Camille's 9th Birthday

 On Camille's 9th birthday, we went on a hike in the hills above the Draper Temple with some of our friends. It was a beautiful hike, about 2 miles long, through the trees. The leaves were changing colors, and everything was red and orange and yellow and green. We had so much fun! Sawyer did really well hiking. He walked for at least half of it, with me carrying him on and off throughout the hike. My kids are becoming such good little hikers, and I think they really love it. 

We went home after our hike, and Daniel was back from a 2 day trip he'd taken to California for work. Camille opened her presents then. We have her a cute little witch Squishamallow, a diamond painting notebook, and a couple of craft sets. I think she was happy. 

The kids played for the rest of the day, and Brooke and Camille shut themselves in Camille's room to play with her new stuff. Mom and dad gave Camille some oven bake clay and this book of how to make clay figurines, and all of the kids had so much fun with that all day long. I made a cheesecake that afternoon. 😊

Camille requested burritos, cucumbers, and French bread for dinner, and cheesecake for dessert. (I made a little bit fancier burritos for myself and Daniel) The cheesecake was mom's chocolate chip cheesecake that I used to eat for my birthdays growing up. And it was so good. It felt so nostalgic for me to have it. 

We had a friend birthday party for Camille yesterday, a week after her birthday. She invited a bunch of little girls for a craft themed party. We over-planned for this party... she really wanted to do crafts with her friends. Plus we did don't eat Pete as friends were coming over, and that took a long time for everyone to have a turn. Then, she wanted to do this drink game, where they drink from cups, but can't see what's in them and they have to guess. We had to cut that game out in the end, because we just didn't have time. 

Camille picked 3 crafts from this book we got from the library to do at her party. We got the supplies, but I think our biggest mistake was not trying out the crafts beforehand. Our glue gun didn't work very well with the materials we were using, and so some of the crafts didn't turn out as well as we'd hoped. 

We took a break before the last craft to have Camille open presents, to sing her "happy birthday", and to eat cupcakes and have snacks. I asked the parents if their kids could stay another half hour so that we could finish our crafts. And we ended the party with a dance party in the basement, while we waited for parents to come get their girls. 

I think Camille had fun, though she was disappointed not to be able to do the drink game she'd wanted to do. But I asked her after, and she said she was happy with it. I personally don't think it was my best work with a party. 😒 Things took longer than I'd planned for, some of the crafts didn't work out very well, and I felt all rushed for time. But it's fine. If Camille was happy, that's all that mattered. 

Things I'm loving about Camille right now: 

• She is so snuggly
• She loves to craft and create things. Currently she's loving diamond painting crafts
• She loves reading nonfiction books. Normally when we go to the library, she comes home with a stack of books about a certain subject: astronomy, gemstones, animals, etc. I love that about her. She's so curious and she had a keen mind. 
• Along those lines, she asks such great questions. It's clear to me that she thinks deeply about many things. 
• She's always reverent for scripture study and lessons. It seems she is just drinking it in and learning a lot about the gospel. And that she takes it seriously. 
• She's amazingly helpful. Over the past few months, I've noticed her making great efforts to be a help to the people around her. She's been very kind to her siblings, as well, helping them and sharing with them and doing things for them. It is so awesome! 
• She loves making new friends. It seems whenever we do a new activity, she comes home saying that she's made a new friend. Usually, though, she forgets to ask for her name. 😆
• She loves her stuffed animals, especially her Squishamallows. They get a special place on her bed. Gramma Holbrook gave her a giant witch one for her birthday, which goes so nicely with the one we gave her. 
• She's a great eater! She's not very picky and usually likes the food I make for dinner. I love that she has such a sophisticated pallet.