this could take all day

my girls on Easter

I wanted to get a picture of the family on Easter, what with how cute we were looking  (I'd actually changed into my outfit after church, since the musical I was participating in included "Biblical" costumes) and my goal of a family-photo-a-month. So after Easter lunch and before lollipops, we headed out to the backyard and I talked our friends into taking a couple of pictures for me.

I'm really happy with this one of the 5 (5!) of us.

And before I let the girls loose , I grabbed my camera back and told them they had to smile for me (well, at least the bigs, Leyla was a bit fussy).

A little hugging, a few of Papa's silly faces, and I am in love with these gems.

And with these girls.

Happy Mother's Day!

It was a very busy and sunny and fulfilling weekend. I am so thankful for my family and for friends and for fun adventures.

And I am so thankful for these three little girls. Mom asked me recently for a picture of the three of them, but I didn't have one! Thankfully just a few days later we were hanging out in the nursery and I was able to grab my camera and snag a few. With the natural light from the window and the tungsten light from the bulb, and the many-colored outfits the girls were wearing, I couldn't figure out how to edit the color correctly. Thankfully, a little black and white conversion always does the trick!

So Gran, Gram, Momma Too, and all those Aunties...thanks for loving me and loving my ladies too. 

 

 

planting jelly beans

We were planning to have Easter lunch over at our friend's house and they called us Saturday afternoon to have us bring the kids over that evening. They had made the decision to forego Easter Baskets this year in favor of a delivery of "magic jelly beans" from the bunny. We were going to plant them that evening and see what would happen on Easter...

Excited kids!

Dani couldn't come as she had misbehaved that night, so Daisy planted a bean for her.

And look what popped up overnight!

Yipee!

Only problem: The kids wanted to know which lollipop came from which bean, and of course we had no idea! So we gave up and just told them to pick one.

They were all happy to sit at the kitchen table for quite a while, licking away. Dani was cracking all of us up with her huge stick.

Thanks for including us in this fun new tradition guys!

Easter Egg Hunt #2

Our church was hosting a big Easter Bash which included a 5k run, booths, live music, lunch, bouncy houses, and a MASSIVE egg hunt. Pastor Shelly told us there were at least 12,000 eggs scattered throughout the property. Oh my.

Darin took Dani this time to her age group and this was the only photo he snapped.

Luckily we have a pretty photogenic kid and I was able to snag a couple of pictures someone posted to the church facebook page!

Darin did shoot a video of the event in which he proved just how easily distracted he is, and how just how scary of a soccer dad he could be.

I was over in Daisy's area with her. Here Pastor Shelly is giving out instructions (Another facebook steal, since I only had the mini flip camera.)

A lot of families came out to participate. A little help to spot Daisy.

And they're off!

By this time Darin and Dani had finished up her hunt and wandered over to find Daisy who had spotted a corner without kids and cleaned up.

See all those eggs? I think she had nearly 50.

Dani "cheering" on her sister.

After the hunt the girls were eager to play on the playground and it was such a nice day we hung out for a bit. Then headed home to indulge in all that candy! (I'm pretty sure we got way more on this holiday then we did on Halloween!)

Easter Egg Hunt #1

Our sweet little neighborhood hosts an annual Easter Egg Hunt the Saturday morning before Easter and we all were excited to participate again. (As it is with traditions, I read over last year's post and it is filled with some of the exact stories and wording as below. Good times...)

Just a few "blocks" through the greenbelt trail to the park for our hunt. Here's the girls. (I had to head back as soon as we arrived because *doh* the camera was out of batteries. Good thing we live so close!)

Daisy had spent the morning working on a picture to give to the Easter Bunny. She was pretty proud of it.

Dani, on the other hand, is not such a fan of the bunny. (As you can see her hiding here in this fuzzy picture and the video too.)

 

After the egg hunt announcements we split up with Darin heading to the 3-4 area with Daisy and me sticking with Dani in the 0-2 area.

I gave Darin the big camera since I was lugging around a happily snoozing Leyla and so my footage of the hunt is from the flip camera.

