Ava's 4th Birthday

I am finally starting to get back to a semblance of a routine! Over the last 2 months we've been out of town more than we've been in town. It's been fun, and I'm sure glad we've been able to travel and visit friends and family, but I'm also sure glad that we're done traveling and don't plan to pack a suitcase for the next month and a half (: So now, I get a chance to post some of the fun things we've been up to...

At the beginning of June we went to Utah for a week. I had told Rylee when we moved that we would go back to Utah for Ava's birthday, so that's just what we did. Rylee, Cailyn, Grandma Mac and I drove up and got there the evening before Ava's birthday (Grandpa Mac and Quinn came up later that week.) The trip was so fun and worth the drive - cheeto bums and all! Rylee and Ava were SO happy to see each other! (And I was so happy to see them together - those girls are just the best of friends!) They kept referring to each other as "my" Rylee/Ava/cousin/friend.

And, of course, Ava was happy to have her Grandma too (:
So here's how the birthday bash went down:
We did breakfast at IHOP

Then went home for presents

Ava had to cover her eyes while her big present was brought into the room...

...and what Ava does, Rylee does...

...and Ava LOVED it!

We went right out to take it for a test rideOh, and don't forget the bike's best feature!

Ava was nice enough to let Rylee try it out (although she didn't want to let it get TOO far away from her!)

And Cailyn blew on a dandelion.

The next item on the agenda was to go fishing - something the girls both wanted to do. The first attempt turned out to be more of a swim than a fishing expedition.

(While the older girls played in the water, Cailyn napped in the shade.)

But then we drove up the canyon and actually fished.

Josh bought a pink princess fishing rod for the occasion!

Eventually the girls decided to take a break... ...and that's when Katie took over and immediately caught the fish! It was quite the excitement! Ava named the fish "Rylee."

(In case you were wondering, Josh put Rylee fish back to swim free.)

So that was how we spent June 8th.
*****
The party was planned for Friday. It was going to be a fun summery outdoor party at a splash pad that we love in Highland. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, so the party got moved inside (to Pirate Pizza Island) at the last minute, but that didn't stop it from being a fabulous party! Can you guess what the theme was?

All those little girls running around in their Hello Kitty ears sure were darling!

The balloon guy was a hit.

Rylee chose a tiger.

Cailyn chose...what else?...a dog.

Then for the cake...

and the games!

I loved it all, but this was my favorite part:

Happy Birthday, Sweet Ava Girl!