The Princess and the Ball

"Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Psalm 127:2
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St. Patrick's Day is a special day in our family. Oh, sure ~ our family has strong Irish roots......just a wee bit o' Irish and you're Irish through and through. : ) But our Irish heritage takes a back seat on St. Patrick's Day because there's more important things to celebrate.

Things like BIRTHDAYS!

83 years ago, Richard Vance Sipe (also known affectionately as Dad and Pa Paw) was born. Exactly 81 years later, his great-grandson, Cayden Elijah Beisler followed suit.
Friends and family all got together for a party to celebrate, and because there is no cuter baby girl in all the world, we just had to throw a little princess into the bargain! : ) Can you guess who? Of course it's Abby! : )

We got to see people we don't get to see very often. It was nice to be able to catch up with how everyone is doing and to reminisce about "the good ol' days".

Lots of food...

and lots of lovin'

And way too much fun..... Is it the peer pressure, Ray? : )

Ahhhhh.....that's better!

After a short refreshment time, everyone converged in the front lawn for a little bit of entertainment for the children. It was quite a sight to see everyone swarming about!

Some enjoyed the shade....

while others, on the other hand,

soaked up the sunshine!

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather! The Lord gave us a beautiful day!

The mother of the (younger) birthday boy : ) : )

Gerald ran a taxi service for Ma Maw to and from the activities, but some others decided they wanted to tag along. : ) Someone else got a hold of the steering wheel on the way back down the hill, and as Ma Maw (with wide eyes) described it, "That was a wild ride!" : )

Taking inventory of her treasures

Mom and Ma Maw

Birthday Girl? (N-n-n-nah!) Ha! Ha!

Cayden found the best prize of all in his estimation....a REAL golf ball! ...and nobody was gonna get it, either!

The two birthday boys....

...and the princess.

Open wide!

Uh....Momma....I'm not quite sure that worked so well.....
: ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : )

This is great pink hair gel....or is it mousse?

Done with the cake ~ time for the presents! In a whirlwind of excitement and flurry with an abandonment of order, Cayden opened his presents...

...with the help of some very willing little hands. : )

Pa Paw took a quiet seat, content to enjoy a calmer approach to present opening. : )

Mandy through and through.....Love You!!!

You can NEVER miss a chance to indulge such a sweet niece and granddaughter, can you?? As we were shopping for a birthday present, we came across something. Something that, as soon as we saw it, made us think of a special little girl we would soon be seeing. : ) It was a monkey with a light sensor. When the light changed the slightest, the monkey would start rolling around and laughing. Talk about contagious!

Then came Abby's turn for opening presents. She's such a quiet, laid back, lovey girl!

All smiles as usual!

Pa Paw was quite in his element. : )

Grandma and grandbaby having fun with the balloons

Got it!

Stre-e-e-e-e-e-tch!

With so much warmth and sunshine, little bodies could hardly stand to be cooped up inside.

Hopscotch

Balloons

So what's cookin' today?

All of the sudden we heard desperate cries for help....

Uh oh.....the balloons got away!

But that's o.k. ~ there's more!

Mandy and Madelyn could be heard cheering "Go Team, Go!" as they marched through the playground.

And Cayden was content as long as a ball was at least within close proximity. Don't you just love the tongue sticking out?!? He must have been handling too much at one time! : )


Cheerleader turned referee


For the grand occasion, Aunt Valerie (Great-Aunt Valerie ~ or as Madelyn says....Britt Valerie.....not Workman Valerie) had ordered personalized candy bars with the princess theme on one for Abigail, and the ball theme on the other for Cayden and Pa Paw.

The princess and her Daddy

After a while, Gerald pulled out their pogo stick, and we all took turns burning off the calories and burning out our energy. : )

Mandy was quickly getting the hang of it. She started out with someone hanging on to her for dear life, and by the time she put it away, she was already able to jump three times in a row without any help at all!

Fun for now ~ sore for later : )

After all the excitement of the day, all the older folks were plumb tuckered out! Some left, some found a safe haven in the hammock, and others thought the basement seemed like a good refuge from the sun where they could sit and chat a while. Hate it as much as we do, good times must always come to an end.....well, sort of. : )

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"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of the children are their fathers."
Proverbs 17:6