Here she is, ready to get some eggs!

And let the hunt begin! It totally cracked me up how she would run across perfectly good eggs to get to one farther away.

The one shot of Daisy from her hunt. Apparently Darin didn't get the memo that he was supposed to take pictures, because what he came up with was a really distracted video with some crazy moms yelling at their kids. Oh well, Daisy was a champ at the egg hunt.

 

This kid rocked it! Taking first place in her age category (it helps that she is at the older end of the span) and super proud of her hard work.

Joined with her sister, who took second place in her category (once again on the older side of her age group).  The girls each got to pick out a prize, in addition to all the treats in the eggs.

Before heading home we walked through Daisy's egg area and found another good 15-20 eggs. Turns out whoever hid them decided around a giant holly bush would be a great place. Poor Daisy during the hunt was dying "I can see them, but I can't reach them!" Thanks to her Papa, she was able to round up even more eggs!

And when we got home to feed the baby and pack up for our next adventure, the girls dumped out all the eggs. Daisy was cracking us up with her system so Darin took another video.

And then we were off to church for Egg Hunt #2!

 

Easter Egg Dying

I'm finally getting around to editing our Easter week pictures, so now time to blog! First up: egg dying.

I have to say, this potentially messy and finger-staining activity is not high on my love list. So I made sure we attempted when Darin was home. The girls loved dying and painting the eggs, and I was happy to take pictures and minimally help.

After the eggs dried, and Darin left for work, the girls were allowed to decorate with another kit I had purchased last year that included stickers and glue and eyes and pom poms.

Daisy's favorite egg:

And Dani's: 

 And with that, I can cross another tradition off the list for this year!

shepherd Dani

I'm still organizing pictures from December, and I came across this adorable shot that isn't gonna be the "it" picture from the day (there's another story I want to tell through POTD). 

Dani's Sunday School teacher captured this shot of Dani (on the left) and two of her classmates at snack time. The teacher had been amazed that all three kiddos had left their shepherd headgear on during the lesson and the snack time. So adorable, right?

We love our church and we love the teachers. 

November 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Weekday lunch. Trying to make things a little fun.

I left some socks outside the girls' room while they were sleeping, so I could put them away in the morning. This is what I found in the morning. I love it when my girls are creative!

Dani was playing with toilet paper tubes. Made me laugh so hard when she put them on her arms. I thought she looked like Kristen Wiig's character on the Lawrence Welk sketches.

On Thanksgiving Dani was really excited about the jumping off the ledge game. She recruited everyone to join her too. (This was my first time capturing a picture from a video I shot, and I think it's pretty ok.)

Crafting it up with Gran.

Christmas Morning 2011

I didn't take too many photos on Christmas morning, I was busy soaking it all up and reveling in the joy. But here are a few, along with a few memories I don't want to forget.

Darin and I woke up at about 7:30, looked at each other, and wondered aloud when our girls would be awaking. Didn't take long for Daisy to stumble in our room, and then quickly to the bathroom. Turned out she'd had to go for a while, but was worried about the whole getting-up-with-Santa-around thing. Too sweet.

Growing up I was always allowed to open my stocking first, and didn't have to wait for anyone to be around to open it, and I am happy to pass along this tradition to my kids. So Daisy dug into her stocking while Gran walked the dog and Darin brewed coffee and made breakfast rolls. Me? I sat and watched her open. I love finding little things all year long to inlude in stockings, and had fun watching her open it all. Little toys and socks and bows and toothbrushes and bandaids and a new hat. 

I finally gave in and let Darin wake up Miss Dani at 8:30. She was kind of out-of-it for a bit, so we settled in for morning rolls and she was pretty happy about that. Then it was time to let her attack her stocking. Similar things to Daisy, except that Dani also received some Yo Gabba Gabba underpants that she is very excited to start using. Here's to hoping that potty training in the new year goes well!

