April 7th Through the Years
Here is the annual look back at Zoe on her birthday through the years.
April 7, 2017 - Newborn
April 7, 2018 - 1 Year Old
April 7, 2019 - 2 Years Old
April 7, 2020 - 3 Years Old
April 7, 2021 - 4 Years Old
April 7, 2022 - 5 Years Old
April 7, 2023 - 6 Years Old
April 7, 2024 - 7 Years Old
April 7, 2025 - 8 Years Old
April 7, 2026 - 9 Years Old
Zoe’s Birthday Party
Zoe decided she wanted a spa themed party this year. She still loves Gabby’s Dollhouse so she wanted it to be a Mercat themed spa science party. Then she had the idea of doing a doll and me spa party. So, we decided to combine the two ideas. It was Mercat themed but we asked everyone to bring their doll with them. We used Zoe’s doll spa set to create felt masks and cucumber eye patches for the dolls. The girls got to make their own lip gloss and sugar scrubs. I also painted the girls’ nails. They had a great time with the spa activities and also had a blast jumping on the trampoline and playing with the dolls. We are so thankful for these sweet friends. Zoe loves them all so much and we are so grateful she has these girls in her life.
Happy Birthday, Zoe!
It is so crazy to believe that Zoe turned 9 on April 7th this year! She made the comment about being 1 year away from double digits and that just doesn’t seem possible. She had a fun birthday this year. She got to celebrate with her class at school with donuts. I got her out early so she could have her pick of treats for the day. She chose Clare’s Ice Cream. Unfortunately, Ava was sick in bed with the stomach bug so we couldn’t all go enjoy ice cream. But, Zoe loved her cookie dough ice cream. Then we came home to open presents. Her dinner request was Swamp Rabbit Cafe, which included some Bush-N-Vine strawberries! It was a great day celebrating our big 9 year old.
Easter 2026
Easter was extra special this year. We always spend Easter with my side of the family but this year we were able to all be together. Easter was always a holiday that I looked forward to growing up because my whole family came to our house. My cousins and I loved dyeing eggs, hiding eggs and spending time together. It was so fun to watch our kids have an egg hunt and play together. The little girls even convinced Ava to dress up with them in Jane’s dress up clothes. We also celebrated Zoe and Kay’s birthdays together. At our house, we decided to do eggs you could color with marker instead of dyeing real eggs and they were a lot of fun. It was raining on Easter Sunday so we couldn’t hide eggs at our house but it was still a great day celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.
Paris Art Show
Zoe’s school had an art show this year and it was so fun to see how excited she was to show off her art. The highlight of the show was the Under the Sea glow room.
Missionary Friends
Our dear friends, Mandy and Brian, were on home assignment for a few months. It took a lot of rescheduling but DJ and I were able to spend some time with them right before they returned to the mission field in Thailand. It was so wonderful to be able to catch up with them and hear about their life in Thailand. We always hate saying goodbye when they leave but we love that we’ve been able to remain connected over the years.
Spring Break 2026
This year for Spring Break, I took each of the girls on separate overnight trips. First, I took Zoe to Charlotte for a couple of nights. We went to the Airport Overlook Park, Discovery Place, Southpark Mall, and Ikea. We ended the trip with a stop at the Bush-N-Vine on the way home for some extra yummy strawberries.
Next, I took Ava to Charleston for a couple of days. We spent time shopping and walking around Downtown Charleston. We also visited Boone Hall Plantation and made it out to the beach just in time for a beautiful sunset.
It was exhausting taking 2 trips back to back but it was a great time with each of the girls!
Book Character Day 2026
Zoe decided to dress up as Zoey from Zoey and Sassafras again this year. She looked so cute! I didn’t get a picture before she left for school but thankfully her teacher got this pic of her with her friend, Chloe.
Snow 2026
This winter was crazy for our area. First we had an ice storm and then a week later we had several inches of snow. The snow was so beautiful coming down in huge flakes. We enjoyed sledding on our road that was completely frozen over for a few days. The craziest part of the whole experience was our pool freezing solid halfway down. Zoe and I got on top of it and it was insane to be able to stand on top of the the pool. She created a little ice/snow village on top of it as well. We enjoyed the winter weather but were very glad when things finally melted and life could go back to normal (no more e-learning days).
Ice Storm 2026
My birthday weekend we had a record breaking ice storm in Greenville. Everything was covered in ice for days, which was crazy to see in our area. It was pretty and worked well for sledding…not so much for snow angels but Zoe tried. We did enjoy marshmallows and the fire in the ice. Poor Sookie had to learn how to use the bathroom in the ice and she was not a fan at all. We were just so thankful it wasn’t as bad as predicted and we did not lose power.
