Emmy turns 10!

Volleyball and Pioneer Day

Emerson stepped out of her comfort zone and tried something new, volleyball.  She had 8 practices with the VolleyCubs camp at Nappanee Elementary with Kati Andrews.  She learned a lot (she'd never played before) and had fun with some new friends. I don't know if she'll stick with it or not, but I'm glad she tried something new.

Then, this week, the fourth graders celebrated their annual Pioneer Day.  All the students could dress up as Pioneers.  They made butter, did tin punching, had a guest speaker, a spelling bee, and square danced.  The kids had a lot of fun and learned that tin punching isn't the best way to spend their time (those poor pioneer children! 😜)

Daddy/Daughter Dance and Mystery Dinner

So, every year around Valentine's Day, the parks department puts on a dance for dads and daughters.  Every year, Emmy looks forward to it for weeks.  She talks about it, picks out her dress and how she wants her hair.  She just loves being able to spend time one on one with her dad at this special event.  Kenna and John come too and they have a blast together!  

Her hair is so pretty!

These girls have been loving their American Girl Dolls.  And what a surprise, they both picked out the same shoes to wear!

I decided to do something different for Valentine's Day this year.  Matt and I try to go out for dinner. (This year we went to Jesus Latin Grill...yummy!  I didn't take any pictures!)  But we wanted to make it special for the kids too.  I found on Pinterest a Mystery Dinner.  You assign all aspects of the meal a number and then everybody randomly chooses numbers and they are given what they order.  It was a lot of fun and we had some interesting appetizer, main meal, and dessert options.  Luckily we had a snow day on Feb. 12th so we had extra time to put into making the meal.

3 of us ended up with a hamburger as an appetizer and no drinks.

Everyone had plates for the main course, but Landon was still waiting on his drink.  Em and I both got cookies and raspberries for our main meal.

Here is our dessert course. 

It was a fun way to spend the evening, but it took a lot longer than a traditional dinner.  I love making memories with these guys.

Cousin Time and Dawning Generation Clinic

We also got to watch Caleb and Brooklyn the same weekend.  We went to church at mom and dad's church to celebrate the ending of their vbs.

 We also got to go to the Fall Fest at the Davis's church where there were carnival games, blow up slides, yummy food, and candy.  Poor Caleb only got a short nap so he wasn't too happy,  but I think everyone else had a good time.

 Emmy went to the dawning generation clinic on a Saturday morning where she learned a song/dance to perform at the concert the following Tuesday.  She enjoyed being on stage.

Emerson is nine!

Our sweet baby girl turned 9 on May 23rd.  She had been counting down the days for weeks and was soooooo excited when the day finally came!  Her birthday is always around Memorial Day and a little tricky to schedule so we had her parties on 2 different weekends. 
She wanted a sleepover for her friend party and invited her sweet friends.  The girls were amazing.  They got along great and were asleep by 10:30.

Lizzy, Emmy, Allie, Claire (and Bob the elephant)

 They made their own pizzas.

 And did some face painting.

 Then it was time for a movie and bed.  They were quiet until around 7 the next morning and played well (even letting Landon join) until parents came to pick them up. 

Em with her birth tree

 Her birthday was on a Wednesday and she wanted to go to Steak N Shake for chili, then Urban Swirl for frozen yogurt.  She got The Greatest Showman CD, Amazon gift card, diapers for her Baby Alive dolls, and some new clothes.

 Then, the next weekend, we celebrated with family!  It was gorgeous outside so we ate lunch on the back deck after opening gifts.

Cousins helping open gifts!

Em loves ice cream cakes!

Emerson is so thoughtful and loving.  She enjoys helping people and likes to be in charge!  She is so creative and loves art, cooking, and crafts.  We are so blessed to have this young lady as part of our family.