Things have been “COLORFUL” over here…

Hello my name is DaNell and I am a party planning addict. Oh, I got that off my chest that feels good :) I know its just a 4 year old party and that most of the hours of work put into it wont even be recognized however, what is a person supposed to do when the internet can bring to you worlds of creative ideas, right at your fingertips, mind you Hobby Lobby is mere miles from home. I really don’t think you can blame me, RIGHT???

Brinley my little baby is now 4 years old (wow) and she decided that a candy birthday party would be “GWATE” or great how every you choose to say it. Brinley had been looking forward to this since the day after Christmas, when I started to compile ideas. That is one of the longest processes for me just choosing a theme and then sticking with it. There are just so many creative people in this world, and like I previously wrote, with the Internet launching them threw to me I just cant keep up (plus the cost of thing does need to be accounted for.)

The night before Brinley dressed into her “on theme” pajamas (thanks Aunt Jennie), while mommy and daddy did some last minute setting up. Birthday morning was full of anticipation as Brinley waited for the clock to hit 11 O’clock (party time.) Mom and Morgan came about an hour early to finish the cupcakes with me. Can I just brag for a minute?? Well, I guess its my blog so I am going to- my mom is so wonderfully talented and made each of the girls an apron and a necklace that looked like wrapped candies along with decorating the BIG cupcake cake. Thanks thanks thanks, and it is a bonus that my kids are the first and only (so far) for her otherwise who know if she could do some much for each one. My handy dad MADE yes MADE from a few pieces of wood MADE the adorable ice cream cart. The kids absolutely LOVED the cart, huge hit. Thanks dad!!! Now where to store it :)

I had so much fun buying all the colorful candies, finding great deals on all the ice cream and cupcake décor and trinkets. I also made each girl a hair bow and the little men tee shirts with their names on them. It allowed me so much time to get into the creative zone.
Thanks Brinley’s amazing friends for enjoying the day with us you all make it so much fun!!!!

Community Cake

Justin had been waiting for weeks to dig into the candy stored in our pantry;)

Princess and the Frog Toys she loves!

Owen

Gracie & Brin

Nina & Reese

The Boys, arent they all so adorable:)

Pretty Girls!

Birthday Girl

Candy Buffet
Ice Cream Table
Aprons Mom Made
Play Ice Cream In the Ice Cream Cart
Invitations

“Practically Perfect in Every Way”

Brinley and I were privileged to get tickets to the Broadway Musical “Marry Poppins” from my grandparents. I was hoping that Justin wouldn’t have a game that night but as luck would have it he didn’t just have one game… he had a double header. So there goes the chance of him going with Brin and I. That was a little discouraging just for a second when I decided to make it a girl’s night out on the town.

A month or so before the show Brinley and I went shopping for some “Fancy Nancy” outfits to wear to the play, we found her a cute little dress, and me a sweater to match her bright colors. Aunt Rachel was nice enough to let us borrow her “Mary Poppins” movie and we watched it several time to understand the story and memorize music.

We talked and talked about or upcoming date getting us both so siked out. So when the big day came we could hardly wait. We watched “Mary Poppins” one last time, took a nap, and then dolled ourselves up. Off we went to drop Owen of to Grandpa Otis’s house, we were dancing in the car so excited for the night to begin, and then to California Pizza Kitchen where Brinley ordered the “most wonderful curly Mac and cheese EVER” or so she claimed. It was so relaxing to be able to focus solely on Brin, I enjoyed talking to her about the most random things, you know stuff a nearly 4 year old would come up with. After a yummy dinner we headed to Sugar Bowl for “ A Spoon Full of Sugar” and games. Brinley ordered a whole banana spilt. She didn’t eat half of it and me, Mrs. Don’t Waste Anything, I didn’t care a bit, it was all about Brinley for the night.

So excited for our date

Dinner

She wants to go back everyday to eat icecream, so do I glad its not too close!!!

Waiting for the show to begin!!

I tried to soak up every conversation with her to pay attention to every detail of the night. As we drove to Gammage we talked about how mommy gets lost all the time and how I have to always ask for directions. I then proceed to call my dad for the 2nd time that night to get directions, (and that wouldn’t be the last time either.) I enjoyed the extra time we spent in the car trying to get to the Play, however I don’t think she did trying to hurry me along not wanting to miss a moment of “Mary”. And I am glad we didn’t miss a second the play was unbelievable, Burt dancing on the ceiling, statues coming to life, colors beyond description, and to top it off Mary flying with her purple umbrella right over our heads it was definitely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!! Brinley sat at the edge of her seat enthralled the whole time, clapping whenever it was permitted. On a few occasions I just sat and stared at her wondering where all the time went, how did she grow up so fast and how come I was blessed to get such a magnificent little worm. The most wonderful sentence was spoken to me as we hurried out of the Theater to rush our car. She grabbed my hand and said “ Mom, I don’t ever want this night to end, and when I grow up I always want to be your daughter, I love you!” No joke that came from my 3-year-old daughter. And I want Brinley to know “ I never wanted that night to end, I am always and going to be your mother, and I love you more than I can be understood!!!!” We got into the car and before we could drive out of the parking Garage she was asleep.

Time just seems to be drifiting by...

Its been a very long time since I have been able to take some REAL time and journal about our lives here at the Lensch abode.

