Miss Mazie James turned FOUR on May 23. It was quite a birthday... on Friday the 18th we celebrated at her school. Caleb and I both co-oped for the birthday celebration, which involves a series of specific rituals... with all of the kids sitting in a circle, Mazie told everyone to lie down and close their eyes and then she picked out a candle. She then went around the circle and asked each kid what color they thought the candle was, and then she told them to open their eyes and she told them its color. My favorite part was when her teacher, Jim (who, along with Yvonne, taught Caleb at Our School Preschool when he was Mazie's age!), asked her how old she was, and the Mazie had to go around the circle and have each kid ask her, "Do you have four year old hair?" ("Yes.") Or "Do you have a four year old belly button?" (Also "Yes.") The whole thing was very sweet -- she was very serious about each step and definitely felt like the special birthday girl!
Celebration #2 was on Saturday. We had a party at Memory Square Park with many friends and family, and then Mazie led us all on a parade to Sweet Cow for ice cream! Plans were almost derailed by rain, but luckily the sun came through just in time for the party, and then the rain started promptly as we were walking back from Sweet Cow! Our big present to Mazie was a new (used) bigger bike, which she learned how to ride immediately. Here she is with her bike and the awesome boots Aunt Jen got her!
On Sunday the 20th we packed up the car and Ahya, Uncle Logan, Mazie, Athena and I drove to Yellowstone (or "Lellowstone"), where we met Ty and Sara. Dad and Karen joined us on Tuesday, and on Wednesday (Mazie's "actual birthday," as she would have told you) Caleb arrived, so we were all together for the big day! It was a fantastic trip... we had all different kinds of weather, including one sunny and hot day followed by several days of rain and snow, but the upside was that the park was pretty empty (we were there right before the season officially begins) and we had enough good weather that we were able to get out and see a ton of stuff, including 2 bears, tons of buffalo, an animal that we all tried to convince ourselves was a wolf, but was most likely just a (large) coyote, elk... and then of course all of the geysers, pools, pots, and fumeroles. Logan made a fantastic video documenting our trip -- take a minute to check out these 1500 or so pictures he took!
Here's what I wrote on Mazie's birthday card:
Dear Mazie,
Happy birthday, my four year old girl! I can't believe you are already FOUR! Here are some of my favorite things about you:
- your SMILE! I love your cheeriness, the way you shine, the way you laugh and enjoy life.
- your CURIOSITY! I love the questions you ask, the attention you give, your eagerness to learn about your world.
- your ENERGY! I love watching you play soccer, ride your bike, run and climb and dance
- your CREATIVITY! I love listening to your stories, watching you draw and build and play.
- your TENDERNESS! I love cuddling with you, hearing you say "I love you," and, more than anything, watching you and your little sister be sweet to each other.
You are an amazing, lovely, awesome person. I love you so much!
Love,
Mom
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