Lake Arrowhead and Madi's birthday celebration

Back in March, our ward had a dinner/auction fundraiser to raise money for girls camp and scout camp. One of the auction items Spencer bid on was a 3 night get-a-way up at our Bishop's Lake house at Lake Arrowhead. Spencer ended up being the top bidder! We knew we wanted to go this summer, but weren't sure when. Then as we were contemplating where to go for Madi's birthday weekend, this seemed like the perfect idea! The kids had no idea where we were taking them and we had fun keeping it a secret.

We left early Thursday morning, June 26th. After driving an hour 45 min. south we started winding up a huge mountain. It was fun to hear the kids guessing as to where they thought we might be going. A couple months back the girls had been begging to go to the snow. so we had them convinced we were headed to snow country! They were both relieved when it ended up not being snow though!

On the drive up - I had to snap a picture of our birthday girl wearing one of her creations! I love how she made her own birthday hat and insisted on wearing it the entire drive!

What an incredible weekend we had! The first highlight was just exploring our Bishop's cabin - the game room, foosball, air hockey, karyoke, bedrooms with 2 sets of bunk beds, huge decks on every level, secret hiding places, tetherball, and horse shoes just to name a few!!

They couldn't sit still long enough for me to take a non-blurry picture. They were WAY too excited!

The views were incredible!

We had some friends join us for our first night. We hiked part way around the lake, then Amy made an incredible dinner for us. Friday morning we got up early to play on the lake. We paddle boarded, kayaked, swam, and just enjoyed relaxing in the glorious sunshine and beautiful surroundings!

Our friends left by noon, giving us the rest of the afternoon and evening on Friday to ourselves.

It was nice to have some quiet family time. We drove into town for dinner.

Then back to the cabin to enjoy a beautiful evening!

Talk about living the life! Those chairs were super comfy - the perfect place to curl up with a good book and fall asleep (usually how it works with me)! Cal was contemplating sleeping outside for the night!

Saturday was Madi's birthday!!! Spencer and I spent Friday night decorating and getting everything ready for the big day!

For Madi's birthday breakfast she got pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream! 

And of course I had her blow out a candle and make a wish!

Leftover pancakes with strawberries for everyone else!

Then Madi opened a couple presents . . .

A necklace from Elle and Cal:

Madi got a bunch of cool stuff from her piano teacher (sweetest lady ever) who had given Madi a present after her lesson on Tuesday but Madi chose to wait until her birthday to open.

Gram and Papa had sent a card which Madi opened up while they listened on speaker phone:

Madi could not believe how much money was inside - more than she's ever had in her entire life! She counted it over and over again. She's going to bring her money to Utah and go shopping with Gram and Papa when we see them next week!

 

I love that the card was just as important to her as the money! My parents are always sweet and write long thoughtful messages!

Madi was so touched by all her gifts that she immediately grabbed the first thing closest to paper that she could find (a paper towel), and started writing thank you's. I was very impressed with Madi's desire to thank everyone. And actually, the day after we got home, Madi wrote long, thoughtful thank you's all on her own and mailed them out that day!

Saturday morning around 10am Madi got some surprise visitors! Grandpa Al, Boppi, Uncle Shaun, Eric, and Tyler came up to join us for the night and help celebrate Madi's birthday! After giving them a quick tour, we packed up lunches and headed down to the lake!

I was looking forward to trying out the little white kayak! But then Cal kept trying to grab the paddle from me while singing, "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream . . . "

Eric on the paddle board, with Boppi and Grandpa Al coming up behind Calvin and I on the kayak:

Calvin ended up not napping up at the house, so I brought him back down to the lake where he promptly feel asleep in Boppi's arms:

Madi got brave and tried out the paddle board!

Spencer and I headed up early afternoon to get Madi's birthday dinner and cake going. While everyone else got an another hour or two to play and relax!

Madi requested lasagna for her birthday dinner which we served with salad, watermelon, and french bread.

After dinner we sent Madi downstairs while we brought out her present that Shaun had driven up for us:

A "big kid" bike - Madi was excited to try it out! She's growing up way too fast!

Then Madi opened presents from Boppi & Grandpa Al and her cousins . . .

After presents it was time for the birthday cake reveal!! Birthday cakes have always been a big deal for our kids and Spencer and I always try to make whatever they ask for or whatever it is they are interested in. Madi requested a lamb cake - so lamb cake she got! Thank goodness for my creative, cake decorating husband! I couldn't do birthdays without him!

It was a happy birthday for this sweet little 7 year old! She chose to soak in a bubble bath to wrap up a perfect day!

Sunday morning Grandpa Al got up and cooked up waffles, bacon, and eggs before we headed out on a hike. 

Unfortunately, the hike ended up being a bust for my crew. It was a pretty warm morning and the only thing our kids seemed to know how to do was complain. Madi insisted she had a stomach ache, had to go the bathroom, and looked like she was going to pass out from heat exhaustion. Once Madi and Spencer left, Elle wanted to head back too, but Calvin wanted to keep going. I was torn between two crying kids and thought it best for us not to slow the rest of the gang down. So everyone else went on ahead while I tried to get Elle and Calvin back to the cabin. Calvin cried/ threw tantrums the entire way home while Elle complained every step of the way. I tried my best to stay calm, but lost it somewhere on those 200 steps back up to the cabin. While carrying fit throwing Calvin over my shoulder I hauled up those stairs, completely ticked off, while Elle, with a tear streaked face tried her hardest to keep up. We all went into time out to cool off and calm down when we got home. Thankfully I've got a semi happy picture (and our only family picture the entire trip) from the beginning of the hike to remember that we all started out happy!

