nine nine year olds for a ninth birthday

One week ago Clara turned 9!  And every day since has been a complete celebration.  From her actual birthday to having really fun visitors to a big family reunion at Yellowstone to the culminating event of a Harry Potter birthday party this afternoon with 9 nine year old girls.  I think it was a pretty successful week!  **Just as a humorous side note, I was sitting in the movie theater nine years ago watching the very first Harry Potter when my contractions started.  Of course it was over a day later that Clara was actually born...but I find it so funny that nine years later and she is completely obsessed with Harry Potter!**

I was lucky enough to have my best friend from high school on come visit me!  She brought her beautiful family and we had an absolutely wonderful week together that went by too quickly.  Courtney has three girls, Savannah, Charlotte and Bethany.  Clara loved them all but really hit it off with Savannah.  When Clara woke up the morning of her birthday, she and Savannah were the only children awake.  She wanted to wait for Jonas before beginning her traditional string, but after an hour, she became understandably impatient.  We let her wake him up and then the fun began.

Excitedly she retrieved her little gifts and $9 along the way.  She had a little help as you can see.
 

The annual birthday donuts were waiting for her on the table.  I think they were a hit!  I felt so sick after I was reminded of why we do these once a year.

After an obligatory yet fun family BBQ for Devin's work, we drove down to Provo to join Courtney and Toby for a tour of BYU.  It was fun to see what has changed in the 10+ years since we were last there.  The kids all loved the golf cart tour and Jonas still tells everyone that "Jordan" drove the cart.  In case you've forgotten, Jonas has a thing for knowing the names of all pilots, train conductors, bus drivers and now we can add golf cart drivers to the list.

Clara at BYU with her birthday treat of Jamba Juice and her new cougar uniquely named "Cougie"

 Pizza was the dinner request and it was enjoyed outside on the porch swing.

Chocolate cake with caramel frosting was the dessert request...with a Harry Potter theme.  As you can see, my day was a bit busy so I didn't get to do much in way of decorating.  This is slightly embarrassing.  Her birthday party cake makes up for it (although I didn't make it...).  At least it tasted good!

Fast forward a week to today...

She celebrated her birthday by inviting 9 girls to Thanksgiving Point for a Harry Potter birthday party.

A much better Harry Potter cake!!

 The party began with wand making.  Intimidating bunch, huh?

Then they were off to explore the gardens...

After a few minutes everyone was ready to get inside, it was HOT!  Next came "Care of Magical Creatures".  I wasn't exactly told in any detail what this would entail.  Turns out, it means dissecting an owl pellet.  Clara was all for it but not all of her friends seemed as on board as she was.  They had charts where they could compare bones to see what animal bones they found.  At this point, one party guest threw up.  I'm hoping she wasn't sickened by the owl pellet!! :)

After owl pellets, anyone in the mood for some cake?  After a thorough hand washing, of course!

Clara has such cute, polite friends.  Nell is sure cute, but has a few years to perfect her polite table manners, as seen below.

Clara enjoyed opening presents, all of which suited her so well.  She is one lucky girl!

Lastly was Quidditch.  There was a slight breeze making it extra hard to get the balloons through the hoops but everyone had fun.

I am so glad that Clara had such a wonderful day.  She has moved around a bit in her nine years and has made some very good friends along the way like Leah, Rhys and Eleanor to name a few.  She misses them each so much and always wishes she could invite them to her birthday party.  I am glad that even though she misses those friends she has been able to make some good friends here in Utah. It was a really great day for her.

It is hard to believe that my oldest is nine!  I've been a mom for 9 years yet I also can't imagine life before being a mother very well anymore.  Clara is such a bright light in my life.  She is the best daughter, sister and friend anyone could ask for.  She sees the needs of others and tries to help, especially the needs of her brother and sister.  They have no idea yet just how lucky they are to have her!!  I probably have no idea just how lucky I am to have her either.  She is so smart and clever yet caring and loving.  She enjoys riding her bike and reading and loves playing with her friends.  Most of all she makes me happy and grateful to be her mother every single day.  I love you Clara!!!

Here are the results of her annual birthday quiz.

What is your favorite food? Pizza
What is your favorite toy? Lego Friends
What is your favorite game? Dixit
What is your favorite book? Harry Potter
What is your favorite animal? Cat
What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
Who are your friends? Katie, Katie, Addie, Abby, McKenna, Lilly, Maddie
What would you like to do this year? I don't know
What are some things you like to do? Play with friends, read
What sports do you like? Dodgeball
What is your favorite thing to wear? Shorts and a T-shirt
What is your favorite color? Turquoise
What makes you happy? My family
What makes you sad? When somebody is mean