Lily Turns 5!!

My baby turned 5 on 6.23.2011. On that actual date we didn't do too much but we did take her to the dollar store and she got to pick out a few things there. Luke and I have decided that the dollar store is a wonderful way to celebrate birthdays :). We celebrated her birthday on Saturday the 25th. Luke and I had family visiting - Stuart, Hope and Chris. Chris is our adopted sister and she came up to Washington to run in the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon.

On the morning of the 25th we went down to see Chris finish her half marathon at Quest Field. It was really fun and exciting to be down there. After we came home from the marathon I started getting ready for Lily's big birthday dinner. Then we took a break and went swimming at the Y because that's what Lily really wanted to do for her birthday. Both girls did REALLY well swimming! I was so proud of them! Chris was the only one that came with me because Luke and Stu went to Boom City to get some fireworks... I'll post more about that later. :). But, Arya was able to swim by herself in a life jacket and Lily went under the water multiple times and put her feet at the bottom of the pool! Definitely time to start swimming lessons!

We came back at 5:30 and made dinner for a bunch of peeps. Zeke and Maggie's family over, my mom and all the rest of our guests were here to celebrate with her. We had some super yummy mondo burgers, then we had cake and opened presents!

Lily's been wanting a princess cake for FOREVER so I decided to make her one. Turned out pretty good. :) (I took a 4 week course in cake decorating this month and decided to put new skills to use.) We actually used white cake mix and colored it purple because that's her favorite color and put in a bit of raspberry extract. It was yummy! Then we made cupcakes for everyone too.

I was able to find a doll hotel at a consignment shop awhile back for $2 and she LOVED it. She also got wipe-away books, a necklace and a chinese outfit from my mom, and 2 dolls from Zeke and maggie - Tiana and tinker bell for her hotel. It was all SO SO FUN!