Party in the "Park"

About a month ago, Riley told me that she wanted a party in the park for her birthday since she already had a house party. It wasn't a park exactly, but we had Riley's 4th birthday party at Cottonwood Campground in Versailles where Mark, Jace, and Troy and Lori have their trailers. Although the day started cool and overcast, the sun came out and it warmed up just in time for the party.

Riley had decided that she wanted a Little Mermaid birthday cake and decorations. When we went to the party store to get them, she saw and then asked for a Little Mermaid dress to wear at her party. She even got matching Little Mermaid jewelry from Grandma Howell to go along with the dress. I did talk her into just wearing the dress at present time.

Riley liked all of her presents. They were all "girly" which suits her perfectly. After she was done opening the presents, I told her we had one last surprise for her. She shut her eyes, and we brought a Disney Princess bike. She loved it.

It was a great day to celebrate a great little girl. I think I have said this a hundred times in the past week, but I just cannot believe she is four. I feel so blessed that God gave us a big surprise four years and nine months ago. She turned out to be one of the best gifts of my life.

"TOADally Awesome!"

Two new pets joined the Howell house this week. The boys have had a number of toads, frogs and turtles over the years. I used to try to stop them from keeping them. Over time, I have learned that they eventually get bored with them and let them go. In the mean time, it keeps them busy. I usually feel sorry for the animal though. They get lots and lots of attention while they are here.

Play Ball

We had five tickets to the Dayton Dragons Game on Wednesday, June 1st at 7 pm. Originally, Steve and I were going to take the boys. The plan was for Riley to stay with Grandma. At the last minute, Riley decided she wanted to go to the game. Since Steve had already taken the boys to a game in May and had work to do, we decided I would take the kids. I was a little apprehensive about taking Riley since she is not a sports fan. In the 4th inning, Riley turned to me and said, "I changed my mind. I want to stay home with Grandma now." Ha! She did great though. We had planned to leave before the game was over but ended up getting caught up in the excitement and staying to the very end. In the bottom of the 9th, the Dragons were down by one run. They had two outs but the bases were loaded. It was really exciting! Unfortunately, the guy struck out. The Dragons lost 6-5. We still had a good time though (or at least four of us did).