For months and months, Eliza mentioned that she wanted to ride a horse. I'm not sure where this fetish came from, but that's one of the only things she has wanted to do. We told her she could ride Paul's horse when we went to Utah. This was the only thing she wanted to do for her birthday. Needless to say, she was one happy girl at the end of the day.
I wanted to throw her a big family party at the park since we were surrounded by family in Utah. Thank goodness Sandy let me make a mess of her kitchen as I spent the whole morning preparing food and baking cakes. I am not a cake decorator by any means, but I worked really hard on these cakes. They turned out ok, and Eliza absolutely loved them so the frustration was really worth it.
The day was made even more fun because she got to spend it playing with her cousin Lilllie. Lillie is 10 days younger than Eliza. Grandma Richards took the two of them together birthday shopping. It was fun watching them pick out the exact same presents (all licensed Frozen merchandise). The cashier even thought that they were twins.
Even Hazel was ready to party. She even wore a matching shirt with Aunt Katie.
Not only did grandma Smith reserve the park pavillion for us, he also took it upon herself to decorate for the party. This was much appreciated since she did a much better job than I would have. Decorating is really not my thing at all. She originally picked out a Frozen balloon, but the heat of the afternoon caused it to pop. Never being one to disappoint a little girl, grandma went back to the store to get another one. Unfortunately they were out of the Frozen ones, but Ariel was a great choice too. It's always exciting to see presents start piling up, especially for Eliza who loves, loves, loves presents.
We ate pulled pork sandwiches, chips, pasta salad, fruit salad, coleslaw, soda, and these cute jello jigglers grandma Smith made.
After the food came the presents. I gave my camera to Aunt Laurie to document Eliza opening presents. She took way more pictures than I would have - that's why we are about to venture into picture overload.
If you didn't know the girl loves Frozen before the party started, you would definitely know it afterwards as evidence by the presents she received. It was awesome having grandparents and aunts and uncles there because Eliza could actually see the person who gave her the presents instead of opening them at home with no clear idea who they were from.
From mom and dad: plush Anna and Elsa dolls, Minnie Mouse tea set with dress up costume, a princess art set. From Zabien and Hazel: Frozen hair brush, Frozen puzzle, bracelets, and necklaces. From grandma Porter and Aunt Katie: a Frozen backpack full of books, markers, dry erase board, and other "school" things. From grandma Richards: a Frozen lunch box and water bottle, and Frozen hair clips. From cousins Addie, Nathan, and Clark, perler beads. Bruce's aunt Annette, crocheted some hair clips, and head bands for Eliza - and included a purple teddy bear, some amazing cow slippers for Zaby, and a beautiful pink dress for Hazel.
It was a wonderful party surrounded by fun, friends, and family. You can't ask for anything better than that.
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