The Eshelman Family

Bree was especially spoiled this birthday. Grandpa Ray Beckstrom bought her rollerblades and a helmet. Grandma LaRene and Papa Bob bought her a new bike (Ocean themed). : ) Grandma Amy and Papa Ray bought Bree a Cinderella Barbie doll and blue horse. And mommy and daddy spoiled her by taking her to the Aquarium up in Sandy. Daddy and Mommy made her a blue sting ray cake. (If anyone doesn’t know, Bree has an unbelievable attraction to blue.) We also bought her several outdoor water toys, including a small pool that has a slide, basketball hoop and ring toss. We also bought her a sprinkler that is a beachball with holes cut in it, making it much more fun to kick around and get wet with delight. Also, bree has a new obsession…roly polys, pill bugs, potato bugs, all of which are the same. We checked out a few books at the library to learn more about them. Apparently, they’re not insects. They are in the same family as crabs and shrimp. Hmmm, which fits the theme for her birthday, blue and ocean/water theme. So we bought her a bug observatory house. And did you know, roly polys DO eat rocks and concrete. ‘Tis true. I thought Carson was the only one that ate rocks. (Just kidding. I’ve only caught him once with a pebble in his mouth.)

Oh, and I can’t forget, the Helts bought Bree a Zu Zu Pet. We also did. Two is better than one…right?! As long as she doesn’t get her hair wound up in the wheels again.

The birthday week was a success. Poor Bree had to wait until Friday to celebrate her birthday; Both Taylor and I had to work on her birthday. So Wed. I let her open one gift, the Zu Zu pet. And then Friday Taylor took off work and we all went to the aquarium and we had a family party that night.

Bree is an amazing, bright little girl, full of spunk at times, but mostly of splendid sweetness. I’m blessed to have this little girl in our home. It wouldn’t be the same without her. Here are a few pictures of the festivities:

Look at that cute, genuine smile. It's hard to capture one of those from Bree with the camera. :)

This is the one present Bree got to open on her actual birthday. She was really excited to finally open it. Her, Carson and I bought it a few weeks prior.

Bree loves to hold Hedgie McPricklesworth, so I let her hold him on her birthday, too.

Here's the finished Sting Ray cake Taylor and I made. It took us about 4 hours to make and decorate. Finished project ended at 1:30 a.m..

I was explaining to Taylor's mom what this little fish was, just before we ate it. After explaining what this feeder fish does (eats the parasites and ick off the sting ray, giving the sting ray a bath), I realized this cake didn't look very appetizing anymore. Ha, but it was still delicious. :)

Bree "opening" her birthday gift at Grandma and Grandpa Jensens' work.

Bree thanking grandma for the fun present. I really like this picture of the two of them. :0)

Had to add in this adorable picture of Carson. I love his Turpin eyes.

Bree giddy about her new bike.

Bree didn't want daddy to let go. I like this picture a lot. It's fun to see Daddys interact with their kids.

After going to Grandma and Grandpa's work, we took grandma with us to the Aquarium in Sandy. Grandpa had to stay at work for a meeting, but he came after we left and went through the aquarium with grandma. He also bought Carson a cool blue frog light, which Carson and Bree still play with and love.

The sting rays were BreeAnna's and mommy's favorite part of the aquarium. :) They're very smooth and soft. If you've never pet a sting ray, you're missing out!

A better picture of the sting ray.

Carson was quite excited about the experience too. He's sitting on my shoulders, pointing at who knows what, but it must have been pretty neat because just about everything there was. :)

Carson's frog light was made to look like these pretty blue frogs.

Since Bree's favorite color is blue, she really liked these.

Little river sting rays. I really like the oreo looking ones.

I think this fish was trying to give Bree a birthday kiss.

