60th Surprise Birthday Party!

We had a surprise birthday party for our parents on Saturday night.

We pulled it off and actually surprised them :)

Our decorations for the big day...

 Dusty & I made these pom-poms out of tissue paper for decoration...so easy to make.

I'm thinking they will be a party staple from here on out.

The centerpieces consisted of:

-mason jars with licorice (it matched the decor) and ribbon around the top

-collages of older photos in frame

-vase (empty wine bottle) with flowers

The grand entrance...

 So surprised and happy :)

 Sweet Ruby giving Grandma a kiss...

 I love how happy they both look in the above picture. 

The party was a success.

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad.

I love you both so much.

Eventful Evening

A couple of nights last week, my sister and I walked to pick up her girls at daycare.

The second time we showed up with the stroller, Amelia goes "really? again?'...but they both embraced it and we were on our way.

 For supper, Sarah and I decided to conquer the grill - neither of us had much experience.

Sarah looking a little nervous putting those brats on...

 Check it out...the finished product (it took us about 5 minutes, if that, to cook these bad boys - apparently we had the heat on too high)...

Good thing we both like them a little burnt.

Inevitably, Amelia and I ended up on the trampoline...

Then...I had this great idea that we should sleep on the trampoline.

 Amelia made sure we had lots of blankets and pillows...

and a flashlight for reading before bedtime.

We read three books and then Amelia decided it was time to sleep.

We lasted out there until 10:30.

It may be too early to be sleeping outside overnight...but it was fun while it lasted :)

Impromptu

My sister Sarah requested an impromptu photo shoot of her girls...good thing I am almost in the habit of bringing my camera everywhere - at least when there will be kids around.

Amelia & Ruby didn't give me much time to try to get good shots...especially Ruby - apparently she just wasn't feeling it.

I don't think it helped matters that there was a brand new trampoline in their backyard...and it was just calling their name...I heard it.

The perfect illustration is above:  Ruby walking away from the shoot and Amelia throwing her arms up in despair...(Amelia was being very cooperative and was all smiles...now only if she could get Ruby to cooperate so they could be done with this).

Ruby eventually wandered back after I bribed her with chocolate...

Oh, and sometimes I can't decide which version I like better of a photo...so rather than make a decision, I post them both.

I learned something right away after seeing this photo...do not take pictures under a tree where the light shows through in an odd way...notice Ruby's face and how some of it is shaded and some of it lit up?  Does not look very good...lesson learned.

I ♥ the photo above.

 Amelia had had enough so we headed to the back to jump on the trampoline - I managed to get in a few pictures before the jumping began...

 So happy...

 I like the photo above too...I think it shows a little bit of their differences.

And the two previous posts are also pictures from this photo shoot...I really like the ones I posted earlier, but I decided it probably wasn't necessary to post them again.

Let me know your thoughts on the pictures and maybe even tell me your favorite one/ones?

Sweet.



I like it.

I like this picture.

Notice the tattoos all over her arms, the band-aid, the face..Amelia looks a little badass.



Shopping Trip

Last weekend I went on a road trip with Amy & Abby to go shopping in the cities.

I had my camera charged and was ready to take pictures the entire weekend.

Unfortunately, I only ended up taking pictures on the way there...

 Abby scored some new sunglasses at Target & she was loving them.

 "Reading" - trying to make the drive go a little quicker

 And it isn't a road trip without the largest fountain pop you can find.  Yep, I rocked the 44 ouncer...at 8:00 a.m.

 Abby did two things when we arrived at our hotel room

1) immediately the pants needed to come off

2) and then climbed up by the window to see what Minneapolis looked like (one of the two places she would like to live - the other place being New York)

The trip was a successful one.

I was very excited/happy about my purchases.

Thanks Amy for inviting me along - I had fun...great to spend time with the two of you :)

Roommates

My roommate (Sarah) and I ventured out the other night and walked to our local Applebee's.

We had bigger plans to walk farther and pick up a $5 pizza, but we didn't quite make it that far.

We took a couple of pictures on our walk...

 and then...we took pictures of each other

 Sarah got a little sexy...

 It was hard for me to be sexy when I hadn't showered, had hives (or who knows what they are), and was fully covered in clothing

 Bartender even got in on the action...

 Mmmmm...and we got the sampler to share.

Sarah & I decided we need to have more nights like this one, but I'm packing up and moving next Wednesday! :)