wow. this is late

I seriously have let some posts slip through the cracks. My sister and her husband celebrated their 10 year anniversary in September and to celebrate her friends, my mom and I threw them a cocktail party. I didn’t take many photos, I was too busy cooking food for the ravenous wolves. But we didn’t mind, as long as the cocktails are flowing, you have to keep the food coming.

This was the first time I blow dried Greta’s hair. Oh, the little princess she felt she was. And Sawyer got to pull out Gunnar’s old tuxedo from a wedding he was in. Again, such a bummer I didn’t take more photos. sigh. I didn’t even get one of Jessica and Carl together! Basically, the only photos I took were before it started. Once people arrived, that’s it. My camera wasn’t picked up again. Nikki should be in the photo with us too, but I didn’t even get one of all the girls who threw it with me. There’s always the next one, five years from now. . .

art party

Alissa had a fantastic art party a few weeks ago. The kids had a ball and the crafts were so great. Good job Jane! Jane is crafty and creative and you could tell during this party. Who else would brave a huge paper mache bowl to make pencil holders involving balloons and felt? My kids just wore their tie dye t-shirts to bed last night. We’ve done tie dye in the past, but these shirts are so bright and vibrant, you would’ve thought we bought them.

And because I have THREE kids, I was lucky enough to get to do this paper mache project THREE different times. It was messy. But messy means fun.

The party girl picked out her own outfit and I couldn’t love it any more.

congregation picnic- photo essay

cocktails

Aaron and I got to enjoy a very adult evening at a friend’s cocktail party. It was lovely, and I wish I had gotten permission to post the rest of my pictures, but here’s a few. We had a blast, and they did such a good job with the cocktails and the catering. The tables and candles. The fireplace and music. It was just wonderful.

party time

If you live in Los Angeles you MUST have a party at this place. I found it a few years ago when Gunnar went to summer camp there. It’s uber expensive but almost worth every penny. They have swim lessons daily, horseback riding, rock climb, archery, I can go on. Poor kid, his little sister unexpectedly arrived and our summer camp budget went down a bit. It is kind of hard to go from Tumbleweed to the local park, but honestly he doesn’t complain. In fact, I think he loves it just as much.

But back to my story. I found out about 6 months ago that they do parties here on the weekend during summer. I quickly researched and it was decided that Sawyer’s joint graduation party with his 4 other little friends would be held here. So the Fab 5, Sawyer, Ethan, Maddie, Julia, and Mason celebrated their triumphant graduation from preschool at this fabulous place. We had numerous activities to choose from, and the ratio was one counselor for every 10 kids. The counselors were fantastic.

For the kids we chose to make Instant Mini Volcanoes, Archery, Petting Zoo, Treasure Hunt, and at the last second we chose to add the Tumblewheel for the bigger kids. But I actually think the adults liked it even better than the kids. The Tumblewheel is this ride type thing that they strap you down to, 4 kids at a time, or 2 adults at a time, and you can go back and forth or they swing you all the way around. Once you are upside down, they stopped it and made you sing a song until you were brought back down. No doubt, the parents and aunties lined up for that one.

You can kind of see in the photos that it’s an old school type of camp. Extremely outdoorsy with the most beautiful land. You wouldn’t know it’s smack dab in the heart of L.A. with all the hills and trees.

And everyone knows I love me a good kids’ party, and fortunately for us, Uncle Dave and Auntie Rachel were still in town to participate in the festivities. They were all over this party, okay, maybe only Auntie Rachel. But Uncle Dave did come to support it.

Here are some highlights.

It was my turn to try, and Auntie Rachel’s too.

Gunnar on the Tumblewheel.

And Tati’s.

Cupcakes for all, and then all the parents brought a wrapped present for their own child(ren) to open. Fun indeed!

a wedding

Remember the engagement photos of this couple, here and here? Well they got married last weekend and it was a lovely wedding. Small and intimate, and just what she envisioned. It was Greta’s first time to a wedding and she was beyond thrilled. The girl could not stop talking about it all day. Here’s some snapshots from their big day.

That’s Greta on the dance floor.