Speaking of kisses, today Bree and I watched a stargate together, episode Right of Passage. For the Stargate fans out there, this is the one where Cassandra gets a kiss from her boyfriend on her birthday, the porch light explodes and then Cassandra falls to the ground. Anyway, Bree asked, "Why did he do that?" I asked, "What?" Bree: "Kiss her?" I told her that's what boys and girls do when they like each other. I caught that look in her eye, which I interpreted as her thinking, "Oh, I have a few boys I like. Do I kiss them?" Then I said, "But you have to wait until you're older...much older." She laughed and in her (oh duh, right, how could I be so silly laugh) said, "Right mommy, like when I'm married when I turn 8 I can kiss my husband on the lips.)

The creepy anaconda. (Shivers)

These penguins were beautiful, not like the ones at the Hogle Zoo.

Fascinating creatures these Foureyed Fish. Check out the description in the picture below:

Cool eel aquarium that looked into the captain's room. The captains cabin had a picnic table sprinkled with several puzzles. It was nearly impossible to finish a puzzle because there were at least five puzzles, all of which the puzzle pieces were mixed together. Yet, it was still fun to tinker around for a while.

Bree and Carson playing around in the fake coral. There were other model ocean creatures hiding in this fun corner at the aquarium, which included nooks for kids to crawl around and have fun in.

Carson and I looking around the same area.

Bree and I "arguing" over the eel tank. She was insistent the eels were snakes. I tried to explain, but she just wasn't "buying it". :)

Here's the puzzle area.

My mom and I tried to put together one of the puzzles, but Bree kept asking for our puzzle pieces. She was making her own creation.

And here it is. :) It's just as pretty as putting it together the way the original creater intended. :)

I love Bree's crazy smile.

This was the petting area. They had signs everywhere saying, "Two finger touch only". You can see both of Bree's hands using this technique. :0)

Some of the creatures I didn't even want to touch and I don't mind touching most things.

This is near the bullfrog arena. It took us quite a while, 10 minutes or more, to find the real bullfrog. They have a swamp habitat for it. It was neat because it wasn't really enclosed. There were wooden railings keeping us out of it, but the bullfrog wasn't enclosed in glass like everything else (except the sting rays and petting area). The bullfrog was camouflaged and hiding under swamp plants that were floating on top of the water. I didn't add a picture of it since I already have too many pictures posted.

Bree practicing her boat driving skills, preparing to drive Grandpa Ray Beckstrom's boat later this summer. Hopefully she'll be able to see over ITS dashboard. ;)

I'd have to say the jelly fish were my favorite attraction, then the sting rays. This picture doesn't do justice. They were amazing. I'd go to the aquarium again just to see these awesome creatures. There movements were smooth and their colors beautiful. They had a few different subspecies which looked quite different from one another. The lighting was bad in this room so the pictures didn't turn out well. Oh, well, you'll just have to go see them for yourself. :)

The birthday party. :) Yeay Bree! I think these candles are cheap. If you turn 4, you should blow out 4 candles, but we didn't want to ruin the sting ray creation. Hm, which is silly because 10 seconds later we cut into it. Bree, I hope you didn't wish for a pet sting ray 'cause you're not getting one. Ha! She did get a blue horse to go with her Cinderella Barbie doll though, so I guess she can't say she never got a Pony growing up. ;)

Kayden (toddler in the front) was soooo funny. He was more excited about the presents than Bree was. He was very energetic and distracted. He'd pick up one of the presents or the wrapping paper, fling it around a bit, get distracted with another and grab it and so on. He kept falling down all over the place, not watching where he was going and he was getting into EVERYTHING. He was quite entertaining and had us in stitches most of the time. :)

The remaining loot.

Yeay, another creative sprinkler (Beach ball with wholes in it to throw and kick around). So much better than a boring ole' sprinkler. The unwrapped present is her swimming pool. She's crazy about it and everyday after this she's wanted to wear her swimming suit daily. I let her wear it most days. Good thing she has two, so I can be washing one while she wears the other.

Happy 4th birthday, Bree! We love you!