celebrating with friends

ella had a few friends over on the friday before her birthday for a little celebration.
i got blue (her favorite color) balloons for the table...balloons are just so fun for birthdays.
the girls played outback for quite awile: dancing, snacking, making up games.

then we came inside to make some jewelry.
they each made a necklace with a charm on it.
i got the kits at target, they were super cute and super easy to make.

 

then we headed back outside for dinner (tostadas - no meat on fridays during lent)

everyone wanted to sit by the birthday girl, even her brothers! it was pretty cute.

they watched a movie and then we had cotton candy cupcakes for dessert.
the party was from 4:00-8:00 which was perfect...ella was in bed before 9:00.
she really needs her beauty rest, and i am a happy mama when she gets it!

it was a fun little party.
and the boys were so good with the girls.
they hung out with them, made up some fun games for them, & were just fun to be around.
they really got the girls giggling...
it is so great when this happens and everyone is happy!
feliz cumpleanos, princessa!

happy birthday, ella

ella's 8th birthday was on sunday.
she was so excited for it, she had been talking about it for weeks.
we had a family brunch to celebrate her special day. (those are cream puffs for her cake)
i didn't get any pictures before everyone got there, but took some during the brunch.

we had so much going on that weekend, brunch was the only time we could celebrate.

it was such a nice change from doing dinner - so nice to have the rest of the day to relax.

and on top of that, brunch foods are so much fun to have and set up.

 

ella was such a big help with getting things ready, helping me make everything look pretty.
i really am so lucky to have such a wonderful, helpful and creative daughter.

she couldn't have been more thrilled, surprised, and excited about the 3ds we gave her.
she has been wanting one for quite some time.

it was so nice having the entire family there to celebrate her birthday.

my mom and brothers stayed for awhile after everyone left.

we were able to just sit and relax and hang out in the front yard while they played basketball with the kids.

thanks so much to all the family for all her wonderful gifts and most of all for your presence on her birthday, the most special day for a child.

and a very happy birthday to my darling 8 year old daughter...

a fat tuesday treat

so we've had these groupons for the gelato spot for months and months.
and every weekend we think we might be able to squeeze in time to go and use them.
that hasn't happened, so what better day than fat tuesday to get a sweet treat?
i took the kids after school,we got some to go for lc since he had baseball practice.

i was even able to pull up the groupon on my ipad - i felt so high tech.
that is after about 10 minutes and two people helping me figure out how to get logged onto the network!  ha - well a couple of the workers and i all know how to do it now!

then, grandma and grandpa invited us over for chinese food to celebrate fat tuesday.

it sure is nice to have excuses to celebrate, get treats, and spend time with family.

a lovely birthday

last thursday was my birthday.

i thought my mom and i were going to go to lunch and do a little shopping.

but, she and my mother-in-law surprised me with a lovely brunch.

everything about it was beautiful...the table, the flowers, the women there.
a couple of my very close friends were able to be there, we missed the one's who couldn't make it.

carol used these flowers to adorn the table then gave each of us one to take home.

it was such a sweet surprise, and so nice that it was a small and intimate celebration.

it gave us the opportunity to really relax,
and enjoy each other's company and the beauty that filled the table.

the napkins were rolled up with bay leaves from my mom's backyard, tied with pretty fabric.

 the sweet children of my dear friends were there too...

afterwards, my mom and i were able to do a little shopping while john stayed with grandma.

then it was onto picking up the kids from school and going to christopher's baseball game.

he pitched for the first time ever...

chris was even able to make it from work to see his game, and they won.
we went out for dinner afterwards and then home for cake that nani had made me...

it was really a lovely birthday and i was so surprised by the wonderful brunch.

i am truly blessed and so thankful for all of the love that surrounds me.

the last junior assembly - a valentine's dance

the last ja (formal dance & etiquette class for 6th graders) was on monday night.