On Christmas Eve we moved TJ's box (he lives in front of the fireplace that we never use) and left some arrows on the floor so Santa would know where to find the stockings and his treats. Daisy had looked up in the chimney and was concerned that there was something in the way. I told her not to worry and mentioned to Darin that his bag of rags that kept the air flow down was worrysome to Daisy. So the great guy pulled out the bag and hid it away.

Here they are the next morning doing an inspection.

Santa even left a bootprint or two.

Gran gave the girls several new dress up outfits and they were happy to try them on right away.

We had planned to go to church on Christmas morning, but with Dani sleeping in and us taking our time, I looked at the clock at about 9:45 and realized there was no way we were going to make the 11:00 service. So we settled in and enjoyed even more time together at home.

After the presents had been opened we had our morning "brunch" of eggs and hashbrowns and toast and oranges. Daisy was really confused about why we were having breakfast so late, and it was fun to explain the concept of "brunch" to her. 

Eventually we decided to get dressed and brush our teeth and generally prepare to leave the house and head out on another Christmas adventure. More to come... 

 

a homemade holiday

This year I decided to make as many Christmas presents as possible. I'd been inspired by so many amazing tutorials online and with the help of pinterest had started gathering them all in one place. It was so much fun to choose and create presents for people I love and I thought I'd share them here with you.

Our Mops theme this year is all about board games, so when it came time for Christmas gifts, I thought this little ornament would be perfect for our amazing and hard-working steering team. Thanks to Darin for his help on this little project too!

My sister-in-law had a scarf on her wish-list, and this little no-knit scarf had been in my bookmarks for a while. Darin actually did this one too. He was an awesome helper on my handmade holiday quest for sure.

My niece, Macey, received this friendship bracelet kit, which with several hours of TV watching was really easy to put together. I even included a bracelet for her on the front too.

3 young boys in our family received fort kits. I followed the directions and sewed strips of old t-shirt around sheets from the goodwill. We also included clamps, glow-sticks, flashlights, battery-powered candle and a rope. Darin designed the tag for the outside, so if you want to make one of your own let me know and I can share the tag with you.

We hung out with our almost-three-year-old nephew Caleb this weekend and he demanded we open up the kit and build the fort right away. All three kids (Daisy and Dani included) loved playing in the fort, especially when we turned off the lights and used the flashlight and glow sticks to light their way.

 

My high-school niece, Molly, received this ear bud pouch. Just don't look at it too closely. Even after my second attempt, it is a bit lopsided.

I enjoyed this easy project (used stickers instead of vinyl for the letters) of making "santa-tizer" for Daisy's preschool teachers. They loved them.

Three little ladies we love received crayon rolls (and coloring books). I had so much fun choosing the right fabric for each girl, and there was lots of sewing involved. I'm glad these were easy to make as I was battling a serious case of strep throat as I worked to get them finished and in the mail on time!

My sister requested a camera strap, which I was so excited to make. I combined this tutorial with this tutorial, and the ruffle from this tutorial to make what I think is one super cute strap cover. 

My sister also sent me a link to this ruffled flower scarf when I asked for her requests for homemade presents, and since the camera cover was so affordable I decided to give a go at this one too. It's not perfect (don't look at those edges too closely, please) but I think it turned out really sweet. I'd wear it!

And while not quite homemade by me, I ordered a jewelry kit from this etsy shop for my neice Maya, so she could make jewelry and hair accessories of her own. (I ordered the bright colored one, and loved that it included a mini bottle of glue too. The deal I used to purchase it is back, if you want one for yourself, click here.)

Our neighbors received bins of homemade carmel corn (Darin makes this too) but I don't have a picture of that.

Oh, and Darin made my teenage nephew a duct tape wallet, but no picture of that either. It turned out really cool though.

I was also inspired to do a little fun wrapping too.

source

source

source

Yup, I think I like me some kraft paper!

How about some free tags?

source

You can follow along my pinterest "gift" board as I gather more ideas for birthdays throughout the year, and Christmas next year of course. And if you need an invite to pinterest, let me know.

What about you? Did you make or receive any handmade gifts this year? What do you think of handmade gifts?

