Handley is SEVEN!

Our last week has been a whirlwind, but I'm going to back a few days and highlight all of the fun we have been having.  First up, Handley celebrated her seventh birthday last Tuesday.  She wanted to go to the water park we had been to before last summer so we invited a few friends last minute and had the best time.  It was a hot, sunny day and the perfect way to celebrate.

Last year Handley was just a little too short to go down the giant slides, but this year she was definitely tall enough so she pretty much went down those big slides over and over all day.  The rest of the kids had fun in the lazy river and on the water playground area.

I was wondering how I was old enough to have a seven year old and then Handley started begging for me to go down the big water slide with her so I did...and then at that moment I realized that I really was old.  My graceful landing proved it wasn't as much fun as when you are a kid, but I was happy to do it if it meant making her birthday special. :-)

We came home and got ready for our friends who were arriving from Florida that evening.   It was the perfect way to wrap up Handley's birthday.

Every year on the kids birthdays I share a few unique and special things about them just so I can remember down the road.  At age seven she:

• likes to push the limits.  She used to be my rule follower, but now she is to the age where she likes to test limits, see what she can and can't do, and has a bit of a sneaky side to her.  
• can be so sweet with her little brother and sister, until she has a friend over and then she wants to have "big girl time" with her friends which really hurts Harper's feelings. 
• likes to please and usually wants to do just about anything to make me happy. 
• is responsible and I can almost always count on her to help me out to get things done. 
• likes having jobs and chores around the house and she even told me the other day that she "loves doing the dishes"...something I plan to take advantage of for as long as I can. 
• picks out the same outfits over and over.  She loves clothes, but the ones she loves show it because she wears the heck out of them. 
• just started making "to-do" lists the way I do and marks off her tasks when she is done with them. 
• has an adventurous spirit and and loves trying new things.