-long celebration for Miss Vi, with her party last Sunday (see previous post).  On Friday, we had her school celebration with cupcakes.  The class sang a very spirited rendition of Happy Birthday and Violet ate it up.

 Can you tell she was excited??

 Then the fun started when Mrs. Stackhouse smashed Violet's cupcake in her face!  This is a tradition she started back when Oliver was in her class, and the kids always think it's about the funniest thing ever!  Violet was definitely no exception.  She fell on the ground laughing!

We passed out cupcakes all over the school and Violet had a great day.  Then today at church, the entire choir sang Happy Birthday to her!  It was also a "5th Sunday" which means we have a big potluck dinner after service; Oliver said it was the best birthday meal Violet could have ever hoped for!  I'd say my girl has had a GREAT birthday week.

It's so crazy to think that she's 9.  This past year has been a little challenging with how much bigger she has gotten (it's a bit difficult to pick up her 80 pounds when she's upset).  And her temperament, while still very sweet 90% of the time, has its moments of "rage" that we still haven't been able to identify the triggers for.  She is definitely a subject that I will never stop studying!  There is always something to learn when it comes to my Violet girl.  Mostly, though, this past year has been pretty amazing with how much her speech is taking off!  I'm thrilled when I hear her ask questions to strangers, and they can understand her!  She is initiating conversation so much more often, and her vocabulary is expanding every day.  I'm also very thankful for her health this past year; this is something I will never take for granted.  I thank God that she is healthy.  I thank God for her speech improvements.  I thank God for her sweet smile.  I thank God for her sense of humor and how she makes us laugh all of the time.  Most importantly, I thank God that she is MINE.  Such a treasure she is!

Minnie Mouse in the House for Birthday Celebrations!

When it came time for choosing a birthday theme this year, Evelyn decided on Minnie Mouse.  And as these things go, Violet didn't argue.  Both girls were pretty adorable in their Minnie Mouse shirts that Grandma Cheryl got them!

Another fabulous Grandma Cheryl cake!

We started out with a birthday dinner for the family.  I realized that Evelyn is definitely a "traditions" girl when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner.  She quickly responded, "meatballs, ham, macaroni & cheese, cole slaw." Add in some green beans and rolls, and this is almost exactly what we've served the past couple of years.  So we went ahead and kept with tradition.  I think everyone was okay with the menu selections, especially Violet, who didn't even want to look up for my picture.

After dinner, the kids played for awhile, and then the girls begged to open their gifts.  Violet opened her gift from Uncle John first: a Garmin Vivofit Jr with a Minnie Mouse theme!

She was yelling, "I LOVE IT!" and then ran directly to Uncle John to give him a big hug.

Evelyn got the Disney Princess version of the Vivofit Jr, and while she may not have been as animated as her big sis, she was equally excited to get it.  She also got a new personalized cup from Aunt Joy and doll from Aunt Sara.

Violet's favorite gift of all was probably the box of little Pringles cans from Aunt Joy.  She literally jumped up and down (probably crushing most of the chips) screaming, "I LOVE IT!"  She loved EVERYTHING at this party, but the Pringles were still probably her favorite.

She also got new cups and a cool new Monkey that laughs, burps, kisses, and sleeps.  And it's called "Hugs" -- what could be more appropriate for our almost-9-year-old who hugs every single person she encounters??

After the gifts were unwrapped, some of the kids took off for the girls' room where they unlocked the new LOL doll Evie got from Kyla.  Apparently it was a "rare" gold doll!

The boys played some golf outside, while Violet just enjoyed the beautiful day.

We announced, "CAKE" and the kids all came running back inside.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to these two gorgeous girls.

I love that they get to share their birthday each year -- blow out those candles, girlies!

We were kind of a small cousin crew this time, as Sydney had to be back at college and Dana's kids were in a soccer tournament in Hutchinson.  We sure missed them!

Grandma let the birthday girls pick their favorite piece of cake. . .

. . . while Uncle John got their fancy new watches all set up.  He also got Brynn and Kyla Vivofit watches for their birthdays, so ALL of his nieces (except Syd, I guess) are sporting their Garmin watches!

Happy birthday to my beautiful daughters!  I'm the luckiest mom ever because they are MINE!!

Wellsville Days 2018

Once again, the Dwyer kids had a fantastic time on the bricks during Wellsville Days.  Just like it was when I was a child, this is the best day of the year!  As a bonus, the weather couldn't have been better, 70 degrees and sunny -- absolutely perfect!  Our day started in the morning with the parade (see previous post on Ammie's birthday), and as soon as we disembarked our float, the boys were asking if they could go find their friends.  Which they did.

And those two pictures are the only ones I got with Calvin in them, because he was too busy running around with his buddies all day.  Violet found some of her favorite people: her paras, Ms. Jenny and Ms. Ashley; and BIG GIRLS!

We found some yummy lunch, did a little shopping at the booths. . .

. . . and then HAD to check out the petting zoo.  There were some really cool animals this year!

So I realize the goats may not be all that exciting, but the monkey and kangaroo were definitely different!

And how about this Sulcata Tortoise and Patagonian Cavy?? (Good thing these animals came with labels!)

Evie was nervous at first, but then really enjoyed feeding all of the animals.

Oliver wasn't too interested in feeding the animals, but he did have fun trying to BE one!  He ran in the hamster wheel to make his own snow cone.  Have you ever heard of anything like this?  He had that wheel flying.  And his ice was crushed in no time.  Thanks, Grandma Cheryl, for the treat!

The one somewhat scary part of the day was when Violet attempted to ride the mechanical bull.  

She was so excited that she threw herself off the machine before it was even turned on!  And when she came up, there was blood streaming down her face.  Russ got the whole thing on video, and we still don't know exactly what happened to cause a gash in her head.  But thankfully, our Violet girl never gets too freaked out, and she was smiling the entire time the EMTs were attempting to get her cleaned up.

While Russ took Violet home to really get her cleaned up, Evelyn met up with her buddy, Carly, to ride the train.

And then Poppy Teresa treated both girls to a pony ride!  Can you say "spoiled"?? (And as you can see, Evelyn also got a blue snow cone, which left her mouth blue the rest of the day.)

Violet made it back and took a ride on the train with some of her 3rd grade buddies.

Then we all applauded as Oliver threw a strike to dunk his teacher, Miss Rahn, in the dunk tank!

Evelyn took several turns down the big inflatable slide. . .

. . . and then it was time to watch Uncle John and Becky on the big stage performing!  They did an original song called "Be the Light" and it was incredible!  By the end, the crowd was waving their arms in the air to John's rapping and singing along with Becky on the chorus.

When they were done, people lined up to congratulate them on their performance and get a #constantlypositive wristband. I'm so proud of John for always sharing his positive message.  And as a bonus, they got first place in the talent show!

As the sun went down, the main stage was home to some awesome dueling pianos.  We sang and danced on the bricks and had a fabulous time!  There were lots of kids dancing, and Calvin and his buddies even found us on the dance floor for a short amount of time.

Violet found a great dance partner in Russ' cousin, and Nora's dad, Jeff.

Syd and the other big girls joined my little girls and they had a blast dancing.

What an awesome day on the bricks with our wonderful community!  I love Wellsville Days and I'm so thankful for all of the volunteers who work hard to make it a huge success year after year.  Wellsville is such a special place and I'm blessed to call this HOME.