Baby Shower

I may be older, somewhat arthritic and require bifocals but my BFF has me beat. She is about to be a grandmother and I'm enjoying every Grannie taunt I can throw in.

Like myself, Aimee has an eleven year old daughter as well as much older sons. Her oldest is currently in the Marines, stationed in Afghanistan, while her daughter-in-law is living on base in Parris Island, South Carolina.  With the baby due in August, Aimee held a family baby shower for them at her home in Florida this past Sunday.  (And yes, I'm considered family in their household. *smile*)

Meg and I had fun shopping from their Target baby registry list (so many cute things!) but I couldn't let the occasion go by without making a little something for her in JulieWorld.  I decided on a decorated canvas to hang on the front door when the baby is sleeping.  ('Cause you know, someone ALWAYS shows up just as you get them down for their nap!)

But the thing I really wanted to share today is the absolute WONDER of technology.  Thousands of miles away in Afghanistan, Daddy was able to participate in the shower through a Skype-like technology.  Here he is getting a look at their first gifts right along with his wife and baby sister.  

Now that's a wonderful thing!

reWind Wednesdays

Missing my Menu Mondays?  LOL!  Well that whole concept fell by the wayside for several reasons.     


1)  My daughter eats nothing.
2)  My husband couldn't care less.
3)  I'm now dieting.


It's not that I quit fixing meals altogether but I have stopped my weekly planning.  I found that I was buying things for meals that never ended up being prepared.


In place of Menu Monday I'm going to try something a bit different with ny blog. I'm calling it re-Wind Wednesday.  Basically what I'm planning to do is showcase an older scrapbook layout every Wednesday.  Keep in mind that some are going to be years old so please don't take off points for lack of design and creativity. After all, it's really the photos and the stories that count, right?


So without further adieu, here's today's re-Wind Wednesday page from 2005....

The journaling (hidden behind the main photo) describes how Meggie had learned to hide from her paparazzi mother but loved to ham it up with her older brother.  He captured these photos from his camera phone and I'm forever grateful.  They are some of my all time favorites.  


Stay tuned next Wednesday for another edition of re-Wind Wednesday!

Camp Performance

Meg's two week summer drama camp ended last week with an onstage performance at our historic downtown Lyric Theater on Friday evening.  (The same stage on which Kris Kristofferson performed. *smile*)  The performance was a variety show with singing, dancing, acrobatics and skits, choregraphed by both the staff and students.  There were 90 kids in all, ranging in age from about 6-16, and they all did such a wonderful job.  Here are a few photo snippets from the show... 


This was an acrobatic routine choreographed by the dance instructor.  Meg is behind the microphone and her two BFFs are on the far right and left.    

The next few photos are from a skit written by the girls.  It's about what would happen if you could go back in time and prevent the Titanic from sinking.

Apparently the idea for the skit came from Meg so she got to be the heroine.

This last one is a portion of the stage during the Grand Finale.  Meg is bottom row, left.  

I am sooooo glad we forced her to go back that second day.  She ended up loving the camp and will probably attend again next year.  It just goes to show you that you should always give things a second chance.  You may not know what you're missing.  

Birthday Photos

The gift hit of the evening was this silly vibrating neck pillow from Grandma and Grandpa.

We purchased this suitcase for her a couple of weeks ago but made her wait until her birthday before receiving it.  As a surprise, inside were were clothes and a cute white Fuji Instax camera.  
  

Her "cake" of choice was a Mrs. Field's chocolate chip cookie.  

Mulling over wish #2 because apparently two candles meant two wishes.  

Tackling candle #2

"Big enough piece a cake or what?"  (Name that movie...my family excluded.)  

Today....

this little girl ... 

turns eleven.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!

12 Project Update

I found some scrappin' mojo this week and polished off three more of my monthly 12 layouts.  (12 photos for each of the 12 months in 2012)  

March  

April

May

I'm hoping to get some more scrapping done this week while Meg is in camp. And speaking of camp, she HATED it on Monday.  So many tears and lots of begging to let her quit.  Randy and I told her she had to give it at least one more day before we'd consider it.  She left very reluctantly yesterday morning with tears in her eyes but came home that afternoon with a smile on her face. She had a fabulous second day.  (It's always so hard to tell with her if things are truly as bad as she makes them out to be, given that she rarely feels 100% on any given day.)  She was up and ready to go this morning so I'm crossing my fingers...

Early Birthday Party

Meg very graciously agreed to streamline her birthday party this year.  Even though she doesn't turn 11 until next week she decided that she wanted to have her party this past Saturday so she and three of her BFFs could go to see Madagascar 3 on it's opening weekend.  

Her friends arrived around 4:00 PM and the five of us attended a late afternoon showing of the movie which the girls really enjoyed.  I spent more time laughing at them than I did the actual movie.  

Afterward they spent the night at our home playing Truth or Dare, munching on pizza and later Meg's favorite homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream cake.  

They are such a lovely group of girls.  All giggles, self-entertaining and best of all, no drama EVER with this bunch.  Can you say "BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVAH!"

Three of the four are experiencing their first day of theatrical camp today. (Sadly, the fourth was previously enrolled in another camp.)  Meg made it clear that she wasn't keen on going so I'm anxious to hear how they liked it.  I'm crossing my fingers since she has nine more days to go.  :-)

Summer is Here!

We are well into our second week of summer vacation and loving every second of it.  No getting up at 6:15 to get Meg out the door by 7:00, no school commitments and best of all....no homework!  It's so AWESOME!

Summer is all about having fun and being lazy ...

And we are taking full advantage of it.

Weekend Photos

I have no idea where the last week went but it certainly flew by quickly.  I can say that the highlight was the weekend visit from my parents.  We had a wonderful time sampling new restaurants in the area and found many keepers. Seriously, with the exception of coffee cups and drink glasses, I don't think we dirtied a dish at the house in the three plus days they were here.  :-)
  
One of our few non-restaurant excursions included a trip to Lion Country Safari, a unique drive-through zoo located in West Palm.  You are permitted to drive your vehicle through 200+ acres of Florida filled with African wild life that roam freely on the property.  Obviously no one is allowed outside a vehicle nor are you permitted to roll down any windows so all photos were taken through glass. My apologies for the glare. 
   

   
Another important rule at Lion Country Safari, the animals always have the right of way.

You get a much great appreciation for the size of these animals when you are right there, up close and personal.  And when a rhinoceros decides to cross the road, you definitely YIELD.  :-)

A very interesting place to visit if you're ever in the area.