The Party

Jenna had some definite ideas about her birthday party this year. She wanted it to be on her birthday, a Little Mermaid theme, the kids should eat mac 'n cheese, and the grown ups should eat tacos. She wanted blueberry cake and peach ice cream for dessert. Pretty simple requests, so she got what she wanted for her day!

Blueberry coffee cake in muffin form served as a yummy blueberry cake. (See video 0130 in "Jenna's 7th bday" folder for the birthday song.)

Papa, Mima, 3 cousins, Grandpa, Grandma, two girl friends, Brother, Daddy, Mommy, and Aunt - all came to celebrate our girl.

So many nice gifts! Frozen was a popular theme with: an Elsa musical wand, the movie, the Anna doll, the Anna & Elsa dresses (made by Mima), Frozen puzzle, 3 year journal, and stuffed Rainbow Dash pony. Another popular gift was her early birthday present from Grandpa and Grandma - the dolphin necklace that holds the pearl. Crafty things like a bracelet maker, make your own rings set, sun catchers, and a fused bead kit were also hits - she just couldn't save any of them and has already tried them out!

After the food and gifts at our house, we went to Monkey Bizness. Jenna had been wanting to go there for a few months so we thought this would be a nice gift to her.

Our littlest monkey

The girls

Cousins

There is an art room there - painting on the easels was a big hit.

The masterpieces

Popping virtual bubbles was so much fun, too!

We had so much fun! Kevin joined in with a hilarious outcome. And Kellen had so much fun that he peed his pants! (Be sure you check out the video 0171 - you'll be glad you did!)

Jenna 7.0

Jenna is 7 years old today! She is 47.25 inches and weighs 51.6 lbs. So, she's grown 2.75 inches and 7.6 lbs this year. She's lost 4 teeth so far (3 have grown back in). She is smart, caring, funny, and makes friends easily. She loves to read, play make believe, and play just about anything with Kellen. She still loves blueberries. Other favorites are shrimp, mac 'n cheese, pizza, Chick-fil-a, but she eats and likes anything except black olives. Her favorite color is green (still). She says her favorite number is 19 because it's an "odd" number. "Get it, 'odd'?" she says. Here's a look back at her other birthdays:

The birthday

One year

Two years

Three years

Four years

Five years

Six years

Party post to come . . .

Growing up fast

This girl will turn 7 tomorrow! A little over a month ago, I noticed that she still has her knuckle dimples. I asked a friend of ours that has a photography business if she knew of any creative ways to photograph hands. She gave me a few ideas and then said, "How about this? Come over for lunch after church and we'll take some pictures for you!" So, Sunday, April 27th was the day.

Pretty hands

Love this one!

So glad that she loves to read! She saved her own money to buy "Amy Wild, Animal Talker - The Secret Necklace" by Diana Kimpton at the school book fair. Books about animals have been some of her favorite to check out on library day at school. She also really loves the "Magic Treehouse" series.

Showing her silly side - this pose was her idea. It just so happened, that shortly after this, one of her top front teeth started growing in. So, this was one of her last "toothless" pictures.

So hard to choose, but I think this last one is my favorite. We are so blessed to have these friends!

Friends and Thunderbirds

Today was one of our favorite days of the year - the Air Force Academy Graduation and the Thunderbirds performance. This year was even more fun because my dear friend (of at least 25 years, I think - yes, we were 4 - smile) and her cute boys came down to join us!

We had such a fun time! They were so sweet to make cards and bring a strawberry plant for Jenna's birthday. Yummy! My friend has a good memory and remembered Jenna picking strawberries from her yard last year. (See video 0106 in "Thunderbirds '14" folder.)

So cool to have a backyard view of this!

All the kids loved it!

This move was new to the show - so cool! (See video 0108.)

So cute!

Somehow, the littlest guy didn't make it in these pictures, but really glad we got at least one of all of us!

This, added Thursday, May 29th:
At the end of the show yesterday, we weren't sure if it was over because the 6 planes never got back together like they usually do. But, this morning, they did in a surprise extra show. And, not only 6, but a 7th plane joined them. (See videos 0123, 0124, & 0125.)

Directly below Pikes Peak

And, above the dorm/chapel area of the Academy

Finishing up 1st grade

Jenna's birthday is after school is out, so on Friday, May 9th, we celebrated her birthday at school. She wanted chocolate chip cookies and Little Mermaid napkins. But, she knew that the boys wouldn't like those napkins, so she chose Darth Vader napkins for the boys. It was a fun time! Periodically, on a Friday, the school shows a movie after school and this happened to be one of those times. So, after the little party, we stayed and watched "Tale of Despereaux" with her best school friend. It was a really fun day!

A look back to the first day of 1st grade.

 And now, May 22, 2014 - the last day of 1st grade.

 Kellen aka "Iron Guy" had to get in on the photo op too!

Miss Stedman and Jenna when they first met before school started.

And again on the last day of school. It's been a wonderful year! (And, another year of perfect attendance, I should add!)

Her peers said that Jenna has these qualities and Miss Stedman put them on a collage for her:

Also, Miss Stedman had each student write a memory of the year for each letter of the alphabet. Gotta love first grader phonetic spelling!

Piano

Jenna started taking piano lessons in November. She had her first big recital on Saturday, May 17th. She played "Sleeping Beauty's Waltz" by Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately, the video is too large to post here. She had it all memorized and we are so proud of her! (See video 0062 & 0063 in "Jenna 1st Grade 2013-14" folder.)

Last race of the season

The last race of the season was supposed to be on Mother's Day, but we had this snow storm:

The schools here had a 2 hour delay the next day. Hopefully, this was the last snow of the season. 

So, they were able to re-schedule the race for Thursday, May 15th. Jenna ran the 400 in 2:13.9 - that's 3.1 seconds faster than the last race. (She's easy to spot in her orange hat.) And, it's a personal best - 2:36 was her best time last year. (See video 0052 in "Landsharks Track '14" folder.)

She also ran a 200 that night.

0:58 for the 200. (See video 0056)

So proud of our girl!