Hazel's Fifth Birthday Bash

Hazel's birthday celebration continued last weekend when we had her big birthday party.

The celebration kicked off when Bubbe and Aunt Laurie came to town Thursday night. Mom and Dad were sure glad to have their help.

Friday morning, all of kids got up early to wake up and surprise Aunt Laurie. We went into her room to yell, "Boo," but we were the ones surprised, when we found Aunt Laurie already awake!

Friday while Mom was getting the house ready for the party, Bubbe and Dad came to my classroom while Aunt Laurie stayed home with Hazel and Turner. Bubbe and Dad read to all of the kids and helped decorate our classroom. It was sure fun to show her around my school. Dad had to leave for work a little later, but Bubbe came and picked me up from school and brought me home.

We had a good afternoon with Bubbe, Aunt Laurie and Mom. Once I came home from school, we went to our new tae kwon do class to show them our new skills. After we blew them away there, we talked Bubbe into taking us to Amy's Ice Cream for a little pre-dinner dessert. We played on the playground after our treat, then showed them IFly, next door.

Friday night Mom and Dad went out while Bubbe and Aunt Laurie stayed home with us. Mom and Dad seemed grateful to have a night out to themselves. Bubbe and Aunt Laurie kept us up late reading to us and playing fun games with us.

Saturday morning we were ready to party! Unfortunately, the party didn't start until 10:30. Dad tried to entertain us by playing outside and coloring the driveway, but we were getting anxious for the party to start. Finally at 10:30 all of the kids started to arrive. Before we knew it, there were more than a dozen kids at our house.

Mom had planned a really fun party. There were lots of things to do - coloring, painting, and other arts and crafts. All of the kids got to make their own puppets, tops and picture frames to take home instead of goodie bags. We even had decorate your own cupcakes. Everyone sang happy birthday to Hazel, we all ate our cupcakes, then we played pin the Hello Kitty on the wall and smacked around a pinata. By the time the party was over, we were all exhausted. Especially Mom.

Saturday night, at Bubbe's request, we went to Shady Grove for dinner. Turner was still so tired that he slept through a lot of dinner.

Sunday we all headed over to Central Market for brunch and to play on the playground. I was full from eating snacks at Sunday school, and still probably a little tired from the weekend. After brunch we went home for a little bit and then took Bubbe and Aunt Laurie to the airport. It was sure a fun visit. Hopefully we'll see them again soon.

Hazel's fifth birthday weekend

To see photos of Hazel's fifth birthday weekend, click here.

Holiday-palooza

A lot has been going on this week.

Last Sunday, we went to Hazel's kindergarten play date, then added on an extra surprise -- our neighborhood egg hunt! We got there kind of early, talked with a bunch of friends, took photos with the Easter bunny, and had our faces painted like bunnies. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. Then, finally the egg hunt started. Before we knew it, less than two minutes later, it was over! We all were mad because we did not get as many eggs as we wanted. So we went home.

Then Monday night was the beginning of Passover. We had a Passover Seder at our house. Dad made coloring book Haggadahs and we got to talk about the story of Passover. We also got to eat lots of yummy Matzah, charoset that Dad made, and matzah ball soup from Mom. After dinner, Hazel found the afikomen - she reminded us that she found it last year too - and we all got prizes.

Five!!!

Tuesday night we had another Passover Seder that was just as fun. Hazel found the afikomen and we  all got prizes again. We were all sad to hear that we don't do Passover Seders every night of Passover.

As soon as the Passover Seders were done, it was time to start celebrating our next holidays.


Friday was Hazel's birthday. Since she was getting so many presents, she started opening them at the beginning of last week. That gave her time to appreciate and play with each one before opening more. Unfortunately, it also resulted in Hazel starting to think her birthday is several weeks long. Next weekend Bubbe and Aunt Laurie are coming for Hazel's birthday party. Stay tuned for more on that.

For Hazel's birthday, we had dinner at Rudy's. Since it was Passover, we couldn't have any bread, but we were still able to eat turkey, brisket, potatoes, and everyone's favorite - creamed corn. It was yummy. Then we came home and shared a delicious homemade ice cream cake. It was a great birthday.

The very next day was Mom's birthday. She got the day started right by heading out of the house and getting a massage. Then she went to a meeting for my school's PTA and then took Hazel and me to swim class while Dad stayed home with Turner.

Saturday afternoon we finally got to all be together when we watched Mom be fabulously spoiled with presents, and then we went out to dinner. We had a wonderful picnic outside. Mom got us Freebird's while she and Dad shared some Chinese food. Somehow we managed to find kosher-for-Passover food for all of us.

We came home and shared a delicious flourless chocolate cake that Dad got for Mom. Yum!

Hazel and I each made birthday presents for Mom. She was very touched.

On Sunday, Dad has a special treat planned for us. We drove to Enchanted Rock to climb a mountain. Mom and Dad packed a bunch of water and a picnic lunch for us to have at the top of the mountain. After a quick two-hour drive, we got to the park and started walking up the mountain.

At first it was pretty easy. We were all running on our own. But pretty soon it started getting steeper and Dad had to carry Turner who got scared. But Dad was impressed at how well I was doing. Soon we turned around and Mom was gone! Dad had to go back and get her because she was freaking out about the steepness and height, and then we all held hands and walked up the mountain together (Dad still held Turner and Mom the whole way).

When we got to top, we had an unbelievable view of Texas. We put on our sweatshirts since it was so windy at the top of the mountain. Then we pulled out our picnic blanket and had a great lunch of matzah, carrots, and hummus.

After about 15 minutes, it started to rain, so we headed back down. With the slick rock, it took us a little longer to get down, but we all made it in one piece. Dad and I really want to go back again. Hazel and Turner probably need to wait until they are a bit older. Mom says she's never going back to the top but will make us a nice picnic to enjoy when we come back down.