She's 11!

Gracie Cakes officially turned 11 last Tuesday.  She was so excited!  Like always, we've had a wonderful time celebrating with her.  The celebrations finally ended this weekend with a couple of sweet friends and a sleepover.  
Thank you to everyone for all the wishes, calls gifts, cards and texts.  You are all so sweet to think of her and she's been truly blessed by your kindness.
Happy Birthday Taco Cat!  You get more amazing every year!  We love you!!!!!!

Right before going to bed...Her last night as a 10 year old.

This year for her birthday breakfast in bed, LG requested cream cheese filled crepes with strawberries and whipped ream.

She's 11! 

Enjoying a few gifts to start the day

Her trusty sidekick 

Daddy treated her to a ride to and from school and once she got home she tore into some new Legos and...

enjoyed a bike ride on her new bike. 

This year for dinner she requested, "breakfast for dinner."  We had Baked Gouda Grits and LG's Famous Scrambled Eggs. After dinner we enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake.  

Wishes made

On Friday, two sweet friends cam home with us for a sleepover.  We kicked things off with snack at Starbucks.

The girls were so sweet to have brought her gifts.

They are so sweet together and our house was filled with nonstop laughter.

Being silly

There was a lot of karaoke.

Too funny!  Anna got obsessed with how many times she could bounce the ping pong ball on the paddle.  I think she left at 34.

They played a lot of ping pong and even Matt joined them when he got home and finished grilling for them.  

Matt put LG's twin mattress on the floor in her room.  He then brought in a queen mattress from one of the guests rooms and put them together to form one big bed.  These girls loved it!  After more singing, painting nails, a movie and answering American Girl Quiz books, they finally turned the lights out and went to sleep at 11:45.  

Rubiks Cube is back in a big way at school.  These three had to get in one last session before everyone went home.

11th Birthday Party!!!!

As I sit to type this post, we are back home in Indiana after a wonderful few days in Michigan enjoying Gracie's birthday party.  That's right!  This year in lieu of a big blowout party, she requested a stay at an adorable cabin on Big Creek in Michigan.  Matt and I happily obliged. 
We checked Gracie out of school early on Thursday afternoon and drove up to Michigan.  We enjoyed three days in this beautiful cabin.  The cabin was actually built in 1930 and has been completely renovated.  It sits just 100 feet from the Big Creek River which runs alongside the house.  On this 10 acres, you will also find an 18 hole putt putt course that winds through the woods.  It was adorable and Lily Grace loved it!  
We barely had internet reception, never turned on the TV other than to listen to music while we ate and spent time together laughing a lot and making tons of memories.  According to Gracie Cakes, it has been the best birthday party yet!!  Matt and I would agree.  
On Tuesday, Lily Grace will turn 11 years old.  Wow!  As she gets older, having her to ourselves to make such special and lasting memories is a gift to us all.  
Thank you for a wonderful time!  We love you to pieces Taco Cat! 😀 

So adorable

We arrived to a handwritten note and homemade banana bread.

This fireplace was the place to be in the cold evenings.
We each grabbed a book or played a game of cards.

Gracie chose this cute room.

Matt and I chose this room.

This was our favorite spot in the house.  Matt and I
enjoyed coffee here in the mornings looking out over
the woods and water.  We ate our meals here at the adjacent
table and were always entertained by the birds and squirrels.

This beautiful little waterfall was across the creek
behind the house.  It was so peaceful.

The view from the dock down stream.

Putt Putt through the woods

Matt and LG took each other on.

The 18 hole putt putt course was complete with
obstacles, even the old windmill obstacle.

We were asked to put out seed each morning to
keep both the furry and feather friends coming back
each day.  Lily Grace was all to happy to take on
this job.  She woke bright and early each morning,
eager to get out there.

We saw lots of finches, blue jays, wild turkey,
deer and squirrels.  However, this was the first time
any of us had seen a black coated squirrel.  He actually
looked like a cat from a distance.  

At her request, one morning Gracie and I
made homemade strawberry cupcakes with icing.

We ventured out to explore different parts
of the Au Sable River.

Matt got us a large fire going in the fire pit.
I enjoyed coffee and staying warm.  Matt and LG 
enjoyed S'mores.

We spent a beautiful spring day wetting
a line on the Au Sable River.

Gracie's cast and shooting the line gets
better and better.

On each drive to the Au Sable, we
would pass a little country store with a sign
advertising homemade sticky buns.  Finally,
no longer able to pass it by, Matt had to stop.  I
will say, those buns were quite tasty and yes,
very sticky and gooey.  In addition to the buns, we
ended up leaving with a homemade chocolate
chip cookie and pepper jelly.  

We enjoyed cooking out and playing cards
out at the picnic table. 

Matt and I took each other on in
horseshoes in the woods and I left
victorious!

We spent our last evening out on the dock
wetting a line and laughing.

That about sums it up!  Gracie signed the
guest book for us.  So sweet!

Sunday morning before saying Good-bye