Here lies Goldy

We said goodbye to our first real pet...Goldy the gold fish. He lived a fine life. He was admired by some, loathed by others. He did his part as good as any gold fish could have done.

Doug had the honors of sending Goldy on to another place... Doug was reluctant to any pictures being taken at this time.
I felt we needed the record..."we did have a pet once".

I will confess, Goldy sat on the counter covered up with paper towels for a good day and a half. I didn't have it in me to help Goldy "move on" and it's been a busy work week for Doug. Hence, he stayed on the counter...ewww...

The tank is pretty empty now. I really did feel bad that we couldn't keep him alive longer. I told Doug I just can't have pets because I have guilt over Goldy's death. We could have done more... a bigger tank, perhaps? Cleaner water more often? We could of had someone feed him when we had to leave town? I know some of you have witnessed our fish, and he had some neurotic tendancies, but it just helped him fit into our household all the better;)

Let's reflect on Goldy's life for a moment...This is when he was brand new from the July 4th carnival. Lilli was thrilled to have him...me, not so much. Most of the girls couldn't leave him alone, for the first three days...Lexi, not so much.

Here is a cute family picture Ava did at school. Notice she even has Goldy as part of the family!
He really will be missed...by some more than others.

Birthday Girl!

Vivien turned 5 years old! We had a fun time celebrating...with lots of different celebrations! Vivien requested a "pinkalicious cake". We have had quite a few Pinkalicious celebrations at our house. Fun ,fun, stuff:)

We first celebrated a few days before Vivi's b-day when we were at the cabin with cousins. Vivien had such a fun time she said, " I don't even need a friend party now, I will just have a cousin party." Wow, I thought, great, and wow!


Poor Nicolette really wanted it to be her party too.

Lexi and Madi were in charge of Vivi's b-day refreshments. They made yummy cupcakes and "snow icecream" so yummy and fun! If you ever get a chance to try snow icecream, the girls found the recipe here.

Vivien's actual b-day started very early on a Sunday morning with 9:00 AM church. She got to have a cereal I NEVER buy and eat it full on princess dishes!

Vivien and mom...January 4, 2009.

Grandma, Vivi, and Grandpa on her special day.

Grandma and Grandpa agreed to come for yet another wild dinner at our house! A wonderful birthday dinner was had. Grandma even brought her famous rolls...we were all in heaven:)


Vivien was thrilled with Nicolette for giving her a beautiful tea set. Vivien has never been so thrilled to have Nicolette around in her whole life!

The big birthday girl with presents:)



This might turn into the new birthday theme at our house..."Purplicious" now very popular at our house:)

One last pose with the cake before we light the candles.

Vivi making wishes and trying hard to blow out every last candle:)

Here is Grandpa trying to survive the goodbyes of these little girls;)

Our pink centerpiece. We have lots of fun with pink around here:)

And, last but not least...remember how the cousin party was so great that she didn't need a friend party? Well, yah, that did not really work out;) So, we took 3 of Vivi's closest preschool friends to the childrens museum for lots of play time and fun.

Vivi knows how to milk the birthday thing! We did have lots of fun celebrating. I love to celebrate my girls birthdays. It is their one day in the year to feel special. Sometimes it is very hard sharing the stage with 4 other sisters. They get that one day a year to have to themselves.
I loved celebrating with Vivi this year. She is definitely growing up. This has been a really good thing for Vivi:)

Happy Birthday Vivi!

Cabin, Cousins, and a New year

We had a cabin New Year's Eve party again. I think this is becoming a great family tradition. we did fondue and flank steak salad. A perfect party menu:)

Madi and Lexi in a good party mood:)

Later in the evening. Mammy trying hard to stay awake;)

Katie and Lilli enjoying their party food:)

Cute Ben!

Madi and Lexi actually posing for the camera...

We had plenty of cider for our celebration. LaRae and I both found it on sale and so we ended up with probably 20 bottles of it!

Poppy with his traditional sparkling cider toast;)

LaRae and her camera, Mammy trying to stay awake, and the girls watching something...

Here we are with the count down. Lilli and Katie counting down and watching the ball drop.

Some real excitment... puzzle players!

Lexi and Madi, feeling less agreeable on the posing now that it's later in the night.
Thanks for a great New Year's Eve!

New Year's Day!

Poppy and Daddy "fixing" the trax...I think...

Madi and Lexi enjoying a break from sledding, in the snow? I thought it a bit strange that Lexi thought a rest in the snow was relaxing?

Nicolette was feeling really left out that the kids were in the snow and she was not. So, we got out the tiny snow stuff and she was ready to go:)

Look at all the snow at the cabin! The girls had such a great time playing.

Our Dad is cool. Nicolette was having great fun making a "snow house with Daddy".

Doug busy at work and refusing to wear a coat!

Nicolette helping Daddy. Such a fun way to spend New Year's. Thanks Mom and Dad!