A bit more Breakaway

New pictures of Maggie's preschool Breakaway were just posted on the church's website.  Here are the ones of Maggie I was able to track down. :-)

Breakaway 2015: Zapped

The girls just finished off an amazing week of vacation bible school.  Our church puts on a yearly camp, Breakaway, that takes place for one week, each summer.  This camp draws over 400 kids from our community.  The church is transformed into an amazing set for this camp, filled with robots, dance stages, bounce houses and slip-n-slides. The morning is filled with small groups, dance jams, dramas, crafts, snack and so much more! 

A large robot welcomed the campers each day.

The church has a Breakaway dance team that teaches the kids new camp-themed God songs and dance moves.  A double-decker stage is built for the occasion.

The MPR is filled with kids!

The bounce houses are HUGE!

Kate's small group 

(Kate is on the right)

 Maggie liked the robots.

 The girls got face painting or face tattoos each day.  The tattoos were a bit tricky to get off.

Kate is on the left-hand side of this picture.

 Can't wait for next year!

Kate's birthday

Kate woke up early on her birthday (about 6 am) because she was too excited to sleep.  We asked her to wait until Maggie was awake to start the festivities.  She waited for 1 tortuous hour and finally I woke Maggie up at 7 am.  Kate instantly dove into her presents and she had her eye set on a tall present.

Inside her tall present was Julie, the American Girl doll she has been begging for all year long!!!

 Maggie was excited for Kate's new doll too!

After presents, Kate blew out candles at breakfast time.  She requested banana muffins for her special day.

Papa and Gramma stopped by for a surprise visit with Julie's groovy bed.

At 11:30, Will and I surprised Kate and Maggie at Breakaway (VBS) with a special trip to the American Girl store.  Both girls were super excited for the surprise.  We had cousin Chloe, Auntie Sarah and Gramma join us on our LONG excursion to Palo Alto, which is the nearest American Girl store to us.

 At the store, we started off our experience with a special tea with the dolls.  The dolls had special booster seats, cups and saucers.

 The food was very delicious!

While waiting for our tea, Kate opened up 2 gift cards to the store from Auntie Sarah & Chloe and Dedushka & Grammalene.  After tea was done Kate went on a shopping spree!  With the generosity of grandparents Kate was able to purchase a lot of the things she wanted to add to Julie's collection, including Julie's egg chair and doll ear piercing.

Unfortunately Kate was not able to purchase Julie's Volkswagen since it is over $500!!!

We had such a fun day!  At bedtime, Will found Kate crying in her room.  When he asked her what was wrong she told him she was SO happy!  Is that not the sweetest thing?!?  Happy 6th Birthday, beautiful Kate!  Now it is time to start planning Maggie's birthday...

Our beautiful Kate Kate

July 23, 2009 marks the day our first born entered this world.  She came 36 hours before her planned c-section at 1:30 in the morning (she was breached).  When I first saw Kate I thought she was the most beautiful baby!  She was so gorgeous, with a full head of hair, dark skin and adorable features.  Over the past 6 years Kate has blossomed into an amazing, vibrant, beautiful girl.  She is intelligent, athletic, and excellent at everything she puts her mind to.  One of my all-time favorite things I love about Kate is her HUGE heart...she really cares about people and making sure everyone is happy.  She cuddles me when I am sad, shares toys with her sister to keep the peace and always wants to help clean or make dinner.  She has been an amazing blessing to our lives. Happy 6th Birthday, beautiful Kate Kate!

Kate was 7lbs 70z at birth

1 year old

This is our favorite 14-month picture of Kate..."Pum! Pum! Pum!"

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

 5 years old

6 years old

Kate's 6th Birthday Party

Even though Kate's birthday isn't until later this week, we celebrated her 6th birthday with her friends this past weekend.

Kate's party took place at the Davis Arts Center with her clay teacher, Ms. Heidi.  Each friend got to create a special butterfly plate out of clay.

Even cousin Chloe joined in on the fun!

We had 9 girls in the clay class.

Ms. Heidi made a clay monster at the beginning of class.

 The clay monster ate Kate's hand...she loved it!!!

 Each girl had to flatten, cut and stamp a lump of clay to make their plate.

 After each plate was formed, the girls got to paint their plates.

 Maggie took extra care and time painting her plate perfectly!

 The plates turned out beautifully.  They will look even more amazing once they are fired in the kiln, glazed, and fired again.  The girls will be able to use and eat off their plates!

 After the clay creating was complete we headed outside for more party fun.  Kate requested she have a pinata this year.

 Chloe had some awesome swings at the pinata.

 Present time...always a crowd favorite!

 Cake time!

 Kate was a very happy and excited birthday girl!

 After all the excitement was over, Kate and her friends played around the park.