Fifteen seems so old . . . 1 more year until dating age!! Where has the time gone?!
Newly Acquired Braces
Since our family pictures this year, Emma decided to chop her hair off and was finally able to get braces! I don’t think there has ever been anyone happier to get their braces on than Emma. They are definitely harder to acquire here in the UK than in the states and we had to go through a couple different orthodontists until we found one that was a bit proactive.
Ice Cream Cake
Emma requested shish-kabobs for her birthday dinner, followed by a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.
Blowing Out the Candles
The kids all thought really hard about what to get Emma for her birthday and did a really good job. Hannah got crafty and planned well in advance to make Emma a pillow to match her room. She found the pattern online, as well as all the materials I needed to order for her. After cutting out all the pieces, Hannah waited for a day that Emma was away on a youth activity, and put it all together.
Sewing Up Emma’s Pillow
Emma was surprised . . . and even more so that Hannah had made it for her. She did a great job!
Surprise!
The biggest surprise was the box that held Imagine Dragon tickets for she and Chris for next month. Emma was VERY happy about those!
Tickets!!
New books to read, new clothes to wear, some jewelry, and a pillow . . . not to forget concert tickets. What could be better?!
Gifts
To top off the big celebration, we took a family trip to Longleat Safari Park, a couple hours away.
Safari Entrance
One of Emma’s biggest loves is animals . . . as she hopes to be a veterinarian. This was the perfect birthday outing for her!
We weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but we followed the map we were given at the entrance, and drove through the marked safari trail as we listened to an informative CD.
Our favorite part was probably the monkey enclosure.
As we entered the enclosure there were signs that said ‘enter at your own risk’, ‘monkeys are dangerous’, etc.
Monkey Sighting Above
Before long, the kids noticed a monkey hanging out on top of the car. Pretty soon it meandered onto the front . . .
. . . and sat there staring at us!
Eventually we got boring and she cleaned out the leaves from the hood of the car, and even started chewing on our wiper fluid dispenser. We have the teeth marks to prove it! We definitely found the signs at the entrance were well-deserved!
Cheeky Monkey
When we finished the safari, we parked and were able to go inside the park. There was so much to see that we ran out of time, but tried to get most of the highlights.
Red Panda
Walking with the Penguins
We were able to catch a bird show before leaving. As it was right before Halloween, they concentrated on the scarier birds . . . .
Vulture . . . with an 8 foot wingspan!
Owl
We had many fly-overs from the different birds they had out. Towards the end, they had 3 or 4 different vultures flying criss-crossed above the audience. The kids just kept their heads tucked behind the seats until it was over!
Emma Sneaking a Peek
It was a fun day out, and worth another trip, at some point, to see the rest of the park! But, Emma enjoyed all the celebration to usher in her 15th year and we’re so grateful to have her in our family!!!
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