Peachariffic

My little peach had her first birthday party and what a blast it was!! As always I decided that a theme was needed, so I figured what better a theme for my little peach than a peach theme. And that is exactly what we had, a Peachariffic First Birthday Party!! We had almost