Amy and Evan: Elizabeth's Birthday Party Weekend

Our niece, Elizabeth, turned 5 at the end of August and we were fortunate to still be in Texas and be able to make it to her party. Friday night, we met up with my parents and sister at this new Brazilian steak house that my Dad had been wanting to take us to. I had never been to one of these places before but based on my Dad's description, it sounded fun. It was DELICIOUS! The food was great and it was fun to watch the waiters (they actually have some special name for them that I can't remember) come around with all the meat and wield these giant knives right in-front of your face to slice you a piece of meat. While we didn't get there until about 8:30 because Evan and I were late getting in from Houston, it was totally worth it. Here are some pictures:

Like a kid in a candy store :)

The next day was Elizabeth's birthday party. The theme was Dogs and Cats. Elizabeth is really into animals of all kinds and has been for some time but I'd say her favorites are dogs and cats. I remember when she had just started talking and she would list all of the dogs in the family...Tombs, Jersey, Rowdy, Toby...it was really cute hearing her trying to pronounce all the names :) She still asks about Jersey and Baxter (our dogs) when we see her. Elizabeth tells everyone that she is an animal rescuer and trainer. I don't watch Dora the Explorer but apparently Diego (her brother) is an animal rescuer and I think this is where she got the idea from.

In the morning when we saw her for breakfast, she talked about how there was going to be a dog show at the party. She got a DVD for Christmas last year about dog training and has been working on training her dog Stache. We were obviously very interested in the possibility of a dog show, especially since Elizabeth tends to be pretty shy. The dog show was definitely the highlight of the party. It was hilarious but it was also great to see Elizabeth coming out of her shell. Page did an awesome job as always with the party. She had dog and cat ears for the kids to wear, dog and cat door hangers for the kids to make, and of course a dog cake with dog and cat cupcakes! It was a great party and we are thankful we were able to be there! Here are some pictures from the party:

The birthday girl