And Then She was 5!

Where has the time gone?
Mackenna is 5!!

She is our energetic, silly, fun-loving, boisterous, spirited little girl and it's fun watching her grow into herself.
She loves life and loves others.
And, she has quite the imagination.
I love listening to her play, using her pretend voices and acting out stories with her dolls.

I surprised her with a Barbie cake and she loved it!
She had asked for a Dora cake, but I went with the other since she plays with her Barbies every day.

It was fun to have some family here this year to help celebrate!
Usually, it's just us, so the girls were excited.
My parents and Travis' mom all came.
We had a great time together!

Valentine's Day

Mackenna's party at school was fun!  The kids all made valentine holders at home, so it was fun to see their creations.  We decided to cover a shoebox with blue fabric (her favorite color) and pink pom pom trim and then she put stickers all over the top.   

 Mackenna and her friend both had curls today!

 

Mackenna always loves going to Addison's party too!

 

It has become our Valentine's tradition (I think this is our 3rd or 4th year) to have a homemade heart-shaped pizza, candle light family dinner together.

Loom Bracelets and Valentine's Day

Loom bracelets are the rage right now with elementary age kids.  Addison didn't know much about them until she was given a package of loom bands for Christmas.  Her niece taught her how to make the most basic bracelet without using the actual loom.  And she loved it!

While she was at school one day, I decided to look online to see if I could find a place to buy more bands for cheap.  Wow, there is so much out there on loom bracelets!  I ended up watching an instructional video on YouTube and learned how to make the fishtail bracelet.  And since we don't have a loom, I used a cork with two thumb tacks (saw that idea on pinterest).  Addison loved the bracelet I made her and immediately started making more!

We usually find a cute printable valentine online and print our own and we've seen several cute ones this year that involve giving a bracelet instead of candy.  So, of course, this is what she wanted to do.  She worked hard and made enough for her classmates.  She chose the You're Cool & Friends Forever valentines, found here.

And wouldn't you know, if Addison's giving bracelets, Mackenna wants to also!  Thankfully I talked Addison into helping me make them for her class.  I don't mind making them, but it went much quicker with her help! Mackenna chose the Let's Band Together valentines, found here.

We're Excited for the Olympics!

I don't know about you, but our family is excited to watch the Olympics!  I always love watching and hearing the athletes stories.  I love the winter Olympics simply because so many of the events seem crazy to me.  Many of the events, I sit and wonder how they get up the nerve to do it! 

A few of my favorites are speed skating, ski jumping, skeleton, alpine skiing, luge and figure skating.  The girls are super excited to watch figure skating (they love their pretty outfits) and Addison is really into snowboarding.

This was her on Tuesday, working on a hill in our neighbor's backyard!

The only problem with the Olympics is that I stay up way too late watching them!  So, if you see me looking tired in the next few weeks, you'll know why!

Basketball

Addison's playing on a basketball team this winter for the first time ever.
So far, she loves it!
They had their first 2 games last Saturday.
The first game they lost in overtime, 10-8.
The second game, they got killed.
Oh well, it was a good learning experience for them.

 Her very first shot!

Travis took these pictures on his phone, so they're not the best quality!

Personality Tests

Have any of you ever done a personality test?  I've done them before, but it's been a long time ago.  I was reading a blog today that talked about it.  She recommended the site 16 Personalities, which has a free test you can take.  It was 60 questions and took me about 5-10 minutes to complete. 

I am someone who does lots of self-examining.  I'm very critical of myself and tend to think a lot about the things I've said and done, the way I've acted, the way something has affected someone else, the things I like and don't like about myself, or who I am and want to be.  I guess this is why I find personality tests interesting. 

Some of the results I like about myself and others, I wish I could change.  Anyhow, here are my results.

According to this test, I'm an ESFJ.  After reading what it all means, I would say it's pretty accurate.

Extraverted (E)
Expressive, outgoing, prefer group activities, eager to speak their minds, more comfortable when around other people than when alone, get energized by social interaction

Sensing (S)
Observant, rely on their senses, absorbed in practical matters, focus on what has happened

Feeling (F)
Sensitive, follow their hearts, keep feelings close to the surface, focus on harmony and cooperation

Judging (J)
Decisive, prefer clear rules and guidelines, eager to commit, see deadlines as sacred, seek closure

It lists some famous people with the same personality type - Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, Harry Truman, and Monica from "Friends"

So, do you think this is accurate for me?  Travis thought it was!  I think I'll see if Travis will take the test.  I may just learn something about him!

What is your personality type? 

Christmas 2013

Another Christmas has come and gone!
This year was fun.
The girls are at that perfect age...
still tons of excitement, but old enough to understand.

After reading in the Christmas eve service, Addison really wanted to read the Christmas story on Christmas morning.

And then they opened their gifts.

After breakfast, we left and drove to the farm for Christmas with Travis' family.
Most of my pictures turned out blurry, so this was the best I had.

Two days after Christmas, we celebrated with my family at my brother Grant's house.
Aaron and his family drove down from South Dakota and spent several days with us.

While we were there, the kids went sledding!
Thankfully, we were able to borrow some snow clothes.

We had a great time with our families!

Christmas Eve

At church on Christmas Eve, Addison was super excited to be a reader during the lighting of the advent candle.

She read Luke 2:1-20!

Twenty verses takes awhile, but she did great!

The girls enjoyed singing out of their hymnals!

Candles and children always make me nervous!

And Candy shared a special story with all the children.

Christmas Parties

Last day of school today!
The beginning of Christmas break...yippee!!!
We're excited to sleep in, spend time together, see extended family, celebrate Christ's birthday and eat some good food!

Both girls had parties today at school.

 Santa and Mrs. Claus visited Mackenna's class!

 

At the elementary school every year, the whole school gathers to sing carols together in the afternoon before the class parties.
It's a lot of fun to watch and the kids really enjoy it too.

 The 2nd grade teachers! Addison's teacher is in the middle.

Painting

The girls and I enjoyed painting today.
There's a new painting place in town where you paint through a project together.
Addison loved it!
We painted a Christmas ornament.

 Here's all of our finished paintings!

We'll definitely have to go back again sometime!