Halloween 2011

Halloween isn't really my favorite of holidays. All the scary stuff just isn't my cup of tea. But I do love the whole let-kids-dress-up-in-fun-costumes and then steal all their candy part.

This year with a little help Daisy decided she wanted to be a butterfly and Darin decided he could make her costume. (Daisy's first request was a princess, but after two years of princesses, I thought maybe we should think of something else.) Dani decided she wanted to be a frog, and we were able to secure a frog costume on loan. 

But as Darin went to purchase the supplies for the biggest-butterfly-wings ever, Dani changed her mind and decided to be a butterfly too. 

Daisy got to wear her costume to preschool and have a costume parade with the rest of her school.

A blurry wave.

I kept giving Darin a hard time about those giant wings (the poor girls had to walk sideways through doors) but everywhere we went people LOVED them. 

Daisy's sweet class and amazing teacher, Miss Lynn. (Could not get the colors right on this shot, so a quick BW conversion it is.)

When Darin got home from work that afternoon we donned the costumes again and headed outside to get some pictures.

This girl is learning how to work the camera.

This girl is a bit trickier, you have to get her on the move.

This may just be a favorite photo from the year.

We decided to spend the first part of our evening at a carnival hosted by a church just up the road. We all had fun playing games and eating dinner and treats.

When we got home my camera got put away while we trick-or-treated at a couple neighborhood homes, then handed out candy to kids that came by our house. I'm not sure if Daisy had more fun visiting other houses, or handing out candy to the kids who came to ours. She LOVED jumping up and running to the door every time it rang, until the one time a group of scary looking preteens came to the door and she just slowly backed up and told me I could take care of these guys.

One treat each and off to bed we went. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas eve started out with lots of lounging in our pajamas. The girls weren't eager to get dressed, and neither were we. So we hung out and baked and wrapped presents, until Darin declared he couldn't take his caffeine headache anymore and we hopped in the van for a drive-through run to Starbucks. (New tradition maybe?)

That afternoon Gran arrived and the girls were able to open one present early. Like many families we know, the girls got new pajamas to wear. Daisy requested a red nightgown, and Dani wanted blue pajamas. The blue was a little tricky, since no one wants to make girl pajamas in blue anymore. I thought about just buying her the boy pair, but they had trucks and balls all over them and I knew she would have noticed. So, enter pale blue flower pajams and call it good.

We played with Gran and Isha for a bit (at one point Daisy asked me to help her write a card for Gran, in which she wanted to write "I love your son Darin") and then got ready for church and work. (Darin went to Juvi to hold a chapel service for the kids, and he said it was a great evening.)

And Mama tried to get a picture of her girls in front of the tree. Thankfully, I had some good helpers!

Us ladies said goodbye to Darin and went to the 5pm service at Peninsula Bible Fellowship (Our church's services weren't until 7pm or 11pm, not so friendly for the preschool-set.) where the girls were pretty well behaved and Linda and I enjoyed singing some classic Christmas hymns and hearing the old-old story once again.

Dinner was ready in the crock pot upon our return, and then it was time for the preparations.

First up, sprinkling the lawn with reindeer food.

Then notes to Santa. (Daisy is drawing a picture of the radio she hoped to receive.)

Then stories and songs. Mama had to fill in for Papa this year in reading "The Night Before Christmas", and I think I did a pretty good job. I had my dad's voice in my ear reading along with me.

The girls were a little too excited to sleep and were up from their beds a few times before finally succumbing. Cups of cocoa with bailey's for the parents, final preparations made, Santa cookies crumbled and tossed (they were a bit stale), and off to bed we went.

Eager for the morning...

Merry Christmas roundup

A few things on your Christmas eve to encourage and enlighten.

1. I really enjoyed reading this story about how some coworkers and kids associated with Youth For Christ got a little special pampering.

2. This is a great new Christmas song. Think I need to talk to our worship pastor about adding it to the mix in church next year. (Video is adorable too.)

3. I love year-end roundups, and here's the first one I found this year: 2011 in photos. Be sure to click through all three parts if you're looking. Themes: natural distaster and protest.