Basketball

I coached girls basketball again this year and it was just a rewarding as last year. I seem to get terribly attached to these amazing young women and find myself worried about there futures, will they date the right boys, will the hang out with the right crowd, will they do good in school? Thoughts way beyond the basketball court. It surly is amazing to see the growth and development right before my eyes. We ended up getting #1 in our division and going into state ranked #3. We ended up playing the winners of state our second round and were defeated. I am so proud of my little team!!! Until next year, if I can squeeze it in again:)

Life is supposed to slow down after B-ball season, but you know how PLANNING your life works out. Really though, what fun would life be if we always knew exactly what lye ahead?!!!! We have managed to have some spectacular moments.

New Years

New Years Eve we were able to spend with Uncle Matt and Aunt Joanna. We went to Autumn Court Chinese food (our New Years Eve tradition is Chinese). Home of the infamous “DELICIOUS,” a noodle dish know to my family by that name alone because the first time I bit into it a few years back all I could do it exclaim “delicious” over and over. It NEVER disappoints. After dinner we went back to their beautiful home to attempt playing a game. Being that their home isn’t what you would consider child proof and it was well after the kids bed time I hope we didn’t discourage them from ever considering children:) Thanks for a great evening!!!

Justins Twenty-Eight
Justin celebrated and celebrated AND celebrated his 28th b-day. His family took him out to his favorite Mexican Restaurant Arribas where he routinely orders one of the spiciest things on the menu and every time the waiter or waitress leans in to let him know (gringo) it’s spicy!!! He loves it. Later that week he received the mother load of gifts a Hoover Steam Vacuum to clean the carpets with. It was shipped to the house so as soon as he was done mowing the lawn he undid the vacuum, assembled it, and started cleaning our carpets (and the couch.) Thank you for small miracles, it sure is nice to have a clean husband. Later on that week as a family we were to Black Angus to celebrate with just our little group. And then on his birthday night my parent drove over to our neck of the woods and took us to our favorite Chinese Restaurant Wong’s. Where he received a few other nice gifts, spoiled little guy, he is such a kid still loving to have any sort of party. Happy Birth-MONTH Justin!!!!

Valentines

Valentines has come and gone and I took every opportunity to celebrate it. I know many people think that its just a made up, cheesy holiday for the card companies, but growing up it was always a FAMILY holiday where my mom and dad would take the time to let us know how special we are to them. Mom continues the tradition of making a very gourmet homemade meal that is served on the nicest china, surrounded by the most gorgeous table décor, plus a little gift for everyone. I always looked forward not only to the meal but the conversation that always brought back sweet and tender moments of our past. This is about as GUSHY as my family gets and it is a nice change, just once a year though! Thanks mom and dad for all the preparation for a wonderful evening.

We did some other fun things to celebrate Valentines Day…

A little party for the kids and some friends

A special valentines dinner

And dessert

My Valentines

Owens First Kiss

I have thought long and hard about posting this embarrassing act that my son was a part of and for the sake of remembering and relating the really story I decided to share with everyone.

About 6 months ago a cute new couple moved into our ward and brought with them their daughter Sophie. An adorable, adventurous, blond that caught Owens eye from their very first encounter. Owen is the type that really had no interest in any children INDEPENDENT to the core, if you can’t keep up you are left behind. But not with Sophie, he would get so excited to see her that he couldn’t control himself, trying to jump on her, sit on her, hug her, drag her around, poor little girl. She seemed to hold her own but about 3 months ago she went into Nursery and no longer roamed the halls with Owen. He never found another little friend; I thought that he had forgotten her. 3 weeks ago was Owens first week in Nursery and right away the two paired up not leaving each other for long. It was so cute to see them holding hands, but last Sunday was the big moment…

Justin had just arrived from another ward and we decided to check on Owen. Owen and Sophie were playing at the window ceil in the corner of the room, sharing plastic spaghetti. After a while they started to lick the spaghetti, now this is the point where I stand up and start walking to them telling them that was YUCKY and then it happened. Sophie, trying to obey, dropped the spaghetti but kept her tongue out along with our little man. I was almost to them as they leaned in for their first kiss. I guess the weirdest thing was that they didn’t part until I separated them. Now, I know that they had no idea what had happened but it sure shook up his momma. My little man had his first kiss even if he had no idea.

Sibling Love

As I was getting ready for church Justin caught this interaction between the kids. This pretty much sums up their relationship thus far...

Owen can handle his overly affectionate, mothering sister for a moment...

but just as quickly he's over it. Just keep hanging on, and even tighter Brinley that always keeps the boys around:)

Owen escapes "I am outta here,"

"You wont get to far Owen I am bigger and faster than you, for now."

"I prefer to chill all by myself thank you!"

My friendly, and maybe clingy, daughter is going to have to learn that my independent confident little man is not going to be tugged around. I love the differences in personality, they came from the same two people, right??!!

Leaves

We were over at my Grandparents a few weeks back and found a plethora of fallen leaves on the ground, a rarity in Phoenix. Brinley and my cousins all enjoyed an hour of fun playing in the leaves. It amazes me with all the technology and toys that are around that leaves, dirt, and sticks can amuse these kids for hours. Good old Fun!!!

Making a Leaf Angel!

With the Cousins

Where is Brinley??