the party

{August 11, 2012}

celebrating on her Birthday {August 12, 2012}

5 years old

Aniston turned 5; I seriously am still in shock. She has changed so much lately and has started acting so much older and more mature(yikes!). Some things about her haven't changed, like the phrases she uses: *I just love you so much(sounds completely different from when she first started saying it). *You're the best mom/dad EVER! *I want to be just like you mom when I grow up. *Gotta go play with my Barbs. She also still requires a straw in her drink and still plays with her hair when she is tired. She's also started playing with it when she gets nervous or when she is telling a story. It's so cute and I love it!! She is also always asking for a bubble drink and wants gummie sharks anytime we're in 7-11. We have to visit the Barbie and Princess isles every time we're in Walmart or Target. More recently she: *actually likes "quiet time" but only because it usually involves a movie *says cute prayers asking to protect our hearts, for Mom/Dad to keep me in their hearts, and for a fun day *loves fruit snacks, grapes, pears, apples, peanut butter jam and white cheese sandwiches, carrots, cucumbers, yogurt-key lime pie and blueberry, and chicken *no longer likes to eat mac and cheese or chicken noodle soup because they are "too googely" *picks out her own clothes, most of the time they match and are usually pink *loves to write out words, ask what a word is and spells it to us, types her "scriptures" on the computer, and loves writing letters and then asks what the letters say *counts to 50!!!! *only wants to check out Barbie and Princess books at the library and then wants to sit and read all of them before checking them out *likes to talk about what food is healthy, how our bodies work, and will say that she's eaten way to much sugar and needs something healthy to eat *helps clean: dusts, sweeps, vacuums, puts dirty clothes in laundry, folds clean clothes-towels usually, puts her dishes in the sink, empties the dish washer-usually only the silverware *gets her own snacks using whatever she can find to knock them out of the fridge or pantry shelf(forks are her tool of choice) *MOST of her clothes bother her and she lets everyone know about it *asks me to save certain items from my closet for her to wear when she gets bigger-LOVE it!! *boosts mine and Chris' self esteem by telling us how nice we look and how cute we are *asks to wear my make-up, usually she wants a little mascara and some cheeks *loves playing games on the computer-Barbie.com and the ipod-her fav is a coloring game *loves to listen to music. Aniston is so aware and she remembers so much. I cannot believe our little 5 year old knows so much and has grown up so fast. She isn't really looking forward to Kindergarten, but I have a feeling she is going to love it. At her 5 year check-up she passed with flying colors and is still in the 99% for height and weight! We're so lucky to have such a sweet, healthy, and happy girl!

Yellowstone 2012

We (Papa, Grammy, Christian, Aniston, and I) piled into the Suburban,

and set out for Yellowstone!

We came upon the wildlife before we even made it to camp(Yes, camp. Like in a tent, in the park, with the wildlife).

We made a quick stop before camp at one of the geyser basins.

Aniston noticed a few hats out by the geysers, and to make sure she was aware of the rules, I used those poor souls as an example. Those hats were all that was left of the people who did not stay on the paths. My point was made, and that's all we heard about the rest of the evening. We did a lot of hiking/"trail walking", and Christian, Papa, and I did some stair climbing(300+ straight down and then 300+ straight back up; SCARY!!)

We experienced only a few minor interruptions from the wildlife.

This big beast was right off one of the paths, and there were a bunch more along the roads. We only had to stop a few times to let them cross. We were able to see Old Faithful go off a few times.

Aniston wasn't a big fan of waiting for it to go off, but she entertained herself by taking a few photos.

We had to hide from the sun for awhile, but not before we went shopping per Aniston's request. Grammy and Papa bought Aniston her very first ball cap, and she looks pretty dang cute sportin' it!

Aniston was excited to explore around our camp site, so Papa took her out with her newly purchased bear "Poly Ester"(Papa is known for his names, and they usually have something to do with what's written on the tag or stamped on the belly)

My favorites were the pools and Yellowstone Lake. Aniston was not interested after the first pool and view of the lake, but she hung in there and smiled towards the end.

Yellowstone was beautiful!

I was so thankful that we made it out of there with no wildlife run-ins. I did however think we were not so lucky, when one night Aniston woke up and needed to use the toilet. As I unzipped the tent I was sure I heard a bear, but it ended up being one of our neighbors. We had a few storms, but that's typical for camping trips this year. The last night we ate at one of the lodges thanks to a lighting/hail storm. I'm just glad no bears decided to have us for a snack!