only a month late

We celebrated Elizabeth's birthday with the promised birthday party.  She had requested a rainbow cake and lots of pink, so we had a tea party for a few friends with lots of pink decor and then the promised rainbow cake.  It was only a month late...

Presents did not make it much past the front door where she decided to sit on the floor and open them.  Thanks for the Anna doll, dress up dress, Frozen necklace and bracelet and ring set, doll dress and glasses.

The girls made and decorated hats...an activity that could have been refined a bit.


And then we attempted a photo shoot with all.  The enthusiasm was low (and my littlest was not overly cooperative) so after a few blurry and poorly lit pictures, I gave up.

Time for food.

Menu:Quiche Lorraine
Cucumber Sandwiches
Chocolate Eclaires
Raspberry Crumble Pies
Chocolate Hazelnut Pirouettes
Rainbow Cake
And of course tea, Raspberry and Peach Iced

And last but not least, the cake.  The candle I had seen and ordered on Amazon.  It is called the amazing birthday candle.  It was pretty amazing, but did not perform to its full potential.  As well as the flames and turning petals, it was supposed to also play Happy Birthday.  Ah, well...  (the videoing job wasn't any too wonderful either.  oops)  The cake was certainly not beautiful from the outside, but the inside turned out quite magnificently!

Lots of hard work!  (including by the girls who helped lick the beaters. :)  )

 Happy Belated Birthday, Bizbeth!

acres of fun

Forgot to post the fun we had with our Sunday school class...

The Sunday afternoon that Aunt Sarah was here, we went to the Lanier property for a picnic, Easter egg hunt, and other activities.

We showed up a little late but just in time for the Easter Egg Hunt.

The next activity was a train ride around the property.  The train takes off from a proper train depot.  The ride includes a tunnel with Christmas lights inside, various statues dotted around, a glimpse at other parts of the property, and a proper train whistle.

Chow time!  We ate under tents that had kindly been set up for our class.  What a beautiful vista!  And excellent weather!  (despite previous days of cold and rain--it was 80s and sunny!)

Some folks tried their hand at fishing...(tackle house is the white building)

Others played on the playground...

Eventually, everyone made their way to the animals...where some people got see the birth of two goats and others (like us) arrived only minutes later.

 ...and then there are the sheep, llamas, geese, ducks, turkeys, pigs, lemurs, exotic birds, and kangaroos...

And then we wandered the property and took in the beauty that includes a garden, a few lakes with swans, lots of lovely iron statues...

 ...and the gorgeous chapel patterned after a Byzantine one.

...and the hamlet.

...and then the massive library.  It includes lots of ancient artifacts as well as a real scrap of the dead sea scrolls.

Other than that, there are so many hidden pockets of beautiful scenery around the property...

What a fun afternoon!