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Parties, dress up, and the library.Wednesday, August 11, 2010

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

While we were in Texas, we celebrated birthdays. We celebrated birthdays that occurred 3 weeks prior (mine), and birthdays that were still to come... (steve’s, andrew’s and my mom’s). Nevermind that there wasn’t an actual birthday, we still celebrated with everyones desert of choice. Chocolate eclair cake for me, apple pie for Steve, and one pan chocolate cake for Andrew. The parties were a hit with the kids. Any reason to blow out candles right?

Elizabeth helped daddy read his card... Then she and Nate teamed up to blow out daddy’s candles.

Then Anna talked strategy with Uncle Drew for extinguishing the candles on his cake. She was a great help.

The next party was a much bigger occasion. It was a month early celebration of my mom’s 60th birthday. Did I mention it was a HUGE surprise? She had friends travel in from all over Texas... and some of her Italian friends who happened to be in Texas.She was completely surprised and it was such a fun time to see lots of folks all in one evening!

I love these pictures... a series of my mom discovering that this was a surprise party for her. And then as she takes in all the dear friends who traveled far and wide to attend.The party was at Spring Creek Barbeque. Only one of my most favorite restaurants in the world. Nice.

But we talked a lot more than we ate. Eating was a between conversations occurrence. That’s just fine with my kids.

There was a pretty cake, and some seriously gourmet cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes that have flavors like “raspberry lemonade”... yummmm.

But before we could eat, Sharon shared a few words about my mom. Which made my already emotional mom cry more. Doesn’t my mom cry gracefully?!

Here are some of my mom’s sweet friends. And then Grannie, Nana, me and the kids.

And the family... minus Michael & Virginia who couldn’t make it to the party because they live an hour and a half away.Isn’t my Nana/Grannie lovely?

Elizabeth heard the party was over and quickly went up to the flowers to grab one for herself. She was thankful when she heard they were coming home with us and she could enjoy all of them!

While we were in the states, one of the things on my list was to take the kids to a library. They were a little too small to enjoy it the last time we were in the states, but I knew they would love it this time. We have talked about libraries, and the girls even know songs about the library. But once we got there, Elizabeth forgot all she knew and was bummed that the books weren’t her ‘forever books’.

I wish I could have gotten in front of them as they walked into the library so I could have captured the look of delight on their faces! Everyone quickly found a few books.

But Anna & Nate put them back down when they saw the library had toys.

Elizabeth loved the reading area that she could go and hide in.

And daddy was impressed with the speed of the internet at the library. It’s the little things...The kids all picked a few books to bring back to Nana’s house and enjoy during their Texas days.

Grannie had spent some time cleaning out her closet before coming to Texas and she came across these purses and glove sets. The girls were thrilled and loved playing with them. I wish I had gotten better pictures of them, but the girls were in quite the uncooperative mood.

Anna looks sweet and innocent here, but she was being mean I am afraid. Oh well, next time we can do some proper pictures with these special items!

The gloves and purse were great for snuggling with for a nap.

Elizabeth found a new favorite kind of yogurt. It is in a tube and tastes good and is easy.And Nate inhaled grapes. Daily. He ate about this many grapes EACH DAY. That kid was amazing how much food he put away! But yea, they were good grapes! :)

Our days were full of discovery for the kids and enjoyment for the adults watching the kids find new favorites and trying things they had never done before. I love vacations!!!

2 Comments

Aunt Barb

WELL! If this isn't the most enjoyable Blog ever!! A GREAT birthday surprise for youmom! Loved the pics:) And, Erica, I love the way you tell it like it is -- not making everyoneperfect! THANKS!

Thursday, September 30, 2010 - 09:48 AM

Nana Susan

Yes, so much fun! I love this photo of Anna asleep in the chair - she definitely looks like aprincess!

Sunday, October 3, 2010 - 03:14 PM

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