Afternoon Tea

Last weekend Dylan and I were invited to attend a Nutcracker Tea with Todd's mom. We had no idea what it would be like, but knew it was intended for young girls so Dylan was bound to love it. I forgot to bring my camera (bad mommy!) but one of the mom's at our table offered to take a few snapshots for me and e-mail them. (Thank you Amy!)

It was outside and the weather was gorgeous. When we arrived there were two large nutcracker soldiers flanking the entry and I just had a feeling Dylan was going to enjoy her day out. We found a table with some friends of Diana's and each placesetting had a small teacup and saucer, and there was another nutcracker in the center of the table.

Dylan loved that she was finally able to use a real teacup and saucer, as well as the cream and sugar. She has a pretend tea set at home, but this was real cream, real sugar and real tea sets. This was so much better!

Soon it was time to start and all the young girls were invited to sit on a rug and listen to a reading of the Nutcracker story. This way all the girls could be familiar with the storyline. After the story was over there were tables for coloring pictures of ballerinas and toy soldiers and Dylan was off and running.

If you look closely, the SugarPlum Fairy signed this picture!

It always amazes me how comfortable she is wherever she goes. She went off and sat by herself to listen to the story with all the other girls, and would wander from table to table afterward as she colored. She was completely at ease with everything. I'm not sure where she gets it from. I can't stand doing something on my own. I need at least one person that I know. I am uncomfortable walking into a room where I know no one and she jumps right in. I love that about her! And envy her a little bit too. I hope that never changes.

As we lingered about, there were some beautiful ballerinas dressed in costumes taking time to talk with all the girls, take pictures and sign a few autographs. As the music from the Nutcracker played, the ballerinas would dance. Dylan loved to watch the dancing. And before long, all the girls, including Dylan, were dancing along with them. It was such a magical afternoon.

Now during all of this food and tea and pepperming hot cocoa was being served. There were sandwiches shaped like toy soldiers, ballerina cookies, meringue mice and don't forget the chocolate chip scones. It was all heavenly.

Our menu...

Our sandwich toy soldier

The gorgeous desserts

I'm so glad we were invited to go and I know Dylan had a wonderful time. I'm thinking that maybe this year is the year to take her to see the Nutcracker for the first time. I have no doubt that she would love to see it.

Where Has the Time Gone?

So I realized today that the last time I wrote a post for this blog was almost a full month ago. Then I realized that I hadn't even written that post. Plenty has happened between then and now, so I figure I'll start with the most recent, and hopefully, eventually, work my way back. Starting with...

Halloween!

Halloween week was all sorts of fun this year. Since the day after Halloween last year (and in reality, earlier than that) I knew what I wanted the kids to be this year.

Pirates!!!

I was fully prepared to fight Dylan in order for her to dress up the way I wanted. I also knew that this was probably the last year I'd get any say, or vote, in the matter. I was so confident that I went ahead and bought the accessories on sale last year the day after Halloween.

And just so you know, I already have my choices lined up for next Halloween. Keep your fingers crossed that my opinion still carries some weight!

Either way, Dylan's costume was a piece of cake. It came together so easily. And her's was the one I was so worried about. Boy, was I ever wrong! I should have worried about Isaac all along. Who knew that finding the perfect pirate costume for a boy was so difficult? Everything I found looked so cheap and flimsy. I finally found a costume at Old Navy, on sale, and bought it, but it was about 4 sizes too large. (In reality, it was only one size larger than Isaac normally wears, but this thing ran huge!)

So, now it's the Monday before Halloween, Dylan has a really cute costume that she loves, and Isaac's got nothin'. I decided to send a note out to all my Facebook friends (and as a side note, FB is probably the reason I haven't updated here all month - shame on them!!!) and lo and behold, a friend of mine called and said she had a really cute pirate costume Isaac could borrow, but it was only an 18-24 month costume. I thought she had to be crazy until she mentioned her son had worn in the year before, and he was the same age as Isaac. I figured it was worth a shot and drove over to pick it up immediately.

It was so cute but more importantly, it fit! And Isaac loved it. And Todd loved it. And it saved me the price of another costume. In my book, all those things add up to a perfect pirate costume.

The Wednesday before Halloween my sister had her 10th annual Halloween party. It was the first chance for the kids to wear their costumes, eat some yummy food, and get their craft on. This party is a huge hit and Dylan was so excited to find out what craft Aunt Jennifer had for them this year. And she did not disappoint. The kids had a great time, even though the wind did not want to cooperate with our outdoor party and it was so cold! Regardless, fun was had by all.



On Thursday Dylan wore her costume to school for their Halloween party and we were invited to come back a few minutes early to hear the kids sing some Halloween songs they'd been working on. The day didn't start so well as my car wouldn't start, but my sister Shanen came to our rescue and took Dylan to school, let Isaac and I hang at her house for an hour or so, drove us back to Dylan's school, hung out in the car while I went in for the performance, then drove us all home. And did I mention she had not only her own 3-year-old son, but was watching her neighbor's 2-year-old son also? Seriously, if her car was a white horse instead of a white Ford, it would have been perfect. She was our hero!



