Pinkalicious Party!

Call me silly and girly but pink is my fave color. I don't know why. I suppose it just reminds me of fun and happiness. So when Tabby said she wanted a Pinkalicious Party for her 6th birthday I was all "Let's DO this!" My sis Magi came up with the theme and I was thrilled when Tabby liked the idea.

If you have never heard of Pinkalicious it is actually a children's book:
Tabby has always adored this book (our copy is very tattered from its many readings.) It's about a little girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink. This book makes a great theme for a little girls party!

Here are the invites:
They were a lot of fun to make.

So two days before Tabby's party, I came down with the Worst Sinus Infection Ever. I have seriously never been sicker. The drugs I got weren't doing a thing and my face and teeth hurt so bad from all the pressure that I was brought to tears at some points. Anyway, if it weren't for Dale and my sis doing pretty much everything to get ready for the party, I don't know what we would have done. Saturday morning I felt a teeny bit better so I was able to do a lot of decorating and also enjoy the party but Magi and Dale really did most everything!

Here are some pics of the fun day:

As party favors, each girl got a pink tu-tu (made by magi) and a big "diamond" ring. I stacked all the tu-tu's up by the front door. Eiffel towers make great tu-tu holders.

My house is pinkafied:
Sheets of crepe paper for $0.99 at Hobby Lobby made fun flowers.Get a load of this cake Magi made! She made a giant version of the ones in the book!
And mini ones too!
These are Rice Krispy pops on a stick (recipe here.) I really wanted them at the party but there was no way I could make them being as sick as I was. So Dale made them! And they looked awesome. I was going to type that they looked adorable but he wouldn't like it if I said he made something adorable so I will say that they looked awesome.
For the first activity, each girl got a tiara to decorate.
Then we did the pinata.
Grandma took on Dale's usual role of being the pinata smasher and did a pretty good job of it. Seriously, do they even make pinatas that little kids can break?
The pinata bursts and there is a sea of pink with a little blue. Sorry, I wasn't about to dress my son in pink for the party.
Look at all these cute little pinkies!
I love Tabby's reaction to the cake.

Then it was time for presents. Rex stood closely by just in case Tabby needed help opening things. I believe it's a rule that every younger sibling has to do that.
Then we set up a small inflatable pool in the backyard for some "fun." I'm so mad because I didn't take any pics of this part. It was actually quite hilarious. I really didn't think about what it would be like to have 12 girls and a few boys play in a tiny pool in a tiny backyard. It was pretty much a screaming splash fest verging on a brawl. I could only stand it for a little while until I had to pull the plug for my own sanity and for every child's well being. Luckily, parents had started to come pick up their kids at that point.

The best part was after the party when Tabby thanked me over and over for giving her the "best party ever" and said I was the "best mom ever."

Awww, thanks Tabs! Anything for you!

Tabby Is 6 Pics

Tabby turned 6 on Sunday! My mom and I did a fun photo shoot with her. I thought she'd think it was cool and feel like a princess but she was over it about 5 shots in. I had to bribe her with things all the way through. When she gets older, she'll thank me because these pictures are stinkin' cute.

We Were Tested!

Dude. The most cliche thing happened to us last night. It was the old "what would you do if you found money that didn't belong to you" test. We were at the grocery store last night and we were about to turn down an aisle when I saw Dale silently swoop down really fast and pick up something by my feet. At first I was freaked out thinking he was trying to save me from a rodent or nasty critter of some sort but then I see that it is crumbled up money! He looks at it closer as we go down the aisle and no joke, it's a $100 dollar bill! WHATEVER! That just doesn't happen! For a split second, I thought "Yes!!!" But then we both looked at each other and knew that it had to be turned in. It didn't belong to us. Dale took it up to the front where of course, the lady was astounded that somebody would hand that in. He did leave his name and number just in case nobody claimed it. Yeah right. I'm sure one of the employees probably "claimed" it. But no matter, I'm not worried about what happens to it, all I care about is that we did the right thing. But ugh. $100? That may not be a lot of money to some, but to us? Ouch. I am glad it happened though because our kids were there and we were able to teach them a lesson about doing the right thing. No matter how un-fun the right thing may be!

