Stake Polar Bear Campout

He likes to shoot and he really enjoyed himself at the Polar Bear Campout. This was his best round. He said that the semi-automatic guns are way easier to shoot consistently with because you don't have to reload and sight it again.

The day after the birthday excitement!

She is loving the idea of reading!

She is also loving climbing on most anything.

Today she put them together as she climbed onto the ottoman

to do some reading.

Done with school and breaking out the Star Wars Chess!

Thought I should capture her black eye.

She ran into a door knob on a door that a sibling was shutting.

Yowch! The door knob got her right on the eye brow.

It happened a couple days ago,

so this is how it looks now.

Moved on to Star Wars Clue!

Naomi loves this doll.

Mainly for the full head of hair!

She sat at the bottom of the stairs for quite a while, 

just holding the doll and sucking her thumb.

Happiest birthday wishes to a girl turning 11!

Xiomara was very excited for her birthday! Her older sisters did a great job decorating and helping her feel special. It was a Harry Potter sort of feeling around the house today. They put streams up, and hung candles from the dining room chandelier. They posted notes around the house that had to do with Harry Potter: to the dungeons (on the door behind Xiomara that leads to the basement); to the Ministry of Magic on the toilets; warning moving stairs; restricted section in the library; and we were sorted into houses at breakfast with colored stickers on the bottom of our plates.

Xiomara enjoyed helping make pancakes - you can see some wands on the griddle now. We ate mint chocolate chip ice cream with our pancakes.

Yum.

Sorting stickers (since we don't have a sorting hat).

Opening Grammy and Gaffa's card.

Watching while reading.

Decorating her own chocolate cake.

Brick wall with spiders because of the spiders in Harry Potter.

Party time!

Grandma and Grandpa Nichols were able to come,

and hopefully Grandma Nichols will continue to feel better.

Bringing out the cake while we sing Happy Birthday!

Grandma Graham's present first...

Kemiah's present second...

A fish made out of wire and clear glass marbles,

in a "fish bowl".

She asked for Star Wars stuff....

Grandma and Grandpa's present...

Sunday dresses and socks.

She asked for lots of candy,

so instead of getting big bags of one or two types,

we got her little boxes/bags of most of what she wanted.

That's a lot of candy.

More Star Wars stuff.

More candy.

Batteries for her camera,

and a new card for her camera.

More candy.

Another Bop It - 

Kemiah's was so popular the Twist It is a little broken.

Notebook for poems,

with her own pencils and erasers.

(She asked for all of those things.)

Way too much silly putty - but it is fun.

A little fan like Domonique's,

but Kevin the Minion.

Books and the Minion movie!

Patch quilt x 2,

because Kevin thought it should be bigger than just one.

What a sweet girl!

She has done some great things this year - 

mostly working on being more diligent and hard working.

And here is proof of the awesome things her sisters did for this special birthday.

Candles and streamers.

Oh, and they put owls all over,

just in case we needed to send a letter.

Restricted section in the library.

Domonique's contribution.