Shelby's birthday parties

Well the grand day arrived...Shelby turned 7!! What a fun week of parties and adventures we had. It all started Monday night when we celebrated with family. Shelby had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She was also able to share the night with her cousin Taylee who was turning 3.

I decided to make the cake myself. Always an adventure...it gets more fun each time I make a cake though. Especially when the kids love the way it turned out!! The cake was fashioned after one we found in a book and I combined a fun little house with some of Shelby's favorite toys, Littlest Pet Shops!! She really liked it and has had fun playing with all the little toys that came with it.Now for the presents...the girl is seriously spoiled. Shelby got money, toys and a fun guitar book from everyone. Our family gave her a Nintendo DS, I told you she was spoiled!! Really it's just a gift for travel since we're heading to California in May and she's gonna need a good distraction!!

Next was a friend party she was able to enjoy with 2 of her favorite girlfriends from school, Katie and Cammy and her cousin Shantae. We started at McDonald's for lunch and some playtime on the toys. Along the way we gathered a few extra friends that just added to the excitement and fun!! (You'll have to ask Matt how much fun he thought it was!!)

Then off to ISU for some bowling. We planned on bowling just one game and scheduled 2 lanes with bumpers, we adults need all the help we can get!! I think the boys bowled the majority of a game but the girls got bored after only 5 frames. What a hoot to see them all roll a ball down the lane. Even Luke got in on the action.


Have any of you been at a bowling alley with 11 kids under the age of 8 trying to be monitored by 3 adults??? Let me tell you it's quite an adventure!! Each of them had their own money and they all found the change machine!! Pretty soon I had quarters falling out of all my pockets!!

Then there's always our adventurous 2 year olds, Taylee and Lexi. You guessed it, they just wanted to go for a little walk...clear to the bookstore and completely by theirselves. The bookstore manager was nice enough to return them to us without a word to security and just laughs to us about what a handful they must be. Gotta love the independent little ones!! haha

All I can say is Happy Birthday to my favorite 7 year old!! We love you Shelby!!