                      

a barn party

The kids were invited to a Barn Party a friend was throwing on Saturday. They had a petting zoo and pony rides. The grandparents skipped out on this one, but Uncle Zeb got dragged along. I think he may have been a little confused why we would have a party and pay to have livestock come for the kids to pet. Apparently, since he’s the last sibling left at home out of 6, he has made friends with a lot of chickens and ducks and goats, so it’s nothing special for him. But the kids were a wee bit excited.

Greta became quite attached to the bunny and asked me later that night if she could have one. Nope. We have enough living organisms in this household. No need to add something that may multiply faster than Aaron and I.

These pictures were stolen from Amanda since I only got to stay for a half an hour and then headed to my cousin’s bridal shower.

One of the highlights was yours truly getting to put this pumpkin’ on her first pony ride. Unfortunately the ride only lasted mere seconds before she burst into tears and begged to be removed from the pony.

And the best photo taken of all time. Thank you Amanda for this priceless treasure that makes me laugh every single time I look at it. Aaron apparently decided to sit in the petting zoo and take a crap with a chicken on his lap.

H I L A R I O U S 

babies babies babies

My sister threw a baby shower this weekend for a dear friend of hers. Gaby is a sweet girl who is going to be an awesome mom. I was a bit unnerved by the large number of pregnant women present. You see, I am quite fertile. So I don’t like to be around pregnant people too long, I get a little scared something is going to rub off on my shirt and then you know how that goes. You get a little pheromone on your shirt and then next thing you know, you’re knocked up. Wait. That’s not how it works? Maybe that explains my 3 kids. Well, technically 2. Since I actually planned one of them. The other two, not so much.

Back to the shower. My sister put Gaby’s 4D ultrasound photos on the tables and she got lots of great presents. And Greta was quite the helper unwrapping all the presents. I wasn’t sure she would understand the concept of unwrapping and not keeping. But she totally dug it.

And I am pretty excited to be shooting her pregnancy photos tomorrow. So stay tuned.

the video

Okay, I got permission, and totally voluntary too, didn’t even ask for it(!), to post the link to the video we made for my parents. Just to warn you, it is 20 minutes long, so don’t click unless you want to sit there and watch for awhile! 

To watch it fullscreen click on the little blue arrows in the corner next to the word “vimeo” on the bottom right side.

35 Years

Last week you all saw my Happy Anniversary post to my parents. 35 years. Well, we had to celebrate. In the past my father has always thrown his own parties, he doesn’t like to hand over control of any sort to anyone. Especially his daughters. But this time, we insisted. We are adults, married. We can handle a dinner party for 50 people, 52 to be exact. I may be bias but it was fantastic. We held it at an awesome Italian restaurant in Brentwood called Pecorino. 

My father was very adamant on knowing all the details. Menu, wine, champagne, time, invites, you name it. But we couldn’t divulge everything. Especially not the 20 minute surprise video that Aaron and I have been working on for months. 

The evening began with appetizers and champagne and once everyone arrived we sat down to dinner. Not your normal dinner. After the initial appetizers, we got appetizers at our seats, 3 to be exact. Then we had 2 pastas. Then we had fish. Then we had steak. Then we had 3 desserts. Yes, 3. And there was no choice. You were served it all. It was a long evening, but very enjoyable. 

Once we had eaten the main course we brought out the screen and projector and played the video montage of photos and video clips. There were many tears and much laughter, so I think it was a good combination of humor and tender moments. If you know anything about me, you must know that my father is our world. I am not joking here. He is the most reasonable, humble, modest, sound, wise man I have ever met. And I believe has ever walked the earth since Jesus. Yes, he is on a high pedestal to say the least. And my mother is like no other as well. She is the most dedicated mother I’ve ever known, and I can only strive to be like her everyday. This dinner was the least they deserved in celebration of their marriage and all they have accomplished in 35 years. 

I have loaded the video to Vimeo, but for fear of the wrath of a certain sibling, I won’t post the link in this post. You can email me if you want the link, or I’m sure with a little minor digging you can find the video on your own. But if my sister and brother in law ask, I did not tell you. I have no clue what you are talking about. And if you want future secrets divulged, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Got it? Good.

Here are a few snapshots from the night.