Happy 11th Birthday Emma Kate!!

October 24th
I can't believe my sweet Emma Kate is 11-years-old! Last year, I swore we had had our last BIG birthday celebration, and this year we were just going to have a few friends sleep over. Well, our little sleepover ended up being a 24 hour celebration, but I have to say it was one of the best days ever. We had such fun and couldn't have asked for better weather or better kids to hang out with. Emma is blessed with a group of super sweet friends who made her Birthday extra special! Here are a few highlights from our day:

Wish I had a picture, but Jeff picked up Emma & Karmyn from school and had the windows of the van painted with "Happy Birthday, Emma". She loved it!

The rest of the crew arrived by 6 p.m., and we headed to the Arkansas Children's Theatre to see Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business. First, the girls showed out with a little "monkey business" of their own:

Emma was sweet to let her little brother tag along!

After the show, we had a late dinner at Buffalo Grill (it really is our favorite!).

Mal Mal stopped by to wish Emma a Happy Birthday.
Is Emma taller than Mal Mal now? Surely not!!

Then home for cake and presents. You know I can't do a birthday party without a theme, so this year's theme was Tinkerbell, which was sort of a joke because Emma is so not a Tinkerbell/Fairy Princess kind of girl! The girls had fun wearing their fairy crowns and drinking from Tinkerbell cups! Then off to bed!

Emma had a soccer game the next day, and brought along her own cheerleaders! I told Jeff that now I know a little bit what the Duggars must feel like as I packed snacks for 8 kids for the day!

After the game, we stopped at a little pumpkin patch in Ward and enjoyed our own personal hayride and petting zoo. Everyone got a pumpkin to take home with them.

On the way home, we stopped off at the all new Rocket Slide at Burns Park to play for a little bit and for some snacks. It was a whirlwind of a day, but so much fun! Next year, I promised Jeff we would just have a little birthday celebration. His response...."Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it!" What can I say--I love to celebrate my children's birthdays. They were, after all, the best days of my life!