Thank You Notes

I finally made thank you notes for Lucas’s second birthday party; and those of you who attended our thanks are in the mail. Since it was coming from a little toddler, I liked the fill-in-the-blank idea. I was able to put more thought into why he enjoys the gift so much.

Cheesecake Toppings

Buy a pie of cheesecake, cut into slices and then top each slice with different combinations of fruit, sauces and nuts. Quick, easy and will steal the show at any dinner gathering. Click on the image to get topping ideas.

{via BHG}

Lucas’s Birthday Party

While we were in Vegas, we decided to throw a birthday party for Lucas so he could celebrate his second year of life with cousins, family members and Vegas friends. The theme was cars because right now he loves anything with four wheels.

For the decorations, I saved milk cartons, cut the top off and had some of my older nieces paint the cartons to look like traffic lights. I then bought red, yellow, green and black balloons and weighed them down with sand and put the sand bag in the carton. These were the centerpieces and there were four tables. I bought black and white checkered flag garland and hung them around the backyard umbrellas. Also each table had a checkered table runner over a colored table cloth. I loaded up a large toy dump truck with chips as the center of the food table. Each food dish had race car flags sticking out of them.

My sister Marleen made a fabulous race car cake with a large number two as the race track. For games/activity, the kids each painted a little wooden car. Outside we had a matchbox car play area and a pop-up kidsize fire truck. Then we played pin the car on the race track and had an obstacle course. After food and cake, we had a pinata, which the older kids went crazy and completely demolished. Then presents. It was a lot of fun.



Pretty simple. I didn’t have a lot of time to put into. I was glad to have happy nieces excited to help me get everything together. Also a mom who did all the food and fed well over 50 people. A sister who brought over the play toys and another sister who made the cake. Thanks!
The adults hiding in the house to avoid the chaos.
Ashley, Ella, Julene and little Benjamin
Good friend Judi and her beautiful family came down from Salt Lake to visit. Miss her and love her. Wish we had more time together.

Birthday Food

Cuban sandwiches and a peanut butter fudge cake is what I made for Seth for his birthday dinner. Peanut butter is his favorite and a sandwich with a lot of meat hits the spot. Birthday present? Another climbing trip to Mt. Rainier!

Pink Baby Shower

Last week, I helped out with a baby shower for my friend Kirsta. It was at a restaurant, so there wasn’t a lot of planning and thankgoodness no cleaning up. I was in charge of the favors and flowers, but coordinated everything with the other little details. We did different shades of pink. We had cupcake toppers, name place cards and lots of pink balloons. The favors were little tin cans filled with Belgium chocolates. I wrapped them up in tissue paper and tagged with two scalloped punch out cards.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to my girlfriend Amy! Here she is with her fiance. They are getting married in Aruba this year, and I’m SO ecstatic for her. After a string of not-so-good boyfriends, I’m so glad she has found someone wonderful.


Happy Birthday to my dear old friend Ashley. Miss you, love you and can’t wait to see you.

And since I’m at it, I’d like to also give a shout out of April Birthdays to my nieces Allyse and Angelina, sister-in-law Katie and Uncle Bill.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my young blog. Can’t believe I’ve kept this up for a year and have had fun while doing it. I think we’ll make cupcakes this weekend in celebration–maybe pumpkin or lavender or blueberry and lemon. Doesn’t that sound good?! My girlfriend gave me a cupcake recipe book not too long ago and now I have a reason to bake away. Here are some things I’ve learned while blogging:

  • I’m not much of a writer. If I write too much it takes me too long and then I get antsy and waste a lot of time trying to get my thoughts down in words.
  • I’m a visual person. Need images to get my point across.
  • There are a lot of talented people out there and I love feeding from their ideas.
  • Blogging connects people together who have similar beliefs, interests, trials and life situations and I love that. I love that I’ve reconnected with old friends and have also made new friends. I love that my family can keep tabs on me and vice versa.
  • Having a blog encourages me to complete projects and start new ones so I can share with all of you. 😉
  • Blogging offers a creative outlet and a place where I can share all my ideas.
  • Opportunites and new outlets have opened up for my jewelry business.
  • I have learned that I have to REALLY limit my time on the computer or I could spend all day blogging and reading blogs.
  • And of course, blogging gives you all the opportunity to see my darling little family who are my pride and joy. Kisses!

Cheers to another year!{via Martha Stewart}

A Few Birthday Shout Outs!

I’m going to get all my February birthdays done as one since I always seem to get behind. They all know that I love them though. I still need to update my 2008 calendar with birthdays so I keep forgetting.

My first birthday shout out is for my niece Ella. I usually don’t post birthdays for my nieces and nephews because I have so many that I can’t even keep track. But Ella is my first niece so she’s a little special. I still remember how excited I was when she was born. Lots of fond memories dressing her up like she was one of my dolls. She’s such a beauty and sweet. How old do you think she is?

My second birthday shout out is for my brother-in-law Eric. He’s a rocket scientist. Seth’s extreme-sport partner in crime. Very people friendly; speak French fluently…and seriously the list goes on. He rocks…and he’s single ladies!

And last is my girlfriend Jenni-pooh. She just had her baby Emma, who is so beautiful! I can’t wait to meet her. I miss you! She’s part of my Reno clan.

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