4. Another beautiful Christmas song. The video is just lyrics, so close your eyes and take in the meaning of the song. Lovely.

5. And one last video. I plan to curl up with my girls tonight and show them this one. It is just too sweet.

Merry Christmas friends! 

 

Gemmer Family Top 10 Drives of 2011

Welcome to our annual Christmas top 10! We love sharing a bit of our year with you in this format, although we are beginning to run out of top 10 ideas. (Feel free to submit your suggestions in the comments.) This is the third year we've written our letter on this ole blog, so if you missed 'em, you can read 2009 and 2010 by clicking the links.

(This post will stay at the top of the blog for a bit, so scroll on down to see new posts.)

1. Marysville to Kitsap County
For a brief time early in the year we were still living with Darin’s mom in Marysville, having left camp late in 2010. During this time Darin was beginning his employment with West Sound Youth For Christ in Kitsap County. This made for an interesting commute to say the least. Darin would get up early Monday morning, make the long drive to Kitsap, then stay with his dad in Silverdale for 3 nights and return home Thursday night, usually in time to tuck the girls in to bed. Deanna and the girls missed him terrible, and were glad this arrangement didn't last too long.

2. Marysville to Bremerton
Darin was glad to make this drive again—even though he had to take the long way around with the moving truck, instead of on the ferry—because it was the last time. This was the drive from Darin’s mom’s house to our new home in East Bremerton (Silverdale). We were blessed to find a wonderful home in a nice little neighborhood. We have neighborhood trails that connect the 7 neighborhood parks (one of the best of which is right behind our house), great neighbors for the girls to play with, and a fenced yard for them to play in. Our house is just right for our family and we are so thankful for it every day.

3. Lewiston
One of our longest trips of the year occurred this October when we loaded up the van to visit the Kaufman family for a long weekend. We always enjoy spending time with some of our best friends, and this trip was no exception. We were also able have lunch with Darin's sister Dakota (in Ellensburg) and Deanna’s uncle Rick and her cousin Jim and his family (in Clarkston). We saw some great sights in both directions and thoroughly enjoyed the drive (the girls were amazingly well behaved) and the visit. 

For the blog posts about our trip check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. 

4. Tour’d’Churches
Upon moving to East Bremerton we immediately started looking for a church family to join. We visited many area churches but couldn’t find the right fit. Despite visiting a lot of churches that are 5 minutes or less from our house, we finally ended up joining Gateway Fellowship in Poulsbo, 20 minutes away. Although we aren't so thrilled with the drive (especially as we get more involved with small group and choir and other opportunities) we are so thankful for this church and the passion they have for serving Jesus and His people. But, the tour’d’churches was not for nothing—Daisy goes to preschool at one church we visited, Deanna and Dani do MOPS at another, and the girls all go to Bible study Fellowship at a third. 

5. East Bremerton to West Bremerton
Though short and somewhat uneventful, Darin and Deanna got used to this drive when we did it for 7 nights in 2 weeks to attend our PRIDE Class. A wonderful family friend came and stayed with the girls so that we could attend the mandatory first step in becoming foster parents. We are very excited to be following God’s calling in our lives to open our home and our hearts to a baby who needs some love and care. Daisy and Dani are excited about having a baby in the family, but Dani doesn’t quite understand. The other day she asked, “Can our new baby be baby Jesus?” Merry Christmas!

Please be praying for us as we embark on this adventure. We have a lot to do to get our home (and ourselves) ready to be licenced! 

6. Bellevue
While not a normal destination, or one that is usually very significant to us, this drive marked a transformation for our family. On this drive we completed our transition from a truck and car family to a car and minivan family. After much deliberation and a few (almost) tears on Darin’s part, we sold his beloved T100 truck and in the same weekend we found the perfect mini-van for our growing family. We now own a 2005 Toyota Sienna with more bells and whistles than we have ever had on a car. It was an amazing deal and we are hugely blessed at the way that God provided this vehicle to enable our next move as a family (see #5).

