Talia Turns Ten

In mid-November, our Talia Lily turned double digits--ten years old!  We began the celebrations a day early with a ride aboard the Heber Creeper.  If you ever want to venture aboard this historic train, we totally recommend going on Monday night Family Night.  Not only was the price great, but it also included live entertainment, a shoot-off between the sheriff and some outlaws, and a spaghetti dinner.  (Okay, so we had to bring our own spaghettti dinner, but at least they allowed it on the train.)

November 14th's supermoon made the evening even more special.  While difficult to photograph, it truly was remarkable--the largest since 1948.  It kept hopping along the horizon during our drive out to Midway, giving us the chance to watch it rise half a dozen times.

Naturally Jason and I enjoyed the journey along Memory Lane as we recalled our romantic Homecoming date aboard the Heber Creeper fourteen years ago.  He didn't kiss me then, but gladly made up for it this time around.  (Plus, we love listening to the kids squeal eww!)

The next afternoon, Talia came home from school to find an outrageous number of packages just waiting for her to open.


What a lucky girl!


A fun shirt from NomiAnn.


Most of the presents, however, were craft supplies for the art party she was planning for her friends later that week.

Instead of a traditional cake, we enjoyed some Peruvian crema volteada.  Can't go wrong there!

At last, Friday night party time.  Talia planned the party all on her own, browsing Pinterest until she found the perfect crafts.  Three of her classmates came, which was ideal by the time you added our own crew to the crowd.  I would invite these cute little artists over anytime for more crafting fun!

Here we are making galaxy slime out of clear glue, liquid starch, glitter, and watercolor paints.  While I may have been skeptical initially, it turned out to loads of fun. Not only that, it stores extremely well.  I pulled the slime out a month later with my preschoolers, and we amused ourselves for at least an hour.

Here's Taylor with an impressive slime beard.

Next craft: salt art.  The girls used chalk to color their own salt, then layered it in clear containers like you might do with colored sand.

Ta da!  So pretty, Brooklyn.

Melted Crayon Art.  Another super fun idea, you start by hot gluing crayons to a canvas, then apply heat using a blow dryer.


Wait just a moment, and voila!  The crayons start to melt creating a totally awesome piece of art.

Here's Clara working on her creation.

Taylor seems pretty happy with her masterpiece.

Next up, clay modeling.  Everybody throw your hands up for Karsyn's best idea ever...

...an adorable little gnome.

No party is complete without cake, or in this case, yummy cheesecake.

A few minutes left to open a couple presents...

...and it was the all-around perfect artsy party.

Happy Birthday, Talia Lily!  We sure love you and your creativity that inspires us all.