Beating the Heat

Have you been to the new water play area at the Phoenix zoo? It's awesome! I wish I had one just like it in my backyard. Forget the animals, the kids just wanted to spend the whole day there. My mom brought her camera and got some pretty good shots of the day.

Tabby loving the waterfall.
Rex coming out of the slide on his belly. Looks fun, wish I could try!
Ella looking kinda ticked on her zebra.
Tabby looking cute on the carousel.
While I was in the bathroom with Rex and Ella, my mom took some pics of Tabby. I have to say she looks so beautiful. I can't believe she's gonna be 6 this Sunday.
How did she get to be so darling? She must have a very handsome daddy!

White Velvet Couch

My sis and I have been having fun designing outfits for each other on Polyvore. It's a complete waste of time but so entertaining. Anyway, I designed a living room for my mansion that I will one day surely have. Sexy, no?

I asked Dale if he liked it. He said "Sure, that will be the room I will never go in."

BTW, how long do you think that white couch would last before my kids threw up/dumped food/colored on it? I think it only costs $3000.00.

Bike Skillz

Last week Rex decided he was going to ride his bike without training wheels. Well, more like I bribed him with getting a Bumblebee Transformer. I didn't ever want to force the kid but he wouldn't let Dale or I take off those darn training wheels! I knew he could ride without them if he just tried but he was so worried about crashing that he was not letting us come near those training wheels with a wrench! So I came up with the one offer I knew he couldn't refuse. As soon as I said "Bumblebee Transformer" he was all over it. I honestly think it took him 10 minutes from us holding him up to him riding all by himself. And the worry about crashing? He fixed that himself. Every time he wanted to stop he would ride over to the bushes and fall in them. Now his skills have improved and he can hop off but it was pretty hilarious watching him teeter over and letting the bush catch him.

Here's a video of his first ride without help:




Do you see him heading over to the bushes at the end of the clip?
And yes, he is now the proud owner of a Bumblebee Transformer!

Good job, buddy!

Bravery

Tabby has successfully completed another childhood rite of passage. She has lost her first tooth. She is beside herself with pride. She insists that all her school friends aren't going to recognize her when class starts again.

It was loose for about a week and had been asking us if it's ready to come out about every 5 minutes. She wiggled it and wiggled it until we thought it was ready to yank. She was too impatient to just let it come out on it's own. She requested that her Daddy pull it for her.

Checking that the tooth was in fact loose enough.

Dale couldn't get it out with his hand so we had to get reinforcements.
I can't believe she let Dale use the pliers! I would have never allowed my tooth to be yanked out like that! She didn't even cry. Most kids would have freaked. I guess she was too determined to get that tooth out to be bothered by any pain!

It's out! It's out!

So do you recognize her?

They Came Home!!!

Dale's parents a.k.a. Gramma and Papa arrived home Tuesday night after serving a mission in Ecuador for a year and a half. Eighteen months doesn't seem like it would be that long but to us, it seemed like an eternity. We are so happy to have them home safe and sound. We had fun meeting them as they got of the plane at the airport. Of course, they did the old wait until you are the last one off of the plane trick. I suppose it was payback because every one of their 5 sons did it to them when they got home from their missions. We waited and waited and there they were! Lots of cheers, shouting and crying ensued.

Here we all are waiting. I told Dale to look photogenic. Maybe he misunderstood me and thought I said to look mean and angry.
Mary, Emma and Tabby waiting with our homemade posters.
Tabby designed this one all by herself. I wish I took a close up of it. It is really quite detailed. She drew a plane with Gramma and Papa coming off it at the bottom. I don't know what that big black thing is. Maybe some sort of giant bird swooping down to eat all of us?
Ella and her trademark "cheese smile."
This is Dale's brother Ken and his fam:
They are here! All the grand kids bum-rushed Gramma.
Dale sure missed his Dad.
Papa is happy to be home!
We are so happy to have you home with us Gramma and Papa! We love you!

