Saturday, October 13, 2012

Anna's Choice

How it is possible that our baby girl is 8 years old is beyond me, but what an exciting time it is in her life. After being literally one of the last 2 girls in her group of friends to turn 8, she was more than ready for her turn to be baptized. I love that in our faith we wait until the children are 8 so that they are fully present and cognizant of this sacred ordinance . We have had lots of talks with Anna about what it means to be baptized and the covenant she will be making with her Heavenly Father. She is excited to follow the example of Jesus and become a member of his church. As I have watched her mature and develop, especially this past year, I know that she is at the age of accountability and is able to make important choices. She has chosen to be baptized and we are very grateful for her decision.

Her baptism was a special day filled with people who love her and support her choice. Her Nana gave an awesome talk about baptism and Anna was able to share the day with one of her good friends Krystal. Her dad was home to perform the baptism and confirmation which is always awesome to witness. I am especially grateful that he has made the choices he has made to be able to hold the priesthood and perform these ordinances. He gave her a beautiful blessing and for a man of little words he sure had a lot of amazing this things to say! After the baptism we went back to our house for a very casual get together.

Anna looked so beautiful dressed in white and we are very proud parents. She is a such a needed part of this family and a unique spirit. I am always surprised by her witty comments and how aware she is of her environment. She never ceases to amaze me with her insight and strong testimony of the gospel. We of course think she is the most adorable thing on the planet and feel very blessed to have her in our lives!

Grandpa Dan, Uncle Adam and Cousin Maddie



Nana and Papa

Coco and Mel

Papa Andy

Mattie, Natalie and Addy

Krystal and Anna right after the baptismal ordinance doing their quick change

This is quite a group! Anna has a lot of people who love her!

Berkley, Presley and Paisley...could they be any cuter???

Berkley, Presley, Paisley, Maddy, Maddie, Matty and McKenna

McKenna and Jackson....seriously right? Love these kids!


Grammie and Papa Andy

Anna was excited to get her own scriptures!

Nana searched high and low for some of this candy! We loved it!

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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Move over Buddy....There is a New Cake Boss in Town!




For Anna's big #8 we had a cake themed party with 12 girls! The day before the party I went ahead and baked the cakes so that they could spend their time decorating instead of baking! Considering I could only bake three cakes at a time it took awhile!

I bought very affordable aprons and chef hats for each girl and added a personal touch to them. The names and cupcakes for the aprons were cut from heat transfer paper on my new Silhouette (which I am obsessed with, sorry Cricut I've moved on). I made the flowers for the chef hats  using a tutorial found on Just Between Friends.   I then turned the kitchen/dining area into a bakery! Everything turned out super cute and I was happy with the results. Most importantly Anna and her friends had a great time!
Inspiration for the invitations came from here!









How cute are these streamers....made from cupcake liners! The inspiration for this party came from the HTWM blog here.

The cupcake liners came from Sweets and Treats (most of them I bought on clearance...so cute!).

Natalie Mills

McKenna is just a little bored as she patiently waits for the fun to begin!

Maddy Stevens






Crystal & Natalie


Paisley

now McKenna is enjoying herself!

Addie

Maddie Germer

Mattie Price (yes, that's right there were 3 Maddie's and they all spell it differently :)

Melanie Cardon

Learning to use fondant....this was a first for me too!

Colette Cardon


I made cute cake plates out of a plate and candlestick from the dollar store. The idea came from Crafting Chicks blog. I spray painted them in different colors. I guess they aren't food safe once you spray paint the plates...so add a doily before you put food on them! Easy and cheap party favor!




Melanie's new name is the "Poser".


My mistake...I casually mentioned that I couldn't wait to see the girls eat their cakes because they were full of frosting and candy. Anna looked right at me and said "okay, watch this..." Then the fun really started!


Melanie had been waiting to shove her face in the cake since the party started! Glad I was there to witness her do it!


Nice Nana....real nice!


where did this guy come from?

How do you wash off all that cake...jump in the shower in your clothes, of course!
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