7. Antelope, Oregon

(Technically Darin was just a passenger in a bus for this drive.) As part of his job at YFC (which he loves, by the way) Darin had the opportunity to go camp at an amazing Young Life camp in Central Oregon. It was an incredible week where Darin got to share his story with the whole High School group (about 300 kids), and got to go on 3 different quarter-mile zip lines into the lake. It was wonderful for Darin to be back at camp and sharing the love of Jesus with the kids in his cabin. He can’t wait to go back again in 2012! (And Deanna and the girls fared pretty well while he was away, camping with her parents, who came to visit this summer, in Carnation, WA.)

You can click here to read the YFC newsletter about camp, and here to check out the girls' adventures in camping.

8. Evergreen Park, Manchester State Park, and the Elliot Bay Marina
These are just a few of the amazing locations where Deanna has photographed family portraits and weddings during the year. In case you missed it, this year we launched our first small business, Deanna Gemmer Photography. Deanna is the creative talent and Darin is the tech support and webmaster. It’s a wonderful creative outlet for Deanna and she is having a great time. Check out www.deannagemmerphotography.com to see her work. 

9. Pullman, Cathlamet, Easton, Rainier, Walla Walla, and Edwall
Did you know that these are all towns in Washington and are all places Deanna has visited this year in her role advising 4H State Ambassadors? She’s been advising this group of teen leaders for 3 years and loves every time they get together. She particularly enjoys helping young people learn how to lead and how to think through tough problems. Darin stays home with the girls for the weekends and Deanna always comes back exhausted and excited to have been a part of the leadership building process.

10. Sun Lakes
Another long trip for the whole family, also to join the Kaufman’s, this time for a camping trip in Central Washington. The weather was wonderful and the kids had a great time playing in the park and swimming in the lake. The campfires, s’mores, and great conversation were a wonderful way to spend the long weekend. However, on this trip, we realized we are getting too old for just sleeping pads on hard ground. An air mattress will be included in the packing list for our next trip, because this is bound to be an annual event for sure. 

You can read more about this fun trip here.

While we still miss camping ministry most days, we are all so thankful for the faithfulness God has shown us this past year and for the opportunities He has given us to serve him here in Bremerton. We are blessed beyond measure by our two bright, creative, healthy, and beautiful girls and are eager to see how God can use the love in our family to shine His light into this hurting world. 

We hope and pray that you feel His love surrounding you and yours this Christmas time.

Blessings,

Darin, Deanna, Daisy & Dani 

Preschool Christmas program

This post is especially for the grandparents all the way in Florida. And for anyone who likes a good preschool off-key song. Or who happens to love one adorable blond-haired preschooler named Daisy.

Monday night Daisy had her preschool Christmas program. She has been working hard on her songs and verse for a while now, and was counting down the days to her "performance". As I dropped her off at her classroom that evening I gave her a little pep talk, encouraging her to sing out with confidence.

Turns out she's just a bit like her mother.

That little girl you hear so clearly, that's my girl!

I was off to the side, so the pictures aren't great, but I did get a couple.

Can't wait to see where this little girl goes!

class trip to the pumpkin patch

Last week Dani and I got to tag along with Daisy on her class trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

First, we enjoyed a story in the barn.

Then we took our turn to jump in the hay. 

Then we visited a bunch of animals, and I got lots of pictures of backsides!

The pumpkin patch had so many fun things to do including  a hay maze.

Dani was kind of having  a hard morning, so big sister gave her some love.

Daisy and her schoolmates climbed on the hay mountain for a class picture. I was pretty entertained by the parent paparazzi.

What an adorable group of preschoolers.

The class then took a quick trip through part of the corn maze, but Dani wasn't so interested in that adventure. So we enjoyed some sunshine in the grass.

The last event of the morning was to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Daisy had no trouble picking out her favorite.

Um, yeah, it was a little bright out.

Dani, however, took a bit more time to find the right pumpkin. She kept picking up great options, then let them drop declaring "too heavy".

But with a little work Daisy and I found her one that was just the right size. Dani loved that it was "yittle 'cuz I'm yittle".

