The Linders Adventures

Birthday Fun!

Of course, the birthday fun continued on Tink's actual birthday!

We started the morning with a special breakfast - mini pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. This was a last-minute decision on my part, but they were a huge hit, and just might become a birthday tradition.

On to presents - one of my friends told me about these amazing pop-up books by Robert Sabuda. If you don't know about his books, you should. I enjoy them just as much as Tink does!

ABC Bible Verses - I got this idea from scripture cards on this blog, but decided that it would be more meaningful as a book with a picture of Tink on each page. She is starting to memorize scripture, and I hope that this will help hide truth in her heart.

A fun princess tent! I got a steal on a Toy Story tent for Bug's birthday, and couldn't resist getting a princess one and stowing it away for Tink. They fold flat like car shades and I love them.

After breakfast, we headed to the zoo. I'm normally a "two hour" kinda zoo visitor, and we have a pass, so I have no problem calling it a day as soon as anyone is ready to go. Because it was her day, I let Tink call the shots. We walked the ENTIRE zoo, beginning with the elephants and ending with the snakes. We bought lunch instead of bringing our own (my treat, and a complete shock to my children - they didn't even know there were restaurants at the zoo!) and we rode the train. I also let Tink bring her new doll, which I clearly reminded her was a speical birthday treat and would not become the "norm" (the last thing I need is something else to keep track of!) Both kids did really well, the weather was perfect, and we had a great day.

The absolute highlight of her day - getting to pet a snake. There have been several animals at this "touch" display during our visits, but never a snake. She was thrilled to see it there on her day. She is afraid of birds and terrified of dogs, but LOVES snakes. Yeah, it's weird...

Our day ended with ~~family dinner~~ a quick tour at Rainforest Cafe, which led both of my children into a meltdown (no idea, because we've been there a handful of times and she had been talking about it for days). We hopped across the mall to Chili's, which I might note, is also located approximately .10 of a mile from our house...oh well :)

I interviewed Tink for her birthday, and will share her answers soon.

Yo Ho Ho!

After her Dora party last year, Tink had some very specific requests for her Jake and the Neverland Pirates party this year. If you don't have little ones, it's a cute show on Disney loosely based on Peter Pan. There's even a girl pirate! I had to reel her ideas in just a little, but for the most part was able to go along and plan a really fun fourth birthday party.

Welcome to my party, matey!

Pirate ship food table (including Chick fil a, as requested)

Outdoor Pirate Games - digging for treasure

Blasting Captain Hook with "cannonball" water balloons

Walking the plank

Newspaper swords

Picnic lunch

This is, apparently, how pirates eat fruit :)

The grand finale of the day - a purple princess bicycle!

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

A night on the ice

This year for Tink's birthday, all of our family got to come into town! We had dinner together at Fresco's, and then went ice skating. Tink has been talking about going since Chirstmas shopping at the Galleria, so bringing her cousins along was her idea of the perfect night.

When you're (almost) four, you get to glide along and let Daddy do all of the work

PaPa sneaking up on D

Family fun!

Tink's cousin was not a fan of ice skating at first, but she tried again and had a great time! Proud of you, M!

Such a fun night!

Afternoon Tea

One of Tink's very favorite things is a tea party at The American Girl Bistro. When my sister and niece came into town a few weekends ago, I knew it was the perfect time for a girls day. We called one of the girls' friends and were on our way!