A Birthday at "Da-Goon"

Naiya turned 4 today. Being the terribly overwhelmed mother that I am right now, I did not throw her a party. This is the first time I have not done at least one birthday party for one of my girls (and I'm feeling more than a little guilty). To make up for it, we took her to Lagoon- lovingly referred to by Naiya as "Da-Goon." (Apparently the "la" in Lagoon is way to french for my child.)
We had a great time. We have never taken the girls to "Da-goon" before, but we will certainly be back lots as they get bigger. The funnest part for me was watching them giggle like crazy on EVERY ride (the faster the better). They were loving it!! Although both girls have a ways to go before they can ride the major roller coasters, they both were tall enough (Eva just barely) to go on rides like Musik Express, the Tidal Wave, and the Tilt-a-Whirl. We even made it to Lagoon-a-Beach for the last hour of the day.
What a fun day... and to end the day we were treated to dinner at Neema and Pa's house where, of course, Neema had prepared a delicious meal, accompanied by a beautiful and even more delicious cake, and topped off with loads of presents. (Between the two sets of grandparents plus aunts and uncles, my kids make out like bandits at any gift-giving holiday.) The child has school clothes and shoes, a new booster seat, new snuggle cow for her bed and more money than she knows what to do with. I think her favorite part of the night, however, was the cake. Neema had baked a white cake with chocolate shavings in it covered in chocolate and decorated with strawberries. YUM!! I'm not sure that Naiya even tasted the cake though, she was too busy picking of each strawberry (save one for Eva) off of the cake. (I guess it's a good thing that she prefers strawberries to cake.... leaves more for me! :)

Today I had my first day of school meetings and was feeling even more guilty that I had to ship Naiya off to get babysat on her birthday. Thankfully I know she is in great hands at my friend Betsy's house and at Neema-and Pa's. (I'm so lucky to have good friends and family to help when needed!) Of course Naiya was spoiled some more with another cake at Betsy's house and she got to spend the day helping take care of Betsy's new dog. (Honestly that was probably more fun for her than anything I could have come up with!)
After I picked them up cute Eva had a little gift for her sister. She thought long and hard about what her sister would really like for her birthday and decided that a new CD was just the thing. It truly was because when Naiya saw the "5 Little Monkeys" CD cover she fell into a giggle fit for a good 5 minutes.
Although I don't think she would have noticed if we didn't' get her anything, of course we got her a little something..... A new set of wheels! Now that Eva's short little legs can reach the peddles on the tricycle, Naiya got to upgrade her tricycle for a two-wheeler with training wheels.

All in all, despite the lack of an actual party, I think it was her best birthday yet. I hope they continue to get better and better each year!! :)

*I did take pictures of the day... but seriously, at this point, I am just happy to have typed something. I will download the pictures... someday......