One final photo op for mama, and we called it a day. And a lovely one it was.

Dani Lou turns 2!

On July 29, my beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed girl turned 2.

We started the morning with the celebratory decorations and pancakes. Two candles.

The girls spent the morning at home playing and coloring. And look! They're playing nicely together.

Birthday girl photoshoot. Didn't last too long so I only got one good shot.

Then she decided it was time for silly faces.

Big sister with the silly face too.

Lunch, as requested, at Mcdonalds.

When we got home from lunch, Grandpa just happened to be pulling in with presents. So Dani sat down right in the driveway and got to work.

After naps we changed dresses (the day had warmed up quite a bit, and the girls wanted to put on "pretty dresses") and drove out to Kingston to pick up Gran and Aunt Dakota from the ferry. We weren't quite ready for dinner yet, so we went out to explore the art festival that had come to town. There was some music the girls really enjoyed dancing to.

We had dinner at the Pizza Factory, and Dani enjoyed opening her presents while we waited for the pizza.

This is her Bible she received from us.

And this bag was full of puzzles. I'd spent the last month collecting puzzles from stores and thrift stores and yard sales and there was at least 15 puzzles in here.

Gran got her this one.

And this one too.

I was so mad because the specialty cupcakes I had purchased earlier that day were sitting at home in our refrigerator. Sorry Gran & Dakota! But we let the girls enjoy their mini chocolate ones following a round of Happy Birthday.

Two candles to start the day, two to end it. I think it was a pretty fabulous celebration of one pretty fabulous kiddo.

 

Birthday in a Box

This idea was so brilliant I knew I had to re-create it for my best flirty thirty girls. And since their birthday is tomorrow, what better time to share it with you.

Happy Birthday Jen & Amy. May I present their "Birthday in a box"...

Step 1: pretty box.

Step 2: fill it with fun birthday stuff. As busy mom's we often don't think about our own celebrations, so what better resource than all the good stuff for a party right in one box?

Cute cupcake liners, cupcake toppers, confetti, candles, and a homemade banner.

 

Napkins and a sparkly lei for the birthday girl.

Cake mix, frosting, sprinkles, and streamers.

I Jen the presents when I was out to visit in June (yea for saving on postage) and told her two things: they had to open them together (since they were getting the same thing) and they had to open them BEFORE their birthday.

Mission accomplished! And since they had such weird instructions, Jen thought for sure I had asked her to take pictures too. Lucky for me, they took pics and sent them to me!

 

Looks like they had some good helpers who I'm sure are ready for a party too!

Happy 30th ladies! Here's to celebrating in style!

more birthday party fun

I can't believe I never shared the rest of the pictures from the girls' ice cream parlour party. Well...time to get on it!

Turns out having a birthday party at the park is just about the perfect idea, as long as the day is a nice one, and we sure lucked out!

The adults get to hang out...

while the kids happily play on the toys or in the sand.

Since we didn't have a cake, the girls got their candles in ice cream.

I don't know why she was making this face, but could it be any cuter?

And here's the (blurry) face of a girl who's candle blew out before she could blow it.

All is well again. Time to sing!

 

I think she's happy now.

She finished her's, and then went after Papa's!

 

Then after ice cream, it was time to hit the beach for lots of rock throwing and treasure hunting.

Oops. I think someone got a rock in her shoe!

No party games or activities or crafts necessary. I love it!

The girls only opened one present at their party cuz Mr Gabe asked so nicely to see them open his gift. Turns out this was a great way to do gifts as we were able to stagger the opening of them at home over the next few days.

Here's to hoping next year we can just get away with special mama/papa dates instead of a party! I'm exhausted.

July 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

My first attempt at strawberry freezer jam, with strawberries from our little patch! It was so easy and so yummy.

Is summer finally here? The girls and the neighbor break in the backyard pool.

Carefully sorting and distributing candy for party favors. This was a major exercise in self control for Miss Daisy.

Happy Independence Day!

It was a long week with late nights at the fireworks stand. We all were happy to have him home, even if he was a bit exhausted.