Here she is all ready to head to school on Friday morning. She's wearing a cute outfit I got her at Kohl's; she loves dalmations, so we knew we had to have it. I saved it for her birthday, so it was her first time wearing it.
She approved of the cupcakes I picked out at Target for her Kindergarten class. They were a hit! I tried to find cupcakes with white frosting and black polka dots, or at least oreo cookie crumb topping, to match her dalmation outfit, but it was not meant to be, so these had to do. The topping wasn't white like I hoped, but they sure looked yummy, and that's all kids really think about anyway. They looked quite messy, so I wasn't sure what to expect as far as the children having chocolate cupcake and sweet, sticky frosting all over their faces and clothes. I wasn't looking forward to being flogged by their parents; not that I would have blamed them. All was well though.
I put a little dalmation dog in her carseat as a surprise for her that morning; it was her first birthday present of the day. She was so excited! She loves stuffed animals, especially dogs. I left a couple of other presents around the house for her to find when she got home from school, and when she got in bed that night. She loved looking for them.
I took this after I picked her up from school; she got to wear a birthday sticker all day at school.
That night we headed to our usual place, Peter Piper Pizza. Caitie loves that place; we've been celebrating her birthday there for the last few years. She got a lot of nice things.
Lazy, frugal me, just brought a few of the cupcakes that were left over from earlier in the day to the pizza place that night.
I had to get the usual pic of her on the carousel. She didn't go on it but once this time, I believe, she's outgrowing it, I guess. She mostly played games, climbed in the climbing contraption, and went on the simulated roller coaster ride. I went on that with her four times, three of those times I took Bailey as well; she loved it! I didn't use flash on any of the pizza place pics... that's why they're so dark and slightly blurry. I detest flash.
The next day we headed to her nana's 'ranch' up in Flagstaff. It was our first time visiting there. The night we arrived we sat down to a yummy dinner of bbq'd chicken, potato salad, with egg included (yum!), and baked beans. It was really good. Then it was time for the birthday cake. Her nana had a cake made; it was a Disney Princess theme. You'll notice there are seven candles on the cake, this is because her nana wanted to put a 'singing candle' on it; it didn't sing, not sure why, but it was purty to look at. She then opened more gifts.
A little later we went outside to the firepit area to roast some marshmallows and make s'mores, and off in the distance we could see lightning, and could hear the thunder. It was cool out, so we put jackets on. Such a nice change from the desert heat. It wasn't too long before we had to head back inside due to the storm getting close, and then it was upon us. This is a pic of the hail coming down; I took it from the back door. It looks like snow.
I took this pic the next morning. We noticed this cute bear when going in the night before and I knew I had to get a pic of it.
This is the view from the front window. Whenever you sit down to eat in the breakfast nook area, this is what you see. I took this pic when we were heading out for a walk around the neighborhood.
I took this pic while on our walk.
We saw this bunny while on our walk... it posed for me; so cute.
We saw these horses nearby and decided to give them a visit. We all love horses, and this was a nice treat. We were wishing we had brought apples, carrots, or sugar cubes along for the horses to eat. They were sweet, friendly horses.
Bailey loved 'em, but only from a distance; she's not sure what to do here.
A nice pose from a nice horse. I wish all my photo subjects were so cooperative.
There were two horses that came up to us, the other one is in the background in this pic.
I took this pic in the 'bunkhouse'. It's detached from the main house; it was a workshop that was turned into a guest house. Yes, that's Bailey being held by someone other than me and her daddy; shocking, I know. Her nana was pleasantly surprised.
We left the 'ranch' on Sunday afternoon and headed to Bearizona. This was another part of Caitie's birthday celebration. She loves this place. It rained here too, which was nice. It was raining the last time we came.
I love all of the Bearizona signs, that's why you see so many pics of them here; the one above, this one, and the one below it.
This is part of the entrance as well. So cute.
We started with the drive-through part of the zoo. I took pics of all the animals in the zoo, but only included one or two pics here. There's something about buffalo (bison) that I like, not sure what it is exactly, but there's something. Know what I mean? Me neither. Moving on now...
It was raining, which was nice. It rained the last time we went there, but it was much colder since it was in December. This time it was much more enjoyable; the weather was wonderful.
This is 'Bear'izona, after all, so I had to get a pic of a bear. Actually, I got several pics, but chose to post this one of a cute bear cub.
There are four bear cubs in the walk-through part of the zoo, and some older bears too, but the bear cubs are the main attraction right now.
The walk-through zoo is beautifully landscaped; so green and lush, with hints of color throughout, such as these barrels of flowers Caitie is posing in front of.
Bailey and her daddy enjoying the zoo.
Holly? (inside joke, unless you've seen holly, then you know what i mean)
Bailey had fun looking at all the animals.
Caitie picked this flower for me. Love the color... such a vibrant orange.
Our last stop before heading out... the gift shop. Caitie couldn't wait to get her brown donkey. The last time she got a gray donkey. She loves donkeys.
This is the first animal we saw when going through the drive-through zoo, but I put the pic here to show you why she wanted to get a donkey in the gift shop, both this time and the last time we visited the zoo. Cute and sweet; I can see her attraction to them.
We now have this displayed on our fridge. Caitie picked it out. I collect magnets when traveling.
I saw this sign when we were entering the gift shop. I was hoping they had one inside, but they didn't. They had little pins with other animals on 'crossing' signs, but not any hawk ones. The cashier said the sign was there for their bird shows, which we missed. Bummer. We all had a really good time celebrating Caitie's 6th birthday... all three days of celebrating, and all four things that we did. Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate! We couldn't have done it without you. :)
