Miriam's Birthday

MIRIAM TURNED SIX!!!

Miriam was the luckiest birthday girl on the planet and had three parties. These first few pictures are the party Great-grandma and Great-grandpa Young threw for her. They gave her an outfit and a bubble blowing machine. We ate ice cream cake and played with bubbles in the backyard.

The guests included the great-grandparents, us, and Rachel Burrows (Fowers) and her two girls. The funny thing about Rachel is that Kami and Kayli and I were all good friends with her while we lived in Ogden. We were in the same ward and people at school thought we were sisters because we both have red hair. Then, when Timothy and I were engaged we went to a family party and lo and behold--there was Rachel. Ironic, or something like that. She's pregnant with a boy and due any day now. Those are her daughters--Makay and Maren.

At Grandma Rasmussen's house, Megan and her children helped us celebrate. Miriam received a unicorn stick horse--which, amazingly enough still hasn't solved the stick horse issues at our house. I decided that come Halloween when Toys-R-Us has stick horses for $10, I'm going to buy an umbrella stand and another six stick horses. Then, if the kids STILL fight over the horses, I'm going to throw them all away. Even Princess Miriam can't demand a carriage drawn by more than six horses.
Some of the guests. Cousin Myles, Cowen, Miriam, Aunt Megan, Kiersten
Lynnaea, Dad, Anders, Emeline, Myles, Cowen.
Miriam wanted to decorate her own cake this year. I put on the requisite pink icing and let her go to town. The result was . . . interesting.
Megan said the clowns freaked her out a little because it looked like the aliens chopped off their heads and stuck them in the ground to display them. Dad said he thought the aliens looked like they were sinking in quicksand.
At least it didn't have beef jerky on it--like Ethan's cake one year.
Before the cake and ice cream, we went to a little community theater near where Mom lives and watched a Disney song celebration. All singing and dancing to Disney songs. It was great. The costumes were great and all the princesses were represented -- even Giselle. The best part, though, was when the boys sang some Newsies songs. I really, really, really wanted to jump up and join in, but I thought someone might notice. I told Miriam that I had been in a musical with my mom once (Sound of Music), and asked her if she wanted to be in one with me. Her response: "No, Mom, because I want to wear all the dresses." Got it.
During the intermission, all the children in the audience danced around the stage. All the children, that is, except Cowen who kept trying to tackle people. Of the seven grandkids in attendance (I left Eli and Emeline with Timothy at Mom's house), Cowen had the hardest time. He only really liked the Bare Necessities and Pirate's Life for Me songs--because the actors had guns. I have a feeling he's not going to take after his mom in the song and dance area.

Miriam, on the other hand, is TOTALLY a song and dance girl. For her birthday, great-grandma also gave Miriam a year of ballet lessons. Miriam is in heaven and anxious to start. Her dream of being a ballerina-harpist is starting to take shape.

To top it all off, Miriam has a loose tooth. Wow. My oldest girl is losing her teeth--it feels like a benchmark. Worse, I still haven't really come to terms with my role as oral hygiene enforcement officer. I heard that permanent teeth need brushed or something crazy like that.

CONGRATS ON YOUR BIRTHDAY MIRIAM!!!!