Caroline's 9th Celebration

Caroline had a great birthday celebration that ended up lasting for two weekends! I'm running a little late posting this - only 21 days, but better late than never, right?

Her actual birthday fell on Easter weekend, so we had her a little party with her family and school friends here at the house. The biggest item on Caroline's wish list was horseback riding lessons, so she ended up getting some money to put toward that expense. She did get some really sweet gifts though! She is a big crafty girl, so her Aunt Heather had this apron monogrammed with her nickname-  "Little Bit"

We did an Easter egg hunt, and the kids played and ate cake. For the record, this was the longest egg hunt I have ever witnessed! You see, I thought Gracie would enjoy hiding the eggs. When I looked outside at the eggs laying (lying?) on the grass, it seemed like she had done a great job, but when no one could find the "golden" (red) egg, I was concerned. Just call Gracie if you need to have anything hidden for good...I finally told the child who was closest to it to keep looking in the area he was in until he found it! Here she is looking pretty proud of her hiding skills:

Caroline took a few minutes to decide what to wish for this year...

The birthday girl had asked to have a sleepover with some friends, so we scheduled it for the following weekend. WHEW! I really didn't know what I was getting myself into with this. There were a total of 6 girls! They were perfect - no problem at all to handle, but I was totally exhausted by the time everyone was gone. We decorated cakes, played outside, ate pizza and popcorn, took a walk, watched a movie, and finally crashed in the bonus room for the night.

I'm pretty sure Caroline got everything she wanted and more for her birthday. Thanks to all who helped make it a success!