Ponytail

Joely has always loved doing hair.  For Christmas, Santa brought her a princess hair set, and she spends lots of time doing my hair and her doll's hair.  But she surprised me one day when she said, "Look, Mom!  I did my own ponytail!"  Sure enough, she'd pulled her hair back in a ponytail all by herself.  For the next several days, she would take out whatever I had done to her hair and put in a ponytail.  It didn't always last long, but she'd just whip out another one.  And voila, my three year old is a hair stylist!

Carson's 8th Birthday

Carson turned 8 on a Sunday, so our celebration took place after church.  We'd had sickness in our family leading up to the weekend, and Dave was still down and out with it, so it wasn't quite the party we were hoping for.  But Grandpa and Grandma McClure and Uncle Riley all came to celebrate with us, and that definitely helped to make the day special.  

Carson is really into Harry Potter and has read the first 3 1/2 books, so I wasn't surprised at all when he requested a Harry Potter birthday cake.  Most of the cakes I'd seen on Pinterest were WAY beyond me, but I managed to make one with the Gryffindor coat of arms on it.  I think it turned out alright!

Carson got to wear his new suit to church and sure looked sharp.  The McClures were at our house when we pulled in, so we snagged a few pictures with them.

Carson always looks especially like Grandpa McClure when he's wearing a suit!

Buddies

 We had lasagna for dinner (at Carson's request), opened lots of fun presents, and then ate the cake!

Grandma and Grandpa gave Carson lots of Harry Potter-related things.  He especially loved the Hogwarts Robe and Gryffindor scarf.

With Hedwig from Anna and his robe and scarf, Carson looks like he belongs at Hogwarts with Harry!

It's great to be eight!

Dad even came downstairs for the opening of the presents.  All in all, it was a good birthday and we were excited to celebrate Carson's baptism a couple weeks later...

2nd Grade Field Trip to the Butterfly Pavilion

The second grade at Pioneer Ridge Elementary got to go to the Butterfly Pavilion in Broomfield for their field trip for the year, and I was lucky enough to get to go as a chaperone.  Unfortunately, I was recovering from a migraine and felt quite awful; I definitely didn't feel like getting on a bus for a 40 minute ride.  I even warned Mrs. Post that I might not make it.  The ride there was tough, but once we got out and started exploring, I got much better.

I was assigned a small group of boys: Carson, Gabriel, Logan, and Dax.  The boys did really well and had a great time.  My favorite part was the actual Butterfly area, where thousands of butterflies fly freely.  Carson had a melt down the last time we were there because of how hot and humid it was (I think he had just turned 5, it was awhile ago), so I was curious to see how he handled it.  He did great, but was excited to move on to other areas of the pavilion.

Hanging out with the butterflies.

Life of a cute caterpillar.

Caught in the web.

I think Carson thinks he's a bat!

I think the boys liked the nature trail a lot.  This was at the end of our hike.

My crazy-awesome 2nd grader.

I had volunteered every week in Carson's class in Star Valley, but hadn't been in his classroom in Johnstown at all.  I was thrilled to get the chance to go with him and be with his friends and classmates.  This I know...I've got a good kid, and I loved spending time with him!