Thursday night we took the kids to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and they had a great time. They each chose one, then helped dad pick one out also. I think they did a great job.

Friday night we carved our pumpkins and was our ward Trunk or Treat. Into their costumes again, and around the parking lot they went to get candy. They even got to go fishing for candy, toss bean bags in a ghost's mouth for candy, pose for pictures with Disney princesses and walk around in circles at the Cupcake walk. We didn't take our camera with us, but when cupcakes and candy are involved, you can imagine it was a great time.

Todd helping Dylan clean out her pumpkin.

Saturday afternoon we had a fun Halloween lunch. We're sorry dad couldn't make it because he was working, but we sent a picture of our "frightfully" yummy lunch. We had witches fingers, mummies and ghost and pumpkin quesadillas and pumpkin juice to wash it all down. The kids loved it all.




Saturday evening we went to my parents' house for our annual chili dinner and got the kids dressed so Grandma and Grandpa could see all the grandkids in costumes. It was fantastic as always, and this year we had corn dogs for the kids as well, and my mom made chocolate cupcakes with arms coming out of them (think people raising from the dead) and Shanen brought some outstanding cinnamon rolls a friend of hers had made. (swirlbakery.blogspot.com)




We left to come home and get ready for trick or treating. As is tradition, we also ordered pizza (Todd wasn't able to eat with us at my parents' house, so he still needed dinner) with our neighbors. Halloween is still a typically warm holiday in Arizona, so for the last 4 years we've ordered pizza to eat in our driveway with the neighbors and hand out candy together. As the kids have grown, the guys take the kids around the neighborhood and Katie and I stay behind to pass out the candy. This year, Todd pulled out his movie projector and a Disney Halloween DVD full of Mickey Mouse cartoons and set it up to play on our garage door. I think it was a huge hit because as the kids came up for their candy, more times than not they forgot about the candy and just sat down on the chairs to watch for awhile. More than once kids had to be dragged from their seats. (Just out of curiousity, is it dragged, or drug?) Either way, I think it will be a new tradition...and maybe some fall and winter movie night fun!

On Sunday we drove to Todd's mom's house so she could see the kid's in their costumes also. She'd had surgery a few weeks before and we hadn't seen her yet so this was a great reason to stop by, say hello and check in. We're glad to know she's feeling a bit better and moving around more.

All in all, Halloween week was great. The kids had more candy than they will ever possibly know what to do with, wore their costumes at least five times and Isaac has been walking around for the last week yelling, "Happy Halloween!!!"

Unfortunately for me, they each already have their own ideas about what they want to be next year. I suppose it's never too early to try and start bending them to my will...

I'm tired...

I'm not supposed to mention Nicole completed a triathlon this morning. She doesn't want anyone to know. So while she is taking a nap I'm not blogging about it.

And I'm not talking about how her neighbors and in-laws came out to support her...

And no words on how she swam...

or biked...

or ran...

Not going to mention how happy she was to finish...

Or how sad her son was when she ran by without stopping for him (look at the previous picture too)...

But all this not mentioning stuff is getting me tired. Love you babe. Good job today.

Canyon Lake - version 7.0

(Nicole has been a little busy so I thought I'd help her out with a few posts...)

One of Nicole and my first "outdoor" type dates involved going on a hike near Canyon Lake. It eventually turned into an annual tradition to head up to the lake and get a picture each year. Even after the kids started arriving we have somehow managed to continue with the tradition.

This year, like last, we were a bit late from the traditional June trip but we finally made it. The kids hiked up the hill without complaints and were great. Dylan even reminded Nicole and I repeatedly to "Be Safe!" as we slowly made it up and down the hill.

Dylan's Dollhouse

The day after Dylan's ice cream birthday party we had our family come over to celebrate with us. We were leaving for California the following day and wouldn't be home on her actual birthday so we celebrated before we left. We had an ice cream bar to make sundaes and I think everyone had a great time.


Todd's brother had built a huge bookshelf for his own daughter a few years ago that was shaped like a house. You know, those huge ones Pottery Barn Kids was selling for a small fortune? Well, he had built one and his girls had loved it. A few months ago he sent Todd an e-mail asking if we were interested in taking it off their hands. I quickly jumped at the chance as I knew I wanted to get Dylan a dollhouse for her birthday this year. This was going to be perfect. It was huge, it was well built and it was free!!! Dylan had seen this bookshelf in our garage for months, and it was always called a bookshelf. Never a dollhouse. She took it at that and never thought twice about it.

I started on a search for the perfect doll furniture and was having a tough time. Because this thing was almost 6ft tall at the peak, I knew the furniture needed to be large. Finally I was able to find what I was looking for and spread the word to family and a few friends to offer ideas for the perfect gift. I couldn't have planned it all any better.