the parents got to attend this last one and dance with their son/daughter at the end.
we all stretched our eyes all over the room to see who our sons would ask to dance.
snapping a million pictures throughout the evening as we watched from the sidelines.

when these classes started chris and i encouraged christopher to make conversation

with whoever he asked to dance...

if she went to another school, what was her name, and what school did she go to? etc...

i'm so glad we did, it was so cute seeing them talking as they were dancing.

they seemed so comfortable, and the ones who weren't talking not so comfortable!

the first few dances (the fox trot), he asked girls he didn't know.

but for all the fast dances, he asked girls from his school.
they looked like they were having so much fun, it was great to see them all dancing together.

then the parents got to dance with the kids.
we did the fox trot together, christopher was pretty good at leading!

christopher was actually disappointed to find out a few days before that it was the last one.
he really enjoyed it, and it was so sweet to see him get excited for it each time.
getting dressed up to go out dancing is even fun for boys!
they all did the chacha train at the end.

a bunch of us went out to eat afterwards.
it's always fun to go out and celebrate these special occasions.

this is the group from christopher's school that attended the classes.
he knew a lot of the kids from the other schools too which made is extra comfortable for him.

it was a fun experience for him and i'm sure glad i had him do it.
fun times, for these pre-teenagers!

a day full of love - valentine's day 2012

it started off with some pink strawberry milk and whipped cream.
the other kids got to have some before school along with a big homemade breakfast.

then chris called around 11:00 and said, 'what are you doing?'
i replied, 'oh, vacuuming, putting laundry away, doing laundry, ironing your work shirts, having an allergy attack'.
i had high hopes of getting all that stuff done this morning and out of the way for the week.
i had finally just stopped to take a break, john and i were laying on my bed together and i was resting my itchy eyes for a few minutes, my allergies have been terrible these last couple of weeks.

he then invited john and i to come down and have a picnic lunch with him.
he called in sandwiches from our favorite deli and we picked them up on the way.
it was a fun, sweet, and unexpected surprise.
john took this picture of us...

i set a fun and festive table for the kids to see when they walked in the door from school.
i did this last year too, and really enjoyed getting it all ready.
i didn't get all the balloons this year, didn't have the time, but the table still turned out cute...

everyone got a little valentine gift from me at their place setting.
and as i was getting it all ready, my mom knocked unexpectedly on the front door.
she dropped of treats for each of us, so we added her bags to each of the place mats.
like mother, like daughter...she used to do all this kind of stuff for us growing up too.

the boys both got cases for their itouch's that they have been wanting.

ella got a cute new purple and cream striped shirt with pink glitter hearts that she loved,

and john got some baseball cleats (that we bought at ross last week).

he has been wanting cleats for about a year now, he can't wait to start wearing them.

i don't get them candy anymore, they get enough of that from everyone else.

but it's fun to get them these little gifts to open on this special day.

 we waited for chris to get home and opened them all together.

i gave him the 'adele' cd, we all love her songs so much.

it was a chilly day, a nice change from the mild weather we've been having.

ella threw on some extra warm accessories before going out front to play.

then she slipped these sweet cards and treats on my plate and on chris' too.
and so the tradition is already starting to carry on through her.

we made heart shaped pizza's and salad again this year.
last year we made a couple big heart pizzas, this year i let everyone make their own individual ones.
i pretty much made johns...

and helped with the others, but let them pretty much do it themselves.
they cook so quickly and they are so good.
we baked them in the oven (i already had it on from baking) this year instead of on the grill.

i made a big one for chris and i.

the heart didn't turn out as good as last years', but it still tasted delicious.

and i made heart shaped brownies for dessert.
the cherry balls were added courtesy of ella.

grandma also made heart shaped cookies with the kids yesterday.
and she and grandpa gave them some fun treats and a little spending money.

it really is nice to have this day to shower those you love with gifts and attention.
it's a good excuse to make everyone feel special and it sure does feel good to do it.
and it's nice to set the table with place mats and such seeing as i only do it @ twice a year!