Logan's Fourth Birthday!

Yesterday we celebrated Logan's fourth birthday.  We had a pleasant, little party with my parents who came down for the evening.  We ate a nice dinner in the dining room followed by a minion cake (par Logan's request) and ice cream.  I made my favorite, chocolate cake from scratch with butter cream frosting and it was delicous.  We then moved to the living room for gift opening.  Logan was quite pleased with his lot and favorites included a Lite-Brite set (yes, they still are around), Logan's own Merida quiver, arrow, and four bows (since Logan loves Lia's and broke all of her arrows), foam bullet refills for his Star Wars gun, and an awesome flying track for Dusty from the Planes: Fire and Rescue movie.  We finished off the evening with a scavenger hunt for Lia and Logan that took them all over the house where they ended up in the master bedroom closet and discovered balloons and a banner that said, "You are going to Hawaii!"  Although we decided to go on this trip this summer to celebrate my 40th birthday, I thought it would be fun to "give" it to the kids as part of Logan's birthday.  Lia did a great job following the clues all over the house and gave us the best reaction of all by screaming and jumping up and down when she discovered the prize at the end.  Logan was clueless as to what a trip to Hawaii meant, but he'll figure it out when we get there in July!

Logan's minion cake before devouring it that evening.  I think it turned out quite cute.

The grandparents with Ron and the kids at the beginning of dinner.

Logan listening to us sing, "Happy Birthday."

And blowing out his candles.

Logan eating his cake.

Lia enjoying her dessert...

along with baby Ella.

Ella watching Logan open a gift.

Logan opening up his Lite-Brite magic screen.

Logan opening up another present.

Helping Logan open up his foam bullets that are now scattered all over our house,.

Finishing up the gift opening with Ella's assistance.  

Lia finding one of the clues to the scavenger hunt in an upstairs closet while Logan looks on with his bow and arrows.

Lia reading the clue out loud to Ron, my mom, and me.  All seven clues were tied to an item that related to Hawaii (this one was tied to a flower lei).

Lia and Logan heading out the garage to find another clue.

Lia coming out of Ron's truck with another clue tied to a pair of sunglasses.

Lia and Logan racing into the children's bathroom to find another clue in the bathtub.

Lia reading her second to last clue tied to one of her bathing suits.

On the outside of our bathroom door, Lia found her newest American Girl Doll, McKenna, waiting for them wearing a hula outfit and holding a balloon.  Here is Lia posing with her beloved doll before heading in!

One of the many shots I captured of Lia screaming after reading the banner she found in our closet. I just loved her reaction!

The three kiddos posing in front of the banner.  Just precious.

At the end of the scavenger hunt, baby Ella put on the lei and Lia's swimsuit like a backpack.  It was hilarious.  She hopped up on our bed after we were done with the hunt and started dancing around.  Here she is posing for me.

Of course, Lia had to jump in on the fun and get in a picture.

This is a picture I snapped trying to show how Ella had put Lia's swimsuit on like a backpack.  Such a funny girl!