ELSIE IS 10 YEARS OLD!

Oh how time flies!  I can't believe that our little girl Elsie, who was just a teeny little baby when we brought her home from the hospital, is now 10 years old!  How did this happen so fast?  It seems like all we did was blink our eyes and she was walking and talking.  Then we blinked again and she was starting school.  One more blink and she's 10!  We couldn't be more proud of the little lady that Elsie has turned into.  She is kind and friendly, does great in school, and has lots of friends.

A big milestone birthday deserves a big present!  Elsie helped us pick it out a couple of weeks ago, so she knew it was coming.  But, it is just what she wanted.  A bigger bike with hand brakes and gears.  It's a 14 speed with a 24" frame.   It is a little big, but she will grow into it nicely.  We can even take it to Boonville and cruise long distances on the Katy Trail.

Owen "helping" with presents on Elsie's birthday.

You know she is getting older when she asks for books for her birthday...

And of course there was craft stuff.

And more craft stuff.

Elsie asked for chocolate pie instead of cake.  As always, Sarah made a very yummy one.  As a side note, Elsie got to watch the Chiefs kick the snot out of the Raiders on her birthday.  They won the division and secured the #1 overall seed in the playoffs.  What a great present!

For her party, Elsie wanted to go bowling.  We ended up with 16 kiddos and three lanes of fun!  My pictures don't show it, but there was lots of dancing to go along with the bowling.  Grandma Cas did capture the following video though.  :)

Cupcake time!

Elsie asked her friends to bring donations for the local animal shelter instead of presents.  She's done this for the last few years and it is really neat.  We are very proud of her.

Thanking everyone for coming.  She ended it with a "DILLY DILLY!" :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELSIE!

We wish you many, many more...