All Partied Out!

This weekend was my inlaw's 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration.

What a weekend! It started off Friday when we went over to start helping set up. We had the party at their house. They have a gorgeous huge yard with a pond running through it, a barn that's over 100 years old, a built in pool, yadda, yadda, yadda...

We were over there till after 11 that night getting things ready. Then Saturday morning involved last minute details of running to the store, re-watching the slide show one more time, printing a label for the cd, etc, etc, etc. We went over around 2. Spent the next two hours running around like chickens with our heads cut off. In the middle of all the set-up, my sil's friend came and took a family picture.... all 28 of us! She did some individual family shots after that. Can't wait to see them. We're actually going to get my mil and fil a huge portrait to hang over the fireplace for Christmas.

Finally, it was time for the party. My inlaws knew about the party but we made them leave around 4 so that the surprise could come and set up. They came back at 5 to a driveway lined with guests and a private concert by none other than ELVIS! LOL My mil LOVES LOVES LOVES Elvis. SO we hired an impersonator to come and perform. Tons of fun. He sang for about a half hour.

After that, we ate and socialized then around 7:30, we gathered everyone around to watch the slideshow. It was a huge hit. Made all the hours I sat working on it worth it! One funny happening... Hubby found a speech on the internet. So, he's up front reading it, in all serious mode, when all of a sudden, Cass comes running up to the house... through the middle of the group BUTT NAKED!!!! Yeah, just call her the streak! She'd been swimming in the pool and took off her suit... her clothes were in the house! LOL It just so happened that Hubby was on a line about the doctor saying those words, "It's a boy... or It's a Girl", and here comes Cass. Everyone got a huge kick out of it. I ran her inside and got her clothes on while he finished his speech. People laughed about it and talked about it the rest of the party. Basically, she's a legend in her own time!

After the slideshow, lots of people hung around and ate and drank. I ended up finally taking Nicholas home around 11:00. Hubby and the girls (and most of the rest of the nieces and nephews) ended up just spending the night at my inlaws.

Today, we spent the day cleaning up, the kids swam again, and we ate the leftovers from last night. It was after 9 when we finally got home!


I'm exhausted... think I'll get ready and hit the hay!

Now that the party's over, I have to start working on getting my ebay crap listed AND start getting ready for my moms' group clothing sale. It's not till the end of September but I have a ton of things to get ready for it!


It's always something, eh?

Party Time!

The big 50th anniversary party for my in-laws in finally tomorrow! We've been in the planning stages for the past month and a half. This past week has been a lot of running around finishing up last minute details.

I'm about 98% finished with the slideshow. Just a few more tweaks here and there then I'll be ready to burn it to a DVD. We'll be showing it tomorrow at the party. Hubby took our TV over last night to get it all set up. I hope my in-laws are happy with the finished product! I'm sure they will be... it has turned out well, if I do say so myself!

Tonight we're meeting over at the house to get everything decorated and set up. I'm in charge of pasta salad (which I'll make late tonight or early tomorrow) and the chocolate fountain. Still need to go pick up some strawberries for that. But I think I have everything else! I'm getting hungry just thinking of all the yummy food we'll be serving!

Ok... off to get some things done around here before we have to head out....

A Celebration

I am currently working on a slideshow to celebrate my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary. We're having a party for them at their house next weekend. They have a huge gorgeous yard so why not show it off during a celebration of their life together?

So anyways, the slideshow is of pictures from their lives... clear back from their childhood all the way up to the present. Five kids and sixteen grandkids plus countless friends and family makes for a LOT of pictures! I've used about 200 of them and could have used more but we don't want the guests to have to sit through a 40 minute show! LOL As it is, it'll be around 20 minutes.

I'm just about at the point where I'm ready to add some music behind the pictures. So far, I have two picked out... Memories by Elvis (my mother in law LOVES him!) to start the show and With this Ring by the Platters. I'll probably need at least another five songs to finish out the pictures.

My mother in law gave me her wedding album to scan pictures for the show. In the back of the album is a picture that stole my heart. I'm using it at the beginning of the slideshow. The rest of the wedding pictures don't start for another 30 or pictures but this one begged to be seen first...

It just seems so timeless to me. The looks on their faces anticipating the future. The future that I and my children are now a part of...

What do you think?

Look What Fun We're Having!

Yep, my baby is becoming mobile...

Just in the past week or so, he's started pulling himself up on things and getting into mischief. Above, he's into some books I got at a garage sale that I'm in the process of putting on ebay. Just today, he pulled himself to standing using just my knee.

We're in for some fun these next couple months, eh?

Nicholas' 9 month stats

He's officially nine months tomorrow. I took him in today for his nine month well check. It's hard to believe how close he is to turning a year old!


So anyways... he's up to 16 lbs 5 1/2 oz and is 25 3/4 inches. The weight puts him below the 2nd %ile. He was at the 4th at his six month. I'm not worried though. Heck, the kid has put on almost 13 lbs since birth. You can't complain about that!

The nurse prac didn't seem too concerned that I'd switched his formula from Neosure to the cheaper stuff. I just hated paying $14 a can for something that lasted two days! The bigger ones (from Wallyworld) are $11.99 a can and last much longer.

She also was fine with the fact that I've got him on mostly table food already. She did say that and the fact that we changed formulas is probably why he dropped on the charts.

Developmentally, she said he's doing great. He's almost crawling and is starting to pull up on things. Time to get babyproofing again!

I'll share some pictures and video of him soon... check back to see...

Cool Rider

I've been trying to talk my six year old into learning how to ride her bike without the training wheels. Her basic answer was, "no way, Jose!"

So I hadn't mentioned it in a couple weeks. Out of the blue, she decided to wanted to learn. NOW! It seems there's a little friendly competition between her and her little friend who was in her kindergarten class. Only problem is, she didn't inform said friend about the competition. She just decided she wanted to learn how to do it before he did!

So, hubby took off her training wheels one day last week and they practiced some in our backyard (we have a grassy hill) and a little on the sidewalk. She did ok but didn't have a lot of confidence doing it. So she asked Daddy to put her training wheels back on.

A few days later, we were at my inlaws and it just so happened that in the garage, there was a bike, a little smaller than her's, that didn't have the training wheels on it. She and Daddy practiced some more. Because this bike is tinier, and therefore closer to the ground, she feels a little more confident. The first night, she still needed a little bit of help to get started...



Last night we were over there again. Look at her now...


Looks like she won her "friendly" competition with her friend. I think he at least knows about it by now... since I mentioned it to his mom a few days ago...

Wonder how long it will be before they're both cruising up on the down the sidewalk on two wheelers???

Anyone Remember Nellie Olsen?

From Little House on the Prairie?!?!

I have my very own little "Nellie..."



This was taken the other day after she'd been swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's. Oh, and FYI, that is completely natural. I didn't do a thing to it.

The funny thing is, she's almost as ornery as the original Nellie!