Celebrating 5

Peyton turned 5 on July 30th and we celebrated this year with just our family of 4. Mark and I decided to keep the birthdays simple this year so we came up with a list of outings that Peyton could choose. Some were for family only and some were for her and a friend. She chose Pump it Up (a bounce house place) and wanted to have a home-cooked meal and a store-bought ice cream cake. So that was our plan....until at the last moment she changed her mind. Shenandoah University's summer theatre program included Beauty and the Beast and after seeing clips on YouTube, she changed her mind and asked to go see that instead of Pump it Up. Fortunately there were tickets available.

We made tacos for dinner (her choice), I made a homemade ice cream cake, and we spent the day together as a family celebrating our 5 year old! After dinner we left for Winchester to see the show. I hoped to get tickets to the Saturday matinee, but we ended up going for the Friday evening performance. The kids loved it, but the late hour was a bit rough on them. At intermission they were both ready to leave and go to bed! We bought a bag of chips and some candy and they were revitalized. It really was a great way to spend the day and Peyton really loved her birthday. She also got to celebrate with Nonna, Uncle Craig, and Granny on her actual birthdate by choosing a restaurant. She chose O'Charley's, her favorite and we made a big deal out of it being her day.

We told her several years ago that she could chew gum when she turned 5 and Nonna bought her a load of gum. She has been chewing like mad ever since she turned 5. In fact, the day after her actual birthday, she woke up and said, "Do you think I could chew some gum now." It was 7am! What a girl.