Talia's Goblin Birthday

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, my to-do list stretches all the way from here to Kentucky. Even so, I wanted to take a break and blog about our latest adventures before life speeds past.

Talia Lily had a birthday!

Our spunky munchkin is now officially six years-old. As she sat reading Dick and Jane by herself on the couch last night, I was overcome by how much she has grown up over the past months. She absolutely loves kindergarten, and has adapted beautifully to the Spanish dual immersion program. We're all gaining from her enthusiasm, as she is often the one who initiates Spanish conversations in our home.

Other loves: drawing, crafting, biking, singing, dancing, and of course, playing with her siblings. Best of all, we cherish her generous heart. While working on a project about families, Brooklyn wrote about how Talia has a "talent" for sharing--I couldn't agree more.

In our family, we trade off every other year between friend and family birthday parties. As this was a "friend" year, Talia invited a few cute girls over for a princess celebration. We ate pink cupcakes, painted wands and tiaras, and decorated T-shirts.

Talia gets ready to enjoy her treat.

Here's Eli with Chloe. I've been tending Chloe regularly since August, so the two have gotten to be quite good pals.

Talia opening her presents. Do you think she likes her new vanity glasses?

And a photo of all the princesses: Sofia, Anna, Brooklyn, Talia, Aby, Chloe and Sara. (We couldn't wear the tiaras or hold the wands because the paint was still drying. I should have at least had them put on their T-shirts!)

After the party was over, I asked Talia if it was everything she ever dreamed of. Her candor made me chuckle when after a moment of thought, she politely responded, "No, not really." Apparently it could have been better if I'd let her wear her Little Mermaid costume and handed out treat baggies. I tell you, in Talia's world, love is spelled C-A-N-D-Y.

Despite limited sweets, Talia really had a pretty remarkable celebration this year. Since Jason had a business trip that overlapped with her special day, we pulled both Brooklyn and Talia out of school to join him on one last company-financed Hurrah before our family no longer fits in a rental car.

First stop: Salt Lake City.

While Jason took care of some work meetings, the kids and I explored the new City Creek Mall and Temple Square. We rode the escalators, wet our fingers in the fountains, waved to the buses from the overpass, and even hopped aboard Trax for a stop. Certainly not your typical city tour, but perfect for a six year-old birthday girl.

Other trip highlights: dinner with Grandma Susie and Grandpa Charles at the Old Spaghetti Factory, trying out Talia's new rollershoes on the bike path in Moab (she's quite talented at doing the splits in them), and of course, the gorgeous ride home. We took the long route, which extends all the way from Arches, through Capitol Reef, into Escalante, past Bryce, and finally through Cedar Breaks before finally snagging the interstate home. Definitely worth the extra drive time.

Our very favorite stop, however, was Goblin Valley State Park. The kids were absolutely enchanted with all of the "smurf" houses. If you don't mind, for the sake of time, I'm just going to dump the photos. Fun hardly needs any explanation when exploring God's all-natural play place.

After a long and glorious game of chase where Gargamel (Dad) chased all of the smurfs, it was time to hit the road again. The kids all agreed, however, that Goblin Valley State Park was the best park ever.

Happy Birthday, Talia!