A GREAT DAY IN HISTORY

July 20th, what a great day! It's the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, my Aunt Val turned another year older, my Grandma Joan celebrated her 80th birthday and went skydiving...AND last, but not least...I turned 35! The reality of the gray hairs appearing and wrinkles that used to not be there, the "early bedtime", aching muscles and creeks when I get up in the morning, the absence of high heels because they hurt too much, and the few occasions I wear "big girl" makeup in public, has just sunk in all of a sudden as to how old I really am. I am bound & determined to keep my pants at waist level, my bra at chest level, style my hair with things other than just a comb, and not answer when someone calls me "Ma'am." My dreams of the younger days are only memories blurred with the present reality & the mere fact that I am older and closer to 40. Ugh! I was always one to tease others approaching the 40 year mark, but now I think I'll keep my opinions to myself! A slap of reality has just hit me. I still feel young & I know that I am not THAT old, but will vow to take better care of myself and not let another moment slip through the cracks.

On Saturday, after returning from a POISON concert (which was great & louder than I remember concerts to be--sign of aging), I pull into a dark driveway around midnight to find neon letters shining back at me from the headlights...

Thanks, mom!



There you have it ladies & gentlemen...the "mature, all grown-up" 35 year old.
Please note: I am squinting because of the sun, not bad eyesight! (smile)

I have obviously not accepted this coming of age too well, so please forward any future emails to the current nursing home that accepts my Medicare application. Ha! Ha!

4th of July & Alayna's 11th birthday

The celebration of our independence also means time to party until the cows come home (or the fireworks are over) for Alayna's 11th birthday bash. We went to my sister-in-law's house again where we ate A LOT and watched the fireworks at the nearby school. The kids had a lot of fun on the slip n slide, lit fireworks (the legal ones, of course) and had a silly string fight.

Alayna chose to not to have a cake or cupcakes this year, so she had a plate of brownies. Who doesn't love brownies? She was the recipient of lots of clothes, gift cards, jewelry, and some ITunes for her IPOD. She was in hog heaven. She's already used her gift cards and has worn every outfit. Her grandma also got her another piece to add to her Willow Tree collection.

Not much else to say, I think that the following pictures pretty much says it all...

Birthday brownies



Anthony away from all the crazies shooting water and no one knew it was him. There was water flying everywhere.



Dominick in his "cool dude" Spiderman glasses. He wore them all day long.

Devyn & her Poppy.

SILLY STRING QUEENS
L to R: Molly, Olivia, Laura, Devyn, Alayna, & Grace

Strike a pose.

Everyone squirt the birthday girl!

Paybacks...

Alayna with her twin cousins, Grace & Olivia

A "sunny" hello from Molly!

And that, my friends, is how we spent the 4th of July, 2008.

Devyn's 8th birthday 200

My little baby girl who's now the ripe 'ol age of 8!

Devyn celebrated her 8th birthday twice this year. Once for the family party, June 21st, and also on her actual birthday of June 24th. She received lots of clothes with accessories, which she never minds, $ towards a Nintendo DS and some games for it. On her birthday, she purchased a white Nintendo DS and loves it. Not to mention the fact that her sisters (& brothers) all want to play with it and she is the "boss" of it and can tell them when they can play and for how long. She enjoys that thoroughly, especially with Alayna, who put restrictions on Devyn while listening to her IPOD. It was a victorious day for Devyn, she made everyone wait until she was ready to let them use it, even when she wasn't. Fun for her to see them sweat a little bit! Paybacks are well-deserved when you're the youngest.

Since my camera was MIA for about a week (found it 2 days after her birthday) I unfortunately don't have any pictures of her party. They are on video camera and I don't think I have a cord to connect to the computer. So, in a valiant effort, I included a picture of her that was taken 2 days after her Bday. She's still 8, so I think I'm safe!

I am also including some photos of the person who loves her video game more than she does...

Just a little R&R for Anthony

Molly helping Anthony with the tricky part of the Bratz game that most normal 2 year olds can't do.

Yet another priceless moment with the game & Anthony.

IT'S ALL FUN & GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE HAS TO BAKE A CAKE!

WE KNOW HOW TO PARTY...

Scene of the crime...a little house on Dixie Drive. The suspect's daughter asked her to make a homemade birthday cake with fresh custard filling and decorated with her favorite colors, pink, orange, & purple. The mother thought it would be a nice gesture to make a cake with love and spend a little quality time with her.

Everything was peaceful and the house was filled with a vanilla-like aroma. Moods were pleasant, the oven was heating at a consistent temperature, and all the decorations for the cake were laid out neatly on the counter. THEN, the disaster began. Homemade custard doesn't taste like bakery custard, the frosting looks way prettier in a can than it does laying all of the counter in 4 bowls with food coloring and knives scattered all around. The sprinkles also look a lot nicer when they manage to stay off of the floor! And who the heck is so talented that they can make a cake that is perfectly even? For sure not me!

I give credit to all those cake decorators and bakers. I guess all that matters is that Devyn got her birthday wish and she was proud of her cake that she helped to make. I had never made a 2 layer cake with homemade filling, nor do I think that I will ever do it again. It did taste just fine, and it looked presentable, but shoot me if I ever decide to attempt that again. This photo will be added to the collection of dessert photos that I made and will never make again.

Because Alayna & Devyn's birthdays are so close together, we had Devyn's party on Father's Day & had a cookout. We had family over and stuffed our faces.

The birthday girl (aka Doodle) with her fancy cake.

Devyn opening one of her many outfits. She is a fashion princess.

The cake was so yummy, Devyn decided to eat it with her face!

This is a "play" Subway pack that we gave to her on her real birthday. She played with it everyday for a week straight and packed it all away neatly in her backpack. I think she fell asleep with on one night.

Since we already had a party, her actual birthday, June 24th was a low-key day. I made her a special dinner and during the day she, her sisters, and 2 friends went to one of the public pool to swim. This is an official picture of Devyn at 7 years old!

That's all for now because we are headed out to swim at a friend's house and it takes quite awhile to pack everyone up. Goodbye for now. Thanks for stopping by.