Surprise, Dad!

My dad's 60th birthday was on April 18, a day which unfortunately fell right in the middle of our Albuquerque show. Although Mom and I tried to make his happy day special, in all honesty, we were working hard at selling jewlery, and did not have time for much else. Thankfully, we had another plan in mind. Brock and his roommates, Richard and Jay, graciously offered to host a surprise party for my dad on May 2. Because of the belated date and our excellent secret keeping (I personally nearly blew it on three different occasions), my dad was truly surprised, and the party was a huge success, not to mention, a ton of fun. The theme, as you will see below, was a Mexican Fiesta! Ole!

The birthday boy in one of his finer moments....

Molly and Maya arrive for the party in style.

Supposedly my dad is holding up two fingers for the "two amigos"... not sure where I fit in, but whatever! I am just a gringa...





Brock's happy gingerbread-man potholder helped us get all the yummy enchiladas to the table just in time for the hungry crowd to strike.

As you can see, that sombrero made its way around the party. Here Mark makes the perfect model.

Richard and his roomie Jay (not pictured - that is me), definitely did the lion's share of the work for this party. From cleaning their huge house, to running errands, we could not have pulled this off without them. You guys are great! Thank you so much!

Surprise, Dad! (cont.)

The "birthday boy" with Uncle Bob and Mark.

Ty, Scott and Molly are engrossed in a heavy conversation - if I remember correctly, it had something to do with the Portland Trailblazers and their most talented players. I am sure, had JJ been there, he would have had something to say about that! Go Jazz!






Cousins Oliver and Blair striking a pose. Thanks for making the trip for dad's party, guys!

Good friends, Aaron and Bonnie Drake, with Brock.

Maya is quite serious even though Blair and Vince are enjoying every moment with her.

Surprise, Dad! (cont.)

Uncle Rick and Aunt Marty share a moment, and a beverage, in the kitchen.

Dad is opening his presents amidst the family. Surprisingly, he was not embarrassed, and did not kick up a fuss at having to be the center of attention.

Brock and my Fairy God-Mother, Jenny Powell.

Grammy and Uncle Vince playing Patty Cake-Patty Cake with Miss Maya.

I just couldn't resist. Maya was having a little snack before the party, and I got down on the floor in front of her with my camera...

Jazz and Faith's First Birthday...

Much to my complete pleasure, and (I must admit) much to JJ's embarrassment, I threw my two dogs a first birthday party. I know most of you are thinking that I am a complete wacko, but really I love to have people over, and since I have been out of town for what seems like forever, I wanted to do something fun for the kiddos. Well, needless to say, we had fun alright! Along with the help of my good friend, Stacey, I made tacos, spanish rice and cupcakes for about 20 people. The kids played two games, plus knocked a pinata around for a few minutes - until the body fell off, and head split open and all the candy flew out - and the adults sat around and chatted and laughed. I would say that the "Puppies First Birthday Party (thrown in honor of all my most-loved kids in all of Salt Lake)" was a great way to end the week. JJ even had fun! :0)

Yes, I am guilty of making my dogs wear clothes - for one night only, as promised to my husband!

Faith and Jazz were both very well behaved, and even wore their feather boas proudly, until pinata time came around, and they were forced to retreat to their kennels. Faith promptly dismantled her boa - feathers flew and the kids were horrified; Jazz sat calmly in her kennel and I don't think even so much as tasted one of her feathers. For being twins, they sure have completely different personalities!

The first game that we played was a new take on "Hot Potato". I wrapped a little AM/FM walkman-radio in about 12 layers of wrapping paper. We turned on music ("Who Let the Dogs Out... appropriate, huh?) and when the music stopped, whomever was holding the package got to unwrap one layer of paper. The person holding the present on the last turn (which in our case was Taylor) got to unwrap the last layer of gift wrap and got to keep the prize. I cracked up when Jazz decided to join the circle - I guess she wanted to be a part of her own party!

Jazz gets some love from all of the kids! We tried to include Faith in the picture, but she was having nothing of it.

Puppies Birthday (Cont.)

Elyssa won first prize in one of our games, and proudly wears her new doggie ears!

Braden takes a swing at the pinata, definitely one of the highlights of the party.



Jazz gets some love from her new friend, Jesse.

And last, but not least, the girls each got to have their very own cupcake. Yum!

"Annual" Pumpkin Carving Party...

My heart was warmed about a month ago when several of my little buddies asked me when the "annual" pumpkin carving party was taking place. What makes this funny is that we have only had one other party of this nature, and that was last year. I am thinking that after several more years we can make it "annual". As you will see from the pictures below, it was a great success and everyone had a wonderful time!

Step 1: Pick your pumkin. Ashton, Elyssa, Stacey (their mom) and I went to the 90th Street Pumpkin Patch; I think we must have wheeled that 'barrow about a mile before we found the perfect carving specimens.

Step 2: Pick your stencil. My pictures don't do any of these carving justice, but let me tell you, some of them were so intricate and well carved that by the end of the evening, we had a difficult time picking the winners of the carving contest.

Step 3: Take the lid off. Tamea had never done this before, and she thought the pumpkin "guts" were "cool, but really, really slimy."

Step 4: Start the cutting! Most of the kids are a bit too young to do this part themselves, so the parents stepped in... They probably sawed, cut, scooped, carved and detailed for over two hours straight!

Step 5: Display your masterpiece! This is the very best part of the whole evening: when the finished product finally has a candle in it, the designs absolutely come to life. The kids and parents really outdid themselves this year!

Step 6: Have some fun, why dontcha???