Happy Birthday, Vanessa!

One of the things that most excited Vanessa for this trip to Hawaii was the fact that she would celebrate her birthday here. She thought she was the luckiest girl to be able to do that. So we tried to make it as special as we could for her.

First, we went to the beach of her choice, which was Hapuna Beach, my favorite beach.

Lots of fun childhood memories of this beach 

We made sure to slather everyone with sunscreen beforehand, then reapplied it after 45 minutes of being in the water. We set up camp and then let everyone loose.

Scott and Ryan aren't "water people" so I had to snap this picture of them
actually being in the water

They were constantly in and out of the water

"Aren't you proud of me, Mom? I'm outside!" :-)

Had to force these two under the umbrella because they burn so easily

I don't exactly know what he was doing here, but he was having fun!

Trying her luck at some boogie boarding

The other end of the beach

We stayed for almost 6 hours, happily getting waterlogged and covered in sand, then packed up and went home. We had to rest up before starting her birthday dinner (spaghetti), and Auntie Shawn made her 2 different, but equally fantastic birthday cakes! I forgot to take a picture of the other cake, which were a series of cupcakes baked into ice cream cones, then frosted to look like ice cream, but the kids ate them so fast that I wouldn't have gotten a chance anyway.

One of the cakes Auntie Shawn made for her

She was definitely one spoiled princess today, and we still have to take her out for some birthday shopping tomorrow!

I just love this girl of mine, and here's some reasons why.

11 Things I Love About Vanessa:

1. She gets excited over almost everything.

2. She still asks for hugs.

3. When she hugs me, she'll squeeze me tight and yell, "I'm squeezing your guts!"

4. She uses her imagination and comes up with the most imaginative plays for her dolls and figurines.

5. She always asks me how I am.

6. Every morning she greets me with a big smile and a cheerful, "Good morning!"

7. She has the most gorgeous hair color that people are always complimenting.

8. She loves to read her scriptures.

9. She loves being homeschooled and soaks up our lessons.

10. She draws pictures with notes for me and leaves them around the house for me to find.

11. She always wants to make us smile.

Happy Birthday, Vanessa! We love you so much!