Bday fun with new friends

 Alyssa celebrated her birthday soon after we moved, but fortunately she had already met several new friends and chose to have  a swim party and then eat out with the family.

 I made a last minute whale pinata by wrapping candy in several sheets of tissue paper, cutting some slits and attaching a huge rubber band.  It worked even better than the typical paper mache ones I make and was a lot less messy with no time needed for drying.  That always seems to be the highlight of the party for the kids so I was happy to find an easier way to throw it together!

 The girls decorated their cupcakes with gummy whales, swedish fish and pearls.

 They colored shell necklaces and of course wanted to do a crazy picture to show them off.

 Emily made this cute sign and Alyssa was so excited when she saw it.  Alyssa was elated to pick out a bean bag chair for her birthday and loves cuddling up in her "Big Joe. "

We also went to the lunch park and had fun posing near this tree stump.  My kids are growing up so fast.

Jacob's birthday was a bit more chill since it fell on a Sunday and he just wanted a family party.  So we ate our favorite - Texas Fudge Cake.  Our new Bishop caught him off guard when he invited to  share his favorite article faith on the spot after announcing his ordination to become a teacher.  Jacob gave him a puzzled look, and then got the congregation laughing when he announced that he loves all of the Articles of Faith so much that he can't decide which one to share so he didn't share any, just said they were all true.
 People got to see a bit of his wit again today when he spoke in church about his Aaronic Priesthood experience going to the hospital to do sacrament services for a person undergoing cancer treatment.  When they asked for volunteers to help, he admitted that initially didn't really want to go because he was "starving" and wanted to go home and make some water brownies to eat, but he took the opportunity and felt the Spirit when they were able to help more people who wanted the opportunity to take the sacrament.  It ended up being a really memorable peaceful experience for him where he felt the Spirit of the Lord through service.