Isabel is a teenager (and has been for over a month now)

In all the hustle and bustle that was Christmas break, we barely had time to slow down and celebrate Isabel's 13th birthday!  It was pretty mellow this year.  It fell on their first day back at school after break so that's no fun.

No Isabel didn't turn 112.  We didn't have a "3" candle so Josie and Tilly did some mathematical improvising.  1 and 1+2=3.

Isa is 12!

About two weeks ago Isa turned 12.  I am a little behind.  I also realized I didn't put up any pictures from Utah.  That will come this week.  We had a nice quiet birthday celebration this year.  We celebrated the night before her birthday because Chance had to leave the morning of her birthday.  We had ice cream cake from Sweet Cow (the best ice cream place ever), presents and of course a game of living room soccer.  A perfect night.  The next day she got breakfast cereal and a few more presents.  It was the last day off before they went back to school after Christmas break.  Everyone just relaxed and enjoyed the day.

5th Grade Graduation!

Sweet little Isabel graduated from 5th grade last Thursday.  It is such a fun day at our school.  The parents provide breakfast for the students and everyone eats together in their classroom.  Then the ceremony itself which consists of a speech from the principal, the 5th grade teachers and having your name announced and walking across the stage to shake your teachers hand and then a slide show.  After that there is time to take pictures with your family then off to a picnic on the fields.  After lunch they get changed and walk over to the town outdoor pool where they get to swim and hang out for 2 hours.  When they get back from that...the run a lap around the school.  All the other students in all the grades come outside and line up to give the 5th graders high fives as they run by.  Then one last time alone with the teachers in the classrooms (no parents allowed)!  It was a fun day.  Isabel got invited over to a friends house after school that had the Sweet Cow Moo Mobile there.  It doesn't get much better than that!  

Happy graduation Isabel, we are so proud of you...on to middle school.

Isabel

The 5th graders at our school have the opportunity to play an instrument through the school.  Isabel chose the violin.  This is at her end of year performance. 

Isa beaming with pride after making her own lunch all by herself.  Toast, eggs & hash browns!  She doesn't cook very often so this is a pretty big deal.

The All School Picnic!  Josie came out a few minutes later for her lunch.

Happy Birthday Isa!

Isabel had a fun birthday. It started with Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Puffs and presents at home. Then on to a soccer game which they won and she scored a goal and had donuts after the game.

Checking out her new Camel Back!

Later that night she had a sleepover party. Here she is welcoming a few of the 5 girls that spent the night. Candace was generous enough to let the girls sleep in her room - all the craziness happened in the basement so it wasn't too loud for the rest of us that wanted to go to sleep before 2 am.

All the junk food a party could ask for - Doritos, Pizza, Soda and of course...

...cake and ice cream. Isabel wanted and eyeball cake with "I" all over the sides, so Candace made an eyeball cake with "I" all over the sides. The inside is chocolate cake with a layer of crushed Oreos and whip cream blended together...yummy as always.

There was also presents. Lots of cool things from these kids, a giant yellow bouncy ball, tickets to a play one of them is in, the letter "I" cut out of wood and then decorated with old pieces of skis cut up into small pieces, a giant gummy bear and of course, lots of chocolate for my chocolate loving 11 year old!

Isabel is 10 and one day!

Yup...Izzy is 10 years old (and a day as I'm posting this). She had a great day. She wore her new pants and high tops to school.

We opened presents before breakfast.

After the last indoor soccer game of the season we had a little party with the team. Another girl on the team had a birthday this week too so we made it a group thing. Pizza, tacos, soda and cupcakes! Yummy!

Here are the cupcakes.

Guess what's happening here?

The before shot...

...the during shot...

...and the after shot.

Izzy got her ears pierced for her birthday!

Notice what the bag she is carrying says.

Isabel is 9 and one day!

Yes Isabel turned 9 yesterday. I didn't get to posting these yesterday so here they are. We started the day with Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, after school Izzy opened her presents and then everyone got to decorate some cake. Isable asked for a sand castle cake that she could decorate herself. I made an extra cake for Josie and Tilly to decorate as well. It was a great afternoon and Isabel loved her presents!

This was a funny card from Isabel's friend Sam, it said, "Everybody's got that one crazy friend." then on the inside it said, "Happy Birthday to mine!"

I guess the sewing post will have to wait for another day

Theater

I am not sure I would call it theater but Isabel and her fellow 2nd graders put on a great show the other night. I filmed a little of it with my camera, not great quality but not bad. This is the part where Isabel got to step up to the microphone and speak. She is the first one to talk. I can't remember exactly what she said but she did a great job and you could hear her much better in person than you can on the video. Check it out and here (Isabel is on the far right of your screen in the middle row, 2nd from the end). I also took a few pictures but the lighting wasn't great so they were not that clear. It is clear that she looks a lot more relaxed after the performance is over and she can goof off with our neighbor Kathryn.

Isabel's Birthday Part 3 of 3

On Saturday we had 12 kids (including Isa and Josie) to the local Rec Center for a pool party. It was a blast and ofcourse Jen outdid herself again with another amazing cake. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.