Emily's 4th birthday

I lost my camera last year and was sick over it for months. We had most of our summer vacation and Emily's birthday pictures on the memory card. Surprisingly I found the camera nearly 9 months later in the pocket of our luggage. Sooooo, here they are.

Maybe I'm a bad Mother or maybe I'm not, but I just don't like throwing birthday parties. Don't get me wrong I love to celebrate and take time to think back on how my children change over the course of their lives and to think about the happy memories I have of their births. However, I don't like planning parties, games, goodie-bags etc. etc. Well, according to my usual birthday form I had not planned much beyond making a fun rainbow cake and having my parents over for dinner. Then at the last minute Emily started asking why she wasn't having a party and my mommy guilt kicked in. I quickly made some phone calls to some friends inviting them over for a "no-gift" evening of birthday cake and visiting. It was great! I didn't have to plan much of anything, no games, no pinatas and no themed decorations. The kids ran around playing...doing what kids do best, and the adults had fun just sitting around shooting the breeze. Seriously, best unplanned birthday party ever. My kind of night. Emily was very excited to turn four and even more excited that she received the coveted pair of Twinkle Toe shoes that she had been eyeing the previous week.