A Ladybug Birthday

We were thrilled that things worked out again this year for us to spend Easter weekend celebrating our older niece's birthday. This year's theme was a ladybug horse party. Niece N, her mom, and I got there a little early to set up. N occupied herself with brushing a pony while she waited for her guests to arrive.



The party was held at a local farm and horse park. There were all sorts of animals there.




All of the kids had a great time riding in the horse drawn cart.



And Luke got to ride a horse for the first time.







Niece N rode twice, including once with Luke. She was not afraid at all and loved every minute of it!



Niece M and Jennifer also got a ride on the horse cart, albeit at a slower pace than the bigger kids went.



M will be two next month. I love to watch her exploring the world.



The peacock was one of the star attractions. We all had a great time feeding and photographing it.





And of course, everyone got excited when it decided to show off for us.



(This is my favorite peacock photo of all 100+ that I took.)

These cupcakes were entirely the idea of my sister-in-law Jennifer. She and I spent most of the day Friday working on them. She made the cupcakes and icing (I helped with coloring), she iced and I put on the chocolate chip spots, I cleaned the mini-Oreos and she made and applied the faces, I made the antenna and she placed them. I think they turned out absolutely adorable, even if I do say so myself!




This may be my absolute most favorite photo of the entire trip:



Here are some more fun pictures from the day.





We had a really great time! It is always such a pleasure to see and spend time with them. I wish we could do it more often. If all goes well, we should get to see them at least twice more this year. Can't wait!



Currently feeling: family love