One year older and oh so cute!

I need some blogging therapy, and what better thing to blog about then our sweet Tori's 7th birthday. I can't believe that Tori is 7. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was counting down the days until she would be born? Well our Tori loves to roller skate so what better place to have her birthday party then at skate city? Since her birthday fell on a Sunday this year we had her party on Saturday. Here is the birthday girl all ready for the party to begin. She's sporting her brand new roller skates. They were included with the birthday package. She likes them much more then her family reunion garage sale ones =)

Here are some pictures I snapped as the kiddos roller skated to their hearts content. Alexis chose to rent roller blades. She was whizzing around so fast. All her practicing and not giving up after falling many times really paid off.

Tori's cute friend, Lauren was struggling a little at the beginning, but with Brandon's help a few times around she was going in no time. I was so grateful he was there to help with all of the kids. I am really no help, considering that most of them can out skate me! lol

Levi is fearless when he's skating. He gets out there and there's no stopping him!

Here's the birthday bunch!

About halfway through we took a break for pizza, cake, ice cream and presents. I love how Tori is so intently watching the candles being lit.

The picture I got of Tori blowing out her candles was so blurry! =( I did manage to get some pictures of her and her friends licking the candles though!

In this picture you can see Tori's new charm bracelet we got her for her birthday. The heart on it says Tori.

Her friends were all so generous. They were all so sweet and very into watching her open up each present.

Tori has always loved cards. She opened up each one carefully and loved them all!

I have to admit. Having a party at skate city was quite chaotic, loud and very busy! It was so nice to have someone else set up, clean up and feed us though! All in all, it was a success! =)

The next morning on Tori's actual birthday she woke us up bright and early to see her birthday table. It's a good thing though, considering we have 8:30 am church!

We let her open one present. Silly bands (the latest craze), a new dress to wear to church, and some new earrings.

Here she is all dressed up in her new outfit and ready for church. She is sitting on her new bean bag chair we got her.

The moment we walked in from church she wanted to open up the rest of her presents. I thought we should spread them out a bit throughout the day, but when you have a daddy that is just as excited as the birthday girl, there's not much you can do to stop it =)

Tori wanted aqua sand so badly for her birthday. I am usually very opposed to any type of sand that is not in the sand box, but I caved and bought it for her anyways. As I was cleaning up the kitchen tonight and felt sand beneath my feet and saw it scattered all about the counter, I regretted that decision a little!

Alexis went shopping with me for presents for Tori, and she picked out this pottery wheel. We finally got it out today, and made quite a cute pot. Brandon had a lot to do with it though. He walked in when we were in the middle of trying to figure it out, laughed and quickly took over =)

We love our Tori so much! Here are some things we want to remember about our 7 year old:

~She is so generous and always willing to share whatever she has with her brother and sister.

~She loves to play outside, and I often find her in the backyard just sitting there picking flowers and enjoying her surroundings.

~ She successfully has broken her thumb sucking habit! What a task that was!

~ She still sleeps with her "whinnie the pooh" blanket every night.

~She has the biggest sweet tooth of us all!

~She is so caring, and always concerned about others. If she sees that any of us is sick, or sad she will always come up and pat us on the back and ask if we need anything, then happily get it for us if we do!

~She loves to draw and is very good at it. She says when she grows up she wants to be an artist.

~She loves to paint her fingernails and toenails, and went through 12 bottles of nail polish over the summer.

~She loves bring a first grader, and her teacher says she is such a good student and is so excited to learn.

~She loves wearing dresses and skirts.

~ She is a great little swimmer, and even with a broken arm towards the end of the summer (more about that later) she could still get around the pool just fine. (thanks to the waterproof cast we were able to get!

~ She has to sleep with the door shut and no light shining through. This often causes a lot of nightime drama considering her sister wants the door wide open with the hall light on!

~ If she wakes up in the middle of the night she will always come in my room and ask for a prayer. Once we say one, she is just fine and happily heads back to bed.

~She rarely complains about anything

~She doesn't like to play video games, but loves to watch Alexis, Levi and Brandon play and always knows all the tricks to the game even though she's never played. She's so observant.

~She notices the little details in everything around her.

~She says she wants to live at home with us forever and never get married or have kids! lol

~When she is in the middle of crying about something she will suddenly erupt into a fit of giggles and everything is suddenly just fine!

~She has a special bond with animals. They are drawn to her!

~She just started an acting and singing class, and absolutely loves it.

~She is such a blessing to us, and adds so much happiness to our lives!

We love you so much Tori!