Happy 4th Birthday, Rachael Ann!!! We love you!!
Rachael has been very excited about her birthday coming up. Presents have shown up in the mail, and cards. Grandma and Grandpa Schumacher sent her some money to buy presents, and she was so excited while she was picking them out. She's been making sure her party is all in order (Is the cake made yet? Do we have a card for her? Does she have a pinata?). Apparently, turning four is a very big deal for Rachael =)
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| Rachael had to test our work =) |
I decided to make some treats for Rachael to share with her class. On Thursday, we spent the night making pumpkin cookies and decorating them with gel colors and candy corn party hats. They turned out really cute! On Friday, I went to school and had lunch with her. I showed up and her class was in the hallway heading to their room and lunch. Rachael was holding the aid's hand; she was the line leader that day! I took up my place at the end of the line and followed them in. We sat down and ate lunch. While we were eating, Mrs. Geilen-Rosenberg was making Rachael a 'crown' for her birthday. I had a good time eating with her and meeting some of her classmates =) I only stayed for lunch, so I left the cookies with Mrs. G-R. She gave them out just before the kids headed home for the day. I'm told they were a big hit. When Rachael came home, she had her amazing crown on her head and was just bubbling and excited! I made a cake and stayed up late to make a Color Flow Cinderella for her cake. I wanted it to look amazing; it turned out ok. It just needed some time to dry.
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| Pumpkin party hat cookies |
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| Zach was helping, too! |
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| He's too adorable! |
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| Heart-breaker eyes right there! |
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| Rachael LOVES her crown from Mrs. Geilen-Rosenberg. She especially loved the balloon on top | ! |
Saturday was her actual birthday. We had planned to go to the zoo. It was kinda chilly out. But, we bundled up and headed out anyways. I'm so glad we did. Gaia Park in the Netherlands is amazing. The park has so many water features, creeks, bridges. The animals were so cool, too. Rachael loves the giraffes. She had such a good time at the zoo. But, she kept telling us she wanted to go home because she knew there was cake and presents waiting for her!
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| At the park. Everything is in Dutch. However, most of the exhibits had a little bit in English, too. =) |
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| Not warm! |
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| Checking out one of the exhibits. |
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| Pretty kitty |
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| The first flowering lily I'd ever seen =) |
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| In de Kinderboerderij, which included many animals seen in the local area, they had these awesome, fuzzy chickens! |
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| Yes, they even had Hereford cattle on display!! |
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| And pigs! =) |
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| Pretty birds in a tree. |
We spent about 3 hours in the park and saw all the animals. By then, Rachael was tired of walking, so we headed to Schinnen. We had asked her earlier what she wanted to eat on her birthday. She told us she wanted pizza. Tekin or Anthony's? Anthony's! We ordered a whole pie, and it was fantastic (fresh Anthony's pizza is way better than not-fresh Anthony's pizza =) Then, Adam bought a yummy chocolate ice cream cake for our party and we headed home.
It wasn't quite time for dinner and our party yet, so the family went about doing their own things. I sat down to finish decorating her cake. Then, awfulness struck!! As I was peeling my Color Flow Cinderella off of the parchment paper, I let it fall to the floor and shattered! Oh, no! I was devastated! Rachael's cake wasn't going to be what I wanted, and didn't know what to do to make it look decent. I had a chocolate cake frosted with chocolate frosting and some white and blue icing. I sat down at the computer to look for ideas... fast!
Then, as I was searching, Grandma and Grandpa Terhaar Skyped us. I stopped what I was doing and grabbed Rachael. She opened all of the presents from them and Grandma Drury and Colleen that were stuffed into the box we'd received a few days earlier. It was so much fun. We just kept pulling presents out!
When we were done talking to them, I had to resume my cake decorating salvaging. I ended up just putting Cinderella's beautiful dress on the cake without Cinderella. It worked out. Rachael liked it; that's all that matters =)
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| The cake and the loot! |
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| Our darling Cinderella! |
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| See? She still likes the cake =) |
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| Cute outfit Great Grandma Drury got Rachael. |
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| Opening Presents |
We dressed Rachael up in her Halloween Cinderella costume. That was fun. She opened up presents from us and Grandma and Grandpa Schumacher and Sally Seubert. She really made a haul! Then, we feasted on cake and ice cream. Rachael then took a few of her new toys into the living room, laid flat on the floor, and played with them. She was so precious!
After Adam and I had finished reeling from all of that sugar, we broke out the pinata for one last bit of birthday fun. I loved this pinata!! It opened by pulling strings, not beating it to death! So, Adam, Rachael, and I stood around the pinata with Adam holding it, taking turns pulling on the strings. Rachael pulled one, then Adam, then me. Then, she got really bored with the whole taking turns thing, grabbed all the strings, and busted it open! Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids fell out of it, spilling onto the floor. What fun! We commenced eating more candy and sugar, thoroughly enjoying watching Rachael playing with her toys and Zachary trying to hone in on her new fun. Aren't siblings the best!? =)
All in all, we had a really great day. Rachael felt so special with her crown, her dress, her trip to the zoo, her presents and cake. We love that little girl so much! I would say that I can't wait for her next birthday and all the fun that goes with it, but truly, I can. Kids grow up way too fast. I still remember wishing she would just stay 2! While we miss who she was and the stages she's gone through, it is just so much fun watching her right now, learning, growing, and just being really cool! So, Rachael, Happy 4th Birthday! We love you!
