Happy 4th Birthday, Tess!

We had a whirlwind trip to UT this past weekend for Lance's mother's memorial. I would blog about that first, but I'm waiting for some pictures to be sent to me. (Hopefully soon!) So in the meantime I thought I'd write about Tess's 4th birthday!

Tess was originally going to have a combined birthday with her friend Millie (Millie was born on the 16th, Tess the 18th), but we found out a week or so ago that we would be in UT over that weekend. And that the memorial would be on the 18th. So we decided that we'd just celebrate on the 19th because 1) it would have been weird to have a big birthday party after the memorial, 2) Tess wouldn't really know/care, and 3) we could have the Madsens and the Ropers all together for the party.  Woo-hoo! (Turns out I was a little wrong about #2 - Tess was a little confused about her actual birthday date and party date. There were complaints about opening presents and such. It's hard to be four.)

First, the cake. We all know my past dramas with dang birthday cakes. They always cause me unnecessary stress. Susie graciously offered to take care of it and she totally knocked it out of the park!!  Hello Kitty is one of Tess's favorite things!!

The cake was actually really good, too. (Usually I'm not a fan of store bought cakes.) Least stressful cake ever!

We got to the Roper house a little early, and the kids (and Lance) (and Kevin... who I sometimes still think of as a kid) ((a REALLY tall kid)) vegged in front of the tv, waiting for all the Ropers and Madsens to arrive.

I'm really kicking myself for not getting pictures of all of the dinner guests. A few of my aunts and uncles and cousins came, as well as Dane (Lance's brother), Jenica (his fiance), Katrina (Lance's sister), Larry (her husband), Trevor & Amanda (Katrina's kids), and Viggo (Lance's dad). It was quite  crowd!

Finally it was time for cake!

She was kind of sullen during the singing, but the girl was happy.

Tess got COMPLETELY spoiled with all of the presents. Way more than she is used to! (I'm already worried about what Cole will expect on his birthday next month...)

She got pink gum (at her request).

And several books, including one that Josh made at school. So sweet!

And lots of Frozen clothes and jewelry. The girl was in heaven!

Even a lei and dress from Hawaii, courtesy of Grandpa ElRay and Grandma Susie.

It didn't take her long to try everything out.

Fabulous, birthday girl!

Sunglasses seemed like the right finishing touch. She was actually quite happy, just being her Tessie self when asked to pose for a picture.

Tess really had a great time and I'm so thankful for everyone who came and made it such a special evening for her. With us living so far away from our family it was a special treat to get to celebrate a birthday with everyone!

Well, most people write about their child's personality and quirks and such in this kind of post. But quite frankly, I don't know what else to add that hasn't already been included in this blog or on Instagram.

Tess is a (generally) happy, friendly little girl, who adds some much needed sweetness to our testosterone-laden clan. I'm so happy she's in our family!