SEVEN

I know I say it every year but I honestly can't believe she is SEVEN!!  September 29, 2013 Josie tuned 7.  She gained a year and lost her first top tooth all in the same day.  She continues to amaze us with her maturity in so many things.  She is such a great big sister to her brother and an incredible friend to her friends.  It is so fun to watch her grow and develop into a very sweet, caring and still very strong willed and determined young girl.  The world is her oyster.  She can and will do anything she sets her mind to.  Love you to pieces, Josie Marie!!

This year Josie wanted a "horse themed" party.  This took a bit more effort on my part but in the end it all came together.  Like at her carnival party she had a few very specific requests.  She wanted fruit kabobs, a horse on her cake and some horsey type games and crafts.  Here is what we came up with.  

I borrowed some small cowboy boots and a plastic horse from my friend Marjie and used the website: www.partypinching.com to make the cute horse cookies and a few youtube tutorials and several test runs with playdough to make the horse fondant topper. 

For the horse crafts we printed out cowboy boots and glued them to bags so the kids could color the boot and then have a goody bag to fill and then take home.

Having fun coloring

Benjamin even got in on the coloring action

Friends

We also had small wooden horse shoes for them to decorate with pens or sparkly gem stickers

Concentrarting

Showing off his artwork

In the dining room we had large, plain bandanas and the girls used fabric markers to decorate them. 

Food and cake time. 

The day after her friends party the Riemer clan gathered for a traditional German breakfast to celebrate Josie's big birthday. We kept a similar theme for this party as well... even the sagging Happy Birthday sign stayed up just long enough.

So the entire week leading up to Josie's birthday and parties she was at home with a high fever and strep throat.  Of course, the day she felt better (the day before her birthday) Benjamin caught it. He really rallied for her friends birthday party and seemed OK but the next day he was pretty much like this all day...

He perked up a bit when he heard he had a gift to open. 

As always she got some very nice gifts and some nice cards

One of her most special gifts was this matching dress set (one for her and one for her American Girl doll, Saige) made by Aunt Liz... oh, and the new, cool boots. 

And her most fun gift was her stilts and pogo stick from Oma and Opa.

And what party would be complete without more cake!  Happy, happy 7th birthday, Josephine Marie!

In the evening on her birthday she wanted to go to Angelina's .  Benjamin was too sick to go out so Marty and Josie walked up together and had a nice spaghetti dinner together....just father and daughter.   Notice te napkin tucked into her collar to protect her new dress?

Family Photo Attempt

 We were trying to recreate this family photo of the four of us taken just days after Benjamin was born.

It didn't really come out as well as the original but we had fun trying and below are some of the outtakes.

Alki Art Contest Winner

This beautiful little girl loves to draw and paint and color.  Sometime in July while we were hanging out down at Alki she colored the  picture below and entered it into the Seal Sitters coloring contest. Her picture shows a seal and a bunch of other sea life. I got a call a month or so later saying that she was a winner and we were invited to their celebration.  It was no surprise that the judges awarded her "most colorful" she has always used every color, glue stick, sparkle available when doing art. 

The celebration was fun too.  They had an art table set up and much like his older sister, this guy can do art for hours.  Especially when there is a very attentive a little bit older than him girl helping out.

 Josie spent time at the art table too

 But her favorite was the chocolate cake.

 This is the new Seal Sitters (a non-profit that protects sea mammals in the Puget Sound) seal statue down at Alki

 Josie being recognized as a winner... she takes it very seriously.

 And our winner outside posing with one of her prizes.  She got a signed copy of a Seal book written about the seals in the Puget Sound and a stuffed, plush seal.  We are very proud of Josie!

He's Flying

One small  post backward before I move on into more of September... For Marty's birthday I gave him a flight lesson.  He could bring another person and we decided that it would be a bit too risky for both of us to be up together much like when we decided that I would skydive and he would take pictures.  So of course he wanted to bring Jodi along.  Funny, she is also who I went skydiving with and I must say she is certainly the BEST work wife we (both Marty and I) have ever had! I was at home with the kids sitting on the deck waiting for them to fly over and Jodi captured the entire experience.

And they made it back to the ground still smiling!!  First time flying success!!