The Gang

It is hard to believe how much this group has changed over the past 8 years.....

and even crazier to think how many more kids will be in this picture in just five more years!

Railey's 9th Birthday: The Scavenger Hunt

All Railey wanted for her 9th birthday was a sleepover and I just didn't have the energy this year for that much fun.  So I told Railey to trust me and I would plan a fun birthday during the daytime.  Paul and I decided on a scavenger hunt.   

We invited 12 girls over and even though they had plenty of guesses, they had no idea of what was in store for them.  It all started with Clue 1:

About 10 seconds after giving them this clue, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with the energy of this group.  They bolted over to the Harwell's treehouse where they found clue 2 which read, 

Every morning at 6:55

we walk out the door

Go to the place where you catch the bus

but this time you will find much more

Then when they arrived at the bus stop, they were greeted by a big white hummer limousine to take them to their next clue,

Even though this limo

is sure to be hopping

you need to head to the place

where you choose lots of toppings!

Finally, at Yogi Mogli, they stayed still long enough for me to get some pictures.

 The fourth clue was,

By now you must be wondering

where could our next clue be?

Visit the place you go

and are greeted by Dr. D!

But before we went to Sope Creek, we headed home to drop off Ellie, pick up Colette and let the girls run off some energy in our backyard.  To say they were excited was an understatement.  When Ellie's dad pulled up the girls all circled around her to say goodbye.

The last clue was the hardest....I knew that only Railey would get it.

Now its time for our final destination

and you are sure to have some fun

this is the place where Railey’s Aunt

practiced to become Number ONE!

After a few more clues, she finally figured out that we were going roller skating!

After about an hour of roller skating and playing games, we loaded up in the limo one last time to go home for birthday cupcakes.

 Happy birthday to our fun, sweet almost 9 year old.  We love you so much!