Sleepovers at Grandma's and in the Mountains!

My little Libby Lou is nine years old.  This is her last year in the single digits.  I still remember her as a tiny baby.  Time goes too fast!  Some of my favorite things about my beautiful girl are:

She wanted a picture by this flamingo!  Made me laugh...

• Libby is good at following rules.  She takes things seriously and likes to choose the right.  
• She is responsible.  She remembers to turn in her homework without being reminded.
• She is a good older sister.  She changes Ollie's diaper and helps him get a bottle.  She makes sure he gets his helmet on when they go bike riding.  She shares with her siblings and helps them whenever they need her assistance.  (most the time...)
• She is honest.  You never have to second guess yourself with Lib.  She just tells things like they are.  When dinner isn't up to par, I hear about it.  She is one truthful gal. 
• She is very athletic.  Libby is a beautiful dancer and she is working hard to learn tumbling as well.  She is so very close to getting her ariel and her back hand spring.  I am thinking she will accomplish these new tricks very soon!  Sometimes, she gets tired of working so hard at her sports and then she catches a glimpse at how amazing she can be, and she becomes re-motivated to work hard!  I love love being part of her dance studio so I can watch her develop her talents first hand. 
• Libby is fun.  She is game to head to the pool or go for a walk with me.  She likes to plan outings.  She loves to invite friends and family to come along with us on our adventures.  I always hear her say, "Can a cousin come too?" Her family is very important to her.  
• Libby is beautiful.  Sometimes I just stare and her and marvel at her beauty.  She has a bright smile.  She has perfect brown skin.  Her tiny body is strong and cute.  When she performs on stage I can't take my eyes off of her.  She literally shines.  She is truly beautiful on the inside and out!  
• Libby is a hilarious kisser.  We are working on it.  She doesn't like to show very much physical affection, but I know she feels things very deeply.  When we hug at night I have to make her hug me back.  She likes to just GET hugs.  Her favorite person in the whole world is her Grandma Dennis.  She gives her plenty of hugs.  :)
• Libby is incredibly smart.  Her memory is fantastic.  She recalls conversations and events from when she was just a tiny girl.  If I ever need to remember an important appointment I ask Libby to remind me, and she does!  She asks a lot of questions and is always learning.  She "gets things."  The only thing at school that she struggles with is spelling.  But, we are working on that!  I am always proud of her.  I LOVE being her mom.  

Libby has created a few birthday traditions that she really enjoys.  The first tradition is to have a sleepover at my parent's house with her Dennis cousins.  My mom is such a good sport to go along with our crazy plans.  This year, we had a yummy dinner, went swimming at Rachelle's pool, decorated pillow cases, and went out to get Frozen Italian Ice.

We had a good time decorating our pillow cases.  I bought some fabric markers and the kids all got to design their own.  Libby drew a bunch of shooting stars with happy faces.  She wrote, "Libby the Shooting Star!" on the top.  I love that she is a star.  Natalie is such a little artist.  She spent a ton of time drawing a wide variety of treats and desserts on her pillowcase.  Then she wrote, "Sweet Dreams" on the bottom.  I thought it was very clever.  I helped Gage draw some guy stuff on his pillow cover.  He helped with all of the other stuff.  I was proud of him for sticking with it.

Natalie packed a special little bag of presents for her sister.  She gave Libby all her money (like $1.75) and the very last Nutella snack pack that she had saved in her drawer for a few days just for this!  I thought it was so cute.  I LOVE that they are sisters!

It felt so weird for me to not make a birthday cake for Libby's birthday.  I usually try to make something fancy for the kids.  But, she was really looking forward to just going out and getting Italian Ice.  It was very easy and the kids all enjoyed it.  We went to the place by my parent's house that one of my best friends from high school owns.  The worker let the kids sample every single flavor of ice before they settled on a kind.  I am pretty sure we went through 50 tiny spoons.  It was half the fun!  

I went home with Gage after the party and the girls all slept at my moms.  They spent the entire following day at her house too!  The party just kept on going.  Libby was a happy girl.

The second awesome tradition that Libby has created is to go backpacking with her Daddy.  It makes my heart happy to see them plan their shopping list for food and to head to the store together to buy supplies.  We spent a night filling their packs and making sure they could lift them up once they were full.  Getting ready for the trip is half the fun.  I couldn't believe how heavy Libby's pack was.  Even cute Gage was able to carry his sleeping bag and pad this year.

Here are a few photos from their adventure.  They caught a few fish, hiked to a waterfall, made up games to play around the campfire, had fun in the tents, and enjoyed Libby's new birthday hammock!

What great memories!

Cord packed cupcakes and candles so they could sing to Libby on her birthday.  I am sure she made a good wish!  He surprised her with a hammock as a gift so she could use it on their trip.

It's a good morning!

Cord makes them all sorts of good things to eat.  

The packs are lighter on the way home because they ate all the food!

Happiest of birthdays to my cute Libby Lynn!!

Granny B and Grandpa made a special trip to our house to visit Libby to give her a birthday gift.  It was fun to have them out to visit.  Granny picked out a very cute outfit for Libby!  We are lucky to have so many people to love and to share our life moments with!