After naps and quiet time we all made it to the 2:30pm sacrament meeting at the local ward there in town. Then we headed back to clean up, pack up, and head for home. Our Lake Arrowhead trip will be remembered with fondness. We're so grateful to our Bishop and Sister Parry for trusting up with their gorgeous lake house!  Bishop says we can use it whenever we want, so hopefully there will be another trip or two up to Lake Arrowhead in the future! Our girls were great about writing thank you's as soon as they got home - had to document them:

Happy Birthday Madilyn!!

Madi had a birthday and we now have a 7 years old! 

June 28th was her big day which we celebrated up at Lake Arrowhead (another post to follow).

It was a surprise for the kids and such a nice family getaway. Originally Madi had come up with the idea of spending her birthday at the LA Children's hospital. She wanted to bring presents to all the sick kids. But after checking into it, I found that the Children's hospital doesn't allow visitors younger than 16, so that plan was out. That's when I came up with the idea of going away for her birthday. I thought that even just an overnight at a nearby Marriott would be a treat, but then the trip to Lake Arrowhead worked out perfectly! We had fun kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, hiking, playing games, and birthday celebrating!!

The day after we got back from Lake Arrowhead, Madi had her 7 year old check-up. At seven years old, Madi's right at the 25th percentile for height and weight - 46 1/4 inches and 45.5 pounds. She struggled with the vision test (gotta make an eye appointment soon) but other than that, she's perfectly healthy! 

I love how obsessed Madi is about her birthday month! Starting June 1st we'd get the daily count-down  as to how many days left. On a trip to the library, Madi read a book about Helen Keller. She was super excited to learn that Helen's birthday was June 27th, and that Helen died on June 1st. Madi was confident this was no coincedence, but a unique bond between her and Helen. So she came home and wrote an "essay" on Helen Keller:

 "Deaf means you cannot hear. Blind means you cannot see. Have you heard of anyone who is deaf . . . . and they are blind- at the same time? Helen! Her birthday is on June27th. What is yours? MIne is June 28. Helen died on June 1. She met Anne. Once Helen knocked out 2 of Anne's teeth. First Anne taught Helen manners."

Here's the rest of her essay . . .

I loved this one! I've been meaning to post a bunch of Madi's stories lately, but haven't gotten around to it. Truthfully, I can't keep up with all her projects and end up throwing most of them away. That sounds terrible, but the constant writing / crafting / project making is more than I can handle. I used to save a bunch of it, then I'd just take pictures of it, but now I just get so annoyed with the mess that I usually end bringing a trash bag in and taking it all to the recycling! I stopped feeling so bad when I realized that Madi would just create something new the next day. As much of an eye sore that art table of hers is, I can't bring myself to take it away. This girl needs her artistic outlet!

I do love how when Madi hears that someone is sick, not feeling feel, or just having a bad day, she immediately gets to work creating a masterpiece to cheer them up. The best word to describe Madi is creative. She comes up with the coolest creations all on her own!

She's always writing notes or letters too. This one (below) cracked me up . . . it was one Sunday afternoon when I wanted a nap and Spencer told the girls not to bother me, but they still snuck in to tell me something (which I'm sure they thought I'd really want to know). They got in trouble for not obeying and I found this card on my desk later. So sweet!

Here's another I want documented:

Madi really is such a sweet soul. She definitely needs to be reigned in here and there (when she gets hyper, it's almost impossible to get her to calm down without several stern reminders), but she has a kind heart and is always concerned when someone is hurt or upset. She's got the magic touch with Calvin. Whenever he throws a royal fit (seems to be daily these days) she sings, "Silent Night" and it calms him down every time! Then just the other day Madi was on the floor crying about something and I walked in to find Calvin sitting on the floor next to Madi, rubbing her back, and singing "Silent Night". It was one of those mom moments when everything seems right in the world.

Madi is also very health conscious. She always asking me if what she's eating is good for her. She rarely eats treats or just doesn't finish them. Just the other night at dinner she was eating chicken and brocolli, while drinking a spinach, strawberry, banana, blueberry smoothie when she looks up and asks me if all the things she was eating would help fight cancer! She was so happy to hear that she was making wise food choices. Actually now that I think of it, it's not as much health conscious as it probably is of being afraid of getting sick or having a tummy ache. Madi's terrified of throwing up and will do anything to prevent it. 

She's also paranoid about making sure she has clean teeth. She uses her pick every night before brushing to get all the plaque off her teeth.

Other things about Madi:

* Hasn't lost a tooth yet. 

* Went from an "E" reading level at the beginning of 1st grade to level "P" at the end.

* Had perfect attendance her first grade year!

* She still loves singing and performing in front of people. She's had a couple of solos this past year, and just this past week got to sing with a group of friends at Leisure Village's Patriotic Celebration!

* She got a new bike for her birthday (one with gears and handle brakes), so we've been out practicing:

* Madi's not the most adventurous type, but has gotten a lot braver as she's gotten older. At Disneyland this past week she went down Splash Mountain 3 times!

Madi also thrives off of check charts and schedules (what's new though - she always has). I made charts for the girls to keep track of their "summer study" and Madi has been so great about getting all her stuff done every day! I'm realizing that I need a chart like this for her during the regular school year too. This probably would have be helpful with keeping her on track after school, instead of getting distracted and starting art projects.

How blessed we are to have this sweet 7 year old in our family!! Happy HAPPY Birthday Madilyn! We love you!!