Candles & Cocktails!!

This past weekend, my wonderful, wonderful husband planned a birthday party for me. Didn't he do a fabulous job planning all of the details? I was so impressed! I honestly had the time of my life! It made turning 35 just a tad bit easier! Thank you all for helping me celebrate. I know I said it during my birthday speech (along with some others things I'd rather not repeat! HaHa!) but it seriously felt like the wedding reception that I never had! A gathering of all of my oldest and dearest friends along with my wonderful family - it was so, so very special to me and I will never forget this night! I'm actually quite shocked that I didn't cry at least once or twice because of the overwhelming love from all of you. Thank you. Here are some pictures from the night.
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Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Mommy turned 35 this past week! For some reason, it has been a tough one on me! People have laughed at me for taking this one so hard but I guess it's all relative! Anyway, the wonderful husband and children took me out to a lovely dinner at Mahe in Seal Beach to celebrate (or mourn - however you want to interpret that! haha!) Here are a few pics from the night...

Easter 2008

Easter came quickly this year but the Grace girls were ready for it! They talked about the Easter Bunny nonstop for a week (and only a week because before that, they had leprechauns to talk about)! We had an action packed day that began before dawn...

Finding Easter basket #1

Finding Easter basket #2

Getting ready for our guests to arrive. The table is set...

The "cookers" (that is what the girls call chefs) - Steve and Marzie. We had a delicious brunch of frittatas, french toast, bacon, sausage, danishes, and fruit salad. Oh ya, and cocktails!

The entertainment. The girls put on a show for Gigi and Aunt Di.
The gifts. Ohhhhh, the gifts! They went on and on. Charlie was confused that maybe this was Christmas again. Cousin Megan brought them Easter baskets. Uncle Mike and Aunt Di brought them new books and giant Easter Eggs filled with fun stuff. Marzie brought them gift bags full of goodies. Gigi and Papa got them new DVD, sunglasses, and outfits. Even Ginny and Big Tim sent a new book over and they weren't even there! The girls were in heaven. Thank you everyone!!The Graces. We were lucky to have Mike and Di Grace and Megan Hicks over to help us celebrate. It was a great addition. We are so glad you guys could make it.


The anticipation of the hunt. Charlie is screaming, "Look Gigi, the Easter Bunny was here. He left eggs out there!" And then she scurried to go get Ryan.
The hunt. This picture took place literally less than 2 minutes later than the one above from the couch. They didn't waste any time.You can't tell in any of the pictures but Charlie had an interesting tactic. Instead of carrying that big ol' basket around, she would leave it one place and then bring the eggs back. Plus, she would check to see if it was "good enough" before she'd put it into her basket.

Marzie helping the girls find the last few eggs.

Papa taking a picture of Charlie in action.

Ryan, as opposed to Charlie, was all about quantity. You can see she is quite proud of her stash.

The loot. And then several hours of sugar-high fun in the Grace household.

Hoppy Easter everyone. Thank you for joining us. We loved it.
P.S. My camera is acting up again. Sorry for the fuzzy photos.

A "Good Friday" for Ryan at the Doctor's Office

Ryan had her 4 year well check at the doctor's office last Friday. If you can tell, our appointment was right after Ryan got out of preschool. She was very proud of her bunny status for the day. I had also prepared her to get four shots as the nurses had told me on the phone. Well, turns out... she doesn't get those shots until right before Kindergarten begins (in over a year from now) so Ryan was off the hook for the day. It was a good, good Good Friday for sure!

Everything looks great according to the nurse.

Ryan pretending to be the doctor...

Ryan finding a book to read while we are waiting for the doctor to arrive...

Kendall's Princess Party

Two weeks ago, the girls were invited to Kendall's Princess Party. Ryan is an old pro at princess parties but this was Charlie's first one. She was mesmerized by the whole experience. She was the littlest one and the most vocal too! Cinderella told her story aloud to the children and would ask open ended questions like, "Once upon a __________" and the children would have to fill in the blank. Charlie was the loudest of all and I was so impressed with how much she knew about the Cinderella story. She also asked her own questions right in the middle of the story, oh my goodness it was cute. She is really interested in new vocabulary these days. All the time at home she asks things like, "What does ______ mean?" Well, this party was no exception... and right in the middle of the story, several times. "What does carriage mean?" What does stepsister mean?" What does ball mean?" And so on, and so on! Cinderella handled her interruptions like a champ!

They played Kiss the Frog and Get a Hershey Kiss Game. It's like Hot Potato. They would sing a song and pass the frog. When the song stopped, the child holding the frog got a Hershey Kiss. I was so proud of Ryan. She is such a rule follower. Lots of other children would hold on to the frog until the music stopped instead of passing it to make sure they would get a candy. Ryan passed it along just like she was supposed to and ultimately never won a prize. She didn't cry and was such a big girl about the whole thing. Luckily Kristina passed out candy to anyone who didn't win one and Ryan was rewarded for her polite as a princess behavior.

They played parachute outside. You can't really see her, but Charlie is underneath the parachute in this picture! That's my Charlie!

Here is Ryan with her friend Sophia all wrapped up in the parachute. All you can see is the top of Ryan's head but I wanted to post it because I am so proud of the princess hairdo that I gave her that day. (I am not very good at doing the girls hair yet so this was a major accomplishment!)

Did you remember to wear green today?

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
I hope all of you remembered to wear your green today! Here are some pictures of friends and family that I found who certainly have some green in their closet! It's not too late to put some on...

Patrick is wearing green at Ryan's hat party! (He had better since is name ultimately is... Patrick! How fitting)


Cousin Katie and Ryan wear their green Tinkerbell swim cover ups at Easter last year.

Charlie is trying to tell Aidan Carroll to wear green at a playdate!

Here we go, Aidan's got the hang of this "green" thing now!!

Do green goggles count??

Charlie wore green to Kite Day in Seal Beach back in 2006!

Michelle is wearing green at "The Boat" in Pasadena for Sunday afternoon lunch.

Charlie is looking puzzled in green here!

Ryan is a fashion goddess in her green hoodie at Disneyland!

Colleen Carroll is sporting a green-ish hue at the last Super Bowl Party!

Ryan is very "Christmas-y" in her green shirt and matching red face in Big Bear.

Oo! Careful, hide your eyes! I am wearing green the day before giving birth to Charlie! Ugh, no wonder I can't lose the weight! LOL!

Vince is all dressed up in green, giving a Vince-esque speech at Captain Jacks!

And finally, little Miss Ryan wearing a cute green dress complete with cowboy hat and high tops to Carson's first birthday party!

What green are you wearing today???