Today is my birthday!

Guess what? Today I turn 11! I've been so excited for my birthday, and at last it is here!

I had a wonderful party this afternoon with several of my friends. I'm so happy they were able to come. My mom helped me put my hair in curlers last night so that my hair would be curly. Isn't it cute? Sometimes I wish my hair was always curly, like Lanie's, but she says sometimes she wishes for straight hair.



My mom bought this amazing chocolate cake - doesn't it look delicious? It tasted sooo good.



We had cupcakes, too. They were lemon flavored.

The best part of my birthday was having all of my friends over, but the second best part was the present Grandma Maxwell sent for me.



Guess what was inside?



A Samantha doll!!! I'm so excited! Now Nellie and Samantha are together as best friends again. Samantha is so pretty, look at her long hair. I just finished reading the Samantha stories, so it makes it even more special to have her. I think my favorite one was Samantha's Surprise.



Everyone wanted to hold Samantha and play with her.



My parents must have known that Grandma Maxwell was getting me Samantha, because they got me a present too -



- Samantha's birthday outfit!!



Now Samantha and I were able to dress up for our birthdays together!



I'm having such a wonderful birthday. I wish every day was my birthday, but then I guess it wouldn't be as special, would it?

P is for Piper

Remember to vote me for Little Miss Playthings 2010!

Eek!

Our local movie theater was doing a special screening of Sleeping Beauty this week, so Lanie and I went to see it.

That movie scares me! Especially the part when everything goes all green and Aurora has to prick her finger - eek! The end is pretty scary too, when Phillip is fighting Maleficent as a dragon! I was so scared I accidentally knocked our popcorn into Lanie's lap..twice!



What's the scariest movie you have ever seen?

Pizza Gardening

Lanie's family eats a lot of pizza - apparently it's all her little sister will eat. She was telling me all about how they do something called "pizza gardening" and plant pizza toppings - tomatoes, green peppers, oregano - and make pizzas from their own garden!

I think this is a terrific idea. So today I decided my mom's garden needed a couple of pizza toppings in it too.



Lanie rolled her eyes at me, but I'm dreaming of pepperoni plants...

A Spring shopping day!

Today I got to go shopping with my mom and some friends! Lanie and her mom came with us, and we met up with our friends Caitlin and Ellie (and their moms) there. I love shopping - I tried on so many fun outfits. I finally settled on a beautiful black twirly skirt with sequins (Caitlin got the same one, so we will be twins!), a cute skirt with bright flowers, some fluffy pink slippers, and very sophisticated white headband. My mom let me wear the headband this afternoon. I love getting new things!

After shopping we went out for an afternoon tea, which was really fun. Lanie and I wore our best spring dresses. While our moms chatted afterward, we went out and ran around on the fairgrounds. It looks so different without the fair there! I'm used to it being filled with colors and lights.

Do you like my pretty new Spring dress?



We found these great rocks to climb on. From up top I could see such a long way!



Ellie told us a wonderful fairytale about a giant who lived in rocks like these.


Caitlin really loves trees. Her mom laughs and calls her a "tree hugger" - but we're not entirely sure why she thinks it's so funny. Maybe because trees can't hug back?


I had a really great time with Lanie. She's so funny, and she knows so much about nature.

Arches National Park!

I had Spring Break for school this weekend, so my parents and I went down to Arches National Park. It was so beautiful!

I learned a lot about the arches while I was down there. Did you know that in order for a hole to be considered an arch it has to have an opening of at least 3 feet? I asked my dad why they called them "arches" instead of "holes" and he said that "Delicate Hole" just wouldn't sound as cool. He's so silly.

The arches are made by erosion caused by water, wind, ice and extreme temperatures - both hot and cold! I didn't think the desert could get so cold, but in the winter the park can get below 0 degrees. It was really windy while we were there, which made my hands really cold, even though the sun was hot.

It was a lot of fun to go hike up to the different arches. You have to be careful to stay on the trails so that you don't bother any of the plants or animals. The hike up to Delicate Arch was the hardest one, it was so steep and long!



I actually stopped to rest a few times.



But finally made it!





I decided to help hold up Delicate Arch for a little while. Someday the erosion that made the arch will also make it fall down. I hope not anytime soon!



Spring is coming, can you see the little green buds on the tree?



My trip was so much fun! Did you do anything fun for Spring Break?

Reading in the Garden

My Easter dress this year looks just like Nellie's! I'm so excited about it that I keep trying it on and wanting to go out in it. If I do, I have to be super careful to not get it dirty. But today I went out in the garden and read with Nellie. It's so fun to match my doll, everyone who comes by has something nice to say about it.

I'm so excited that Spring is finally here! The weather is so nice, and I don't have to wear a big heavy coat anymore. I love the pretty flowers that will start to bloom soon. Are you excited for Spring? What is your favorite thing that comes with Spring?