Ella's 10th Birthday!

Ella wanted to have an outdoor party with water games...but the weather was cold and windy and there was a strong likelihood that it would rain.  So we changed it to an indoor party and played some fun games.  First, each person had to use one hand and a toothpick to pick up as many marshmellows as they could.  Jolie won that contest. We also had an estimation jar with candy in it.  It had 58 candies, and Austin guessed 56...so he won the whole jar!

Then the kids used 20 toothpicks and marshmellows to build the highest tower possible.  It was fun to see their different strategies and see what worked and what didn't work quite as well.

We did a relay race where they had to keep two dice balanced on a tongue depressor, walk down the hall and back and then pass the dice to the next person.

Ella had a delicious ice cream cake for her birthday!

We did a pinata...of course.

Gabby's best friend at school is Jocelyn.  She is sisters with Kim who is a good friend of Ella's.  So both of them came to the party.  It was fun to watch Gabby interact with Jocelyn.

Ella was spoiled with lots of wonderful gifts.

Ella had a wonderful birthday.  She is such a sweet girl!

Here are 10 things I love about Ella at 10 years old:

1.  Her Spanish has really improved.  She is still kind of shy about using it, but she knows quite a bit.

2.  She is very kind to other children.   She notices when they are hurt or sad and tries to make them feel better.

3.  Even though she is TEN, she still loves to give and get hugs, sit close to me, be held, and even hold hands.

4.  She loves animals.

5.  She loves to eat pizza, pancakes, eggs, and spaghetti.

6.  She likes to ride the scooter, jump on the trampoline, play with friends, and help others.

7.  She often reminds me about things that I am forgetting to do.

8.  She has a strong testimony and a desire to do what is right.

9.  She works hard in school and is respectful and responsible at school.

10.  Ella makes her own orange julius-like creation for all of us fairly often.