love, love, love...

i wanted valentine's day to be extraordinarily special for the girls this year! i "invited" each of them to a dinner by putting a card in their lunch box for them to open!

i told them all to go get dressed up in whatever they wanted while i finished preparing their feast!

what they chose was precious...and so, so funny! ella wanted me to curl her hair with hot rollers so that she could look "fancy"! she and maddie chose ava's outfit...and did her hair!

look at my beautiful "big" girl... *sigh*...

i love these next pics...mainly because ella & maddie look adorable...and the same...and "the tiny"...well, she looks different!!!!! oh, how we love her!

after the paparazzi got done with their photo shoot...we allowed the girls to enter "the restaurant"! they were so excited! i had the table decorated...complete with candles and balloons...

we served them steak, twiced baked potatoes, and the vegetable of the day...broccoli! maddie spoke with a british accent for most of the dinner...they truly melted my heart with how cute they were!

one of ella's favorite delicacies are chocolate covered strawberries...so i decided to surprise her with some of those! they actually all three enjoyed these so much...

it was a fun night that i won't soon forget! we all went around the table and said what we loved about each other...and truth be told...i could sit for days and talk about all the ways i love those three little people. not just on valentine's day. every day!

ella, madeline, & ava...you are the beats of my heart!!! i love you!!!!

here is what we sent to school for all their friends:

seems like a great night for a "party"...

mom found these adorable "dress up" dresses for super cheap the other day...and as soon as she gave them to the girls...their inner "martha" was inspired!!!!! whenever they are planning an event in the playroom...jeffrey and i are not allowed to go in while the preparations are being made! always scares me a little because i am not ever sure what kind of food they are using!!!

on this evening...we were going to be served dessert! (well...dessert with a side of "peppered cheese" :) )
ella set the table...complete with place cards...for each family member!
along with a beautiful centerpiece...plucked from the front yard!
my sweet girls that know i'm a coke gal...even had some cold bottles at my place! precious little people!
at one point before the party started, this is what i found ava doing...stealing the "peppered cheese"! what a party foul...and look at her outfit...she sure knows how to dress up for an occasion!!!
my two precious party planners...they truly do love each other!

here is what ella chose to prepare...a fondue bar of sorts!
we had strawberries and raspberry bits for dipping!!!! (in melted hershey kisses) ;)
pretzel sticks and strawberry gummies...can't you just imagine the flavor explosion in your mouth?!?!? HA!
one thing's for sure...there was at least ONE family member that thoroughly enjoyed herself...which is exactly why we have nicknamed her the "family goat"!!!!!!! God love her!
she is truly a bottomless pit...that travels straight to her adorably precious bottom!!!!!!!!!!!!
she is a sight for sore eyes...cannot wait to see the things this little one will do...she's one in a million for sure! just look at that exuberance!

then came time for "family foto booth"! oh. my. word.

look at this gem! straight from "deliverance"...which caused the following reaction from me...
...and ella!!!!
we just couldn't stop laughing!!!!!!

i'm so proud of my daughters...all three of them. i'm so thankful that we can have fun as a family...and that we truly enjoy each other's company!

it is times like these that i just sit back and soak it all in...times like these that i realize what precious little souls we have the privilege of raising...times like these that i realize there won't always be "times like these".

thanks, girls for being the best little party planners around!

"snow" much fun...

maddie decided this year that she wanted a swimming party at the swim school! i thought it was a great idea...because what kiddos don't want to hit the pool in the middle of january! i also decided that it would be really fun to use a snowman theme...because you don't typically think about snowmen going for a dip...but ours sure did!

my little five year old had a ball...as well as her two sisters...and all her pals! we are so blessed with such precious friends and family...and spending the day celebrating our sweet girl was so much fun!

the kids swam, and swam, and swam some more...

maddie's favorite little guy...parker

daddy has a lot of fans!!!

one little munchkin has always adored the water...since the literal moment she was born...and this day proved to be just the same...our little water bug

but the rope was definitely the biggest hit...even our tiniest price gal gave it a try...many times and LOVED it!


since the birthday girl doesn't much care for cake...i decided to serve "snowman" donuts! (yes, i absolutely got this idea from pinterest and tweaked it just a bit!!!) yummy...and cute!

maddie with her "bestie" (mary banilla...aka mary linnea) enjoying her "song"!

ella's favorite place...cuddled in honey's arms!

the guests left with the makings for some "snowman soup"...even though it was so hot in shreveport this day that we could have had the swimming party outside!!!!!

another party in the books...another success...and another memory of a happy girl! can't wait to start planning the next one...but not before i soak up every second of my "middle's" 5th year!!!!