gracie's grand 6th celebration

our baby turned 6 this year! wow how time has flown! i brought a few fun treats into her classroom that week and she LOVED that. and then we celebrated at the house with a few family and friends. good times.

the diva in all her glory.gracie wanted cupcakes this year and i was happy to oblige. much faster and easier to make and decorate than a cake. okay so the martha is really coming out in me this year. i am soooooo tired of those store bought plastic goody bags that cost a FORTUNE and you only get like 2! so we happened to have some white lunch bags on hand that only cost like $2 for about 50 gazillion. (i am sure i purchased them back in the year 2000.) a few pretty markers and a butterfly stamp later and voila! cauuuute goody bags! and filled with what every kid loves and every parent hates: CANDY! okay i did throw in a bouncy ball, a pencil and an eraser. (they were cheap at target and i used them for sarah's as well. there were like 80 gazillion in the package. i think we might still have some left.)

so we have these great friends who happen to have horses. and gracie happens to LOVE horses! (the girls took a few riding lessons from her over the summer in exchange for mucking out stalls and cleaning up a bit.) so, my brilliant friend asked if it would be a good gift to have gracie ride from her house to ours. (about 2 miles maybe) and then have the pony there for the kids at the party to ride. gee...um......let me think about that one. HELLO! what a great idea! i thought it was THE BEST GIFT EVER! and so did gracie. she was beside herself when she found out that afternoon. (i didn't dare tell her any sooner because i knew she would bug me for days.) gracie and diva

this picture is fabulous because it has all of gracie's little girlfriends and savannah. savannah was THE BEST little helper at the party. she helped the girls with the craft and set up the toys for them to play with and was SUPER nice to all the little girls that are 2-3 yrs younger than her. and did i mention she did most of this without being asked. she is such a good big sister!

sarah's 11th bday party

well, now that sarah has been 11 for like 3 months now and the party was back in september i thought i'd post the pics. you know you are far behind when even your husband says "hey honey, when are you going to update the blog?"

no more excuses! i am cooking dinner and updating this thing at the same time. hope the kids like blackened turkey burgers. =)

anyhoo, i also couldn't pass up this opportunity to show off my martha skills as well, as this happens ever so infrequently. and seriously these cute things for her bday party were from a martha stewart kit i found for $3.98! can't beat that! so grab a beverage and have fun looking at the pics of our wild 11 yr old sleepover.

doncha just lurve these cups?
and here are the real monkeys doing homework! at a party! now that's dedication!

sarah and all her buddies and sisters. check out gracie the rock star!

pool time fun.

i LOVE this one. so cute and giggly.

sarah and her new found talent. please stay in school sarah. with one of our fave boys. he's soooo cute!

sarah was a bit nontraditional this year and wanted lemon squares for her bday instead of a cake. so we did the squares and cupcakes with candy bars inside. (note to self: butterfingers don't bake very well.) does anybody else notice the small child in the left hand corner? that would be, you guessed it, grace.

catching up in the worst way

i have been the mother of all slackers in the blogging department. every time i have tried to do it the stupid site wasn't working, computer didn't have the pics on it, blah, blah, blah.



so here is the beginning of my catching up. i am SO behind that it would bore you all tremendously to put it in one post. i know that all of you lead such boring lives yourselves that you will be sitting on the edge of your seats waiting in anticipation for my coming posts. =) enjoy!

savannah's first day of 3rd grade

GRACIE WITH HER TEACHER, MRS. BAKER

SHE IS THE BEST!

what kindergartner is complete without a jonas brothers backpack?

okay this was totally impromtu. while i was taking her pictures she says "kindergarten, yahoo!

the middle schooler on her first day.

one of our family friends, titi, and her ADORABLE baby!!! he was quite yummy and seems to have an eye for the older women.

gracie insisted we have a doggie birthday party for her stuffed dog bella.

some fun pics from the summer by the pool.

playing at playmobile

i am SLOWLY getting the rest of our summer stuff up on the blog. fun for you. here in west palm beach there is a playmobile indoor park. air conditioned, you can bring your own food and only 94 cents/person to get in! can't beat that! sarah was bored but the two little ones had a great time!

matthew wouldn't smile pretty for the camera.
gracie in her element.

okay so the WHOLE time we were there she was begging to be put on this thing. there were signs that said you weren't supposed to but tons of people were doing it anyway. so my girlfriend who was with us said "just put her up there for a picture already." after that she was fine.

she stood by that thing for like an hour b/c she was afraid someone else would come and take her spot! goofball!

sarah in a rare photo that day. i am sure i threatened to embarrass her to get her to pose for this.

an afternoon at the norton

one of our fun outings this summer was an afternoon spent at the norton museum. more naked ladies (and boys) for the girls to look at. ha! just a few fun pics as, of course, we didn't take any inside the museum. the girls especially liked the disney exhibit. messing around with daddy. at least this time it was OUTSIDE. yes, my husband and children were messing around INSIDE the museum right next to priceless picassos. we are such an educated and well-mannered family. (is that why the docent thought the little boy who was TOUCHING the paintings belonged to me and asked me to keep him closer to us so he wouldn't do it anymore? you be the judge.)

happy birthday to our demi lovato-loving-middle-school-starting-sassy-speaking-sarah

today is sarah's 11th birthday! she will start middle school next tuesday! holy crap where did the time go?
we love this girl a TON and hope she has a great birthday! of which i am sure she will after we go get her present and take her to eat! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!

this photo should be 2nd but blogger is weird today and i don't have time to be waiting around so just pretend.

birthday pancakes!!
all girlie and giggly!