8 Years of Awesomeness

It's been 8 years since I married my one and only, my luvah, my Mr. Wonderful.

Sorry ladies, I knew it then and I know it now that I really do have the best husband ever. Not to mention he's way cute too.

This is us all happy before we realized that life hits you like a ton of bricks! Just kidding. We have had so many wonderful moments together that I nearly forget all the bad ones.
All I can really think about when I see this picture is "How in the "H" did I ever think I was fat back then??? I'd give anything to look like that again!!!"

Unfortunately, as usual our bank account isn't letting us have too much fun to celebrate so we'll just make out a lot today.

Mother's Day

Little late on the Mother's Day post. Sorry about that. This summer heat is making me slow I guess.

Despite being huge, fat, and puffy, I managed to have a great Mother's Day weekend.

It all started with my hair appointment Saturday morning. I was so excited to get my hair cut and it turned out really cute. In all honesty, I did take a few pics of my new do to show ya'll but I was so horrified at how my swollen face looked (I insist that it's water retention not chub) I couldn't bring myself to post them! Sorry, I know its vain and also anti-climatic from the post where I asked every one's opinion but I just couldn't do it. Let's just say I'm rocking some sassy bangs and layers now.

Then I got to go out on a date with Dale that night. I like how I wrote that, like there would be anyone else I would be going on a date with. Anyway, he lined up a babysitter for us and took me out to eat at the restaurant of my choice and then to a movie. We are such an exciting couple, I know. Actually at the rate that Dale and I get out of the house without the kids, going anywhere by ourselves is comparable to a trip to the Bahamas. I chose Star Trek for the movie. Not your typical chick flick but the only other girly movie out was that Girlfriend Ghost movie which looked stupid so I opted for the nerdy space movie instead. So glad I did. It turned out to be REALLY GOOD. Go see it if you haven't yet.

It ended up being a really good night because Dale said I looked hot and I got a few compliments on my el-cheapo flower headband that I bought a few days before. I got it at Forever 21, a store that I refuse to believe that I am too old to shop in. It was one of those moments where I was feeling big and frumpy (those happen all to often) and I needed a materialistic purchase to lift my spirits. Since there is no Forever 21 maternity line (I wish) a cute head band would have to do. And it did.

We finished up the night by picking me up a smoothie on the way home. I have been craving those big time and it totally hit the spot.

Sunday morning, I was awakened by 3 very cute messy haired kids who were jumping up and down excited to serve me the breakfast-in -bed that they had made me. It consisted of Raisin Bran with about half the necessary amount of milk (that was the last of it) and a cup of yogurt that had expired about a week ago. And I ate all of it. I had to. I couldn't disappoint those little darlings. They also drew me some awesome pictures of myself. I am really digging the way Tabby draws me because every time she does, she draws a crown on my head. Very accurate, no?

Anyway I got up and got dressed for church. I picked out a bright green maternity dress that I really do think is cute but can't help but think "Jolly Green Giant" when I wear it. Ella didn't help when I was looking at myself in the mirror and she said "Mama, you're big!" For sure not an appropriate comment on Mother's Day, Ella. Not at all.

We came home and ate frozen pizza. Not a fancy dinner by any means but it was Mother's Day people! I hate cooking. Like I was going to cook on that day of all days.

We then visited my Mom's house and I gave her a book about stealing horses because that was one of her favorite hobbies as a kid. Kidding, mom. She only did it once and she gave it back.

We then went to Dale's grandma's house and wished her a happy Mothers Day with some hugs and roses.

We only wish we could have hugged Dale's mom on Mother's Day. She and Dale's dad are on a mission in Ecuador and they will be home in less than two weeks! Can't wait to see them again!

And there you have it!