Todd and my brother-in-law brought in the dollhouse and set it behind Dylan as she opened her presents. As she opened a new set of furniture, we had her put the box on one of the shelves behind her. When she was done, I had her come stand next to me so she could see all the furniture in each "room" of the house. It took her awhile, and some help, but eventually she realized that this bookshelf was really a huge dollhouse. And she loved it. The furniture was opened immediately and she and Isaac set out to create the perfect rooms. Not only that though, she also got her very first Barbie doll and it was the perfect size doll for the house and the furniture. She loved it!

I Scream, You Scream

Let's make some Ice Cream!!!

Dylan turned four last weekend while we were out of town (more on our vacation later) so before we left, we celebrated her birthday with a few of her friends.

The theme? Ice cream of course.

We started out with some adorable invitations that my mom and her friend made for me, I mean us (Dylan and I). We added the wording to the invites, and handed them out to three of her friends. Four little girls for a four year old sounded just about right. These girls get together once a week to play, so we just made the party their get together for the week.


I'd spent some time getting things organized for the party and when party day arrived, we were ready. Pink balloons on all the chairs, pink table cloths and pink party dishes. It was a lot of pink!


My mom came over to help me out, and the watch the scene as it all unfolded. Dylan's friends started to arrive and they sat at the table with a new box of crayons and a dot-to-dot ice cream cone and coloring sheet. It was an easy first activity.


Afterward I gave the girls some stickers (ice creams of course) and let them decorate some empty baby formula cans. Once the cans were decorated to their liking, we put some flavored milk (chocolate and strawberry) into separate ziploc baggies and added them to another bag filled with ice and rock salt. We stuffed these bags into the cans and the fun began.

The girls paired up and got to shakin'. They jumped up and down with those cans, danced, rolled and did everything they could think of to get those cans moving. When they got tired, they rolled it to their partner, or just handed it off so they could take a break and the next girl went crazy. By the end, the girls were all jumping together whether they had a can or not, and they were tired.


BUT, they had made their ice cream. We took the bags of ice cream and put them in the freezer for a few minutes while the girls moved on to their next activity.

Pin the Cherry on the Ice Cream Cone!

I took a piece of posterboard, drew an ice cream cone (in pink) and cut some foam circles in red. The girls wore a pink beauty mask to hide their eyes, told me how many times they wanted to spin around, and did their best to place the cherry on top of the ice cream cone. I think they had a good time, and did a pretty good job too.


Finally the ice cream was ready. The girls went back to the table, and received a large dish full of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream. On the table was an array of toppings for the girls to choose from. Sprinkles, M&M's, nuts, cherries, Oreo cookies, chocolate chips, hot fudge, caramel sauce and whipped cream. It was a free for all.


At least it was supposed to be. I don't know who these girls are, but the topping choices were minimal. They did eat all of the cherries, and each had whipped cream, but for the most part, there were only little bits of this or that taken. It didn't matter though, they loved it. They also each got an ice cream cone cupcake. I baked cupcakes inside of store bought ice cream cones and added pink frosting to make them look like a cone. They turned out really cute. I would totally make them again. Each girl added a cherry and a few sprinkles before eating.


There was some outdoor play here and there in the back yard in between activities and even some chocolate or strawberry milk. Then it was time for presents.

Dylan got some cute gifts from her friends and I think all in all they had a good time. When it was time to leave Dylan handed out her buckets of fun.

The buckets were just large tin cans covered in scrapbook paper with each girls name on it. We nailed a few holes into the sides, added some ribbon and it was an easy gift for the girls to carry home with them. Inside, the ice cream theme was carried out...

ice cream cone bubbles
cake batter ice cream flavored lip balm
an ice cream cone notebook
their pink ice cream dish and spoon with an individual serving of ice cream tucked inside
ice cream flavored hard candies
a magnet of their initial to put on their buckets
and a candy bar with ice creams on the front that read Dylan's Candy Bar



I think it was a great success, and Dylan told me it was her best day ever, but looking back, it was a lot of work and I'm thrilled I don't have to host another birthday party like this for at least another year.*


* Isaac won't have a party with his friends until he turns four. There will be a post in another couple of months talking about his family celebration though.

My Shopping List

Today as I walked into the kitchen, I found Dylan sitting at the table, pen in hand writing on a pad of paper. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was making me a shopping list.

I asked her what was on my list and she told me the one and only thing she'd written: Cheetos. Yum!

She asked me what else we needed from the grocery store, and I asked her to let me know what she thought we needed. Together we started my shopping list. As we came up with each item she asked me how to spell the word and wrote them very carefully.

Here is our short list:



If you can't read it (which, in my opinion, each of you should be able to) here is what our list consists of:

Cheetos
yogurt
tortillas
milk
vitamins
ice cream

Considering the girl has only learned to write the first three letters of the alphabet at school (and her name) it's not bad for a soon to be 4 year old.