January 2018 Part 2: Rachel's Birthday

Rachel turned 5 in January, and since it was an odd-year birthday, she got to go on a date with Brian and I. We took her out to Jungle Jims up in Salt Lake County. The place has definitely seen better days, and there were some interesting smells, but we got to go on ride after ride without having to wait in line, so all in all, we had a great time! Rachel was a little hesitant at first, and we realized that she would have had more fun at this place with someone her age. Luckily, once we got her on a ride, she was hooked and didn't want to leave it later. 

 We took a break to go get lunch at Kneaders and let her pick out whatever dessert she wanted. She picked this cupcake.

 Then, we were back to Jungle Jim's!

 The next day, we had a family birthday dinner to honor Rachel and Shayne. Lea brought Rachel these amazing flower balloons! So cute!

 We had cupcakes and ice cream after dinner.

 Gabe bonded with Cole

 and Rachel got to open presents from Nana and Papa: Snow White with her own bedding!

 And a Snuggie mermaid tail

 Which her brothers and cousins had to test to make sure it was good enough for her:

 Snow White tried out her new bedding:

 The next day was Rachel's actual birthday. She got to bring treats and be highlighted at preschool, and she got to open her presents from Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa.

 I made a My Little Pony themed cake (Which, when Rachel saw the picture as I was getting this post ready, she declared her love for).

 Since it was Monday night, we let our Family Home Evening revolve around this girl. She chose to do a dance party for the activity.

We are so grateful for Rachel. She remains the sweetest and most tenderhearted person in our family. She adores her family, friends, and really anyone that she loves. She loves to sing and dance, and she lights up when she's on stage. She loves school and has been thriving academically. She loves cookies, brownies, and other sweet things, but for some reason, she doesn't care for berries with the exception of strawberries.  She likes melons, apples, bananas, and grapes. She doesn't like fruit desserts. She is still obsessed with all things princess, and her favorite colors are pink and purple. She is all girl but can hold her own with all the boys in her life (and there are a lot of them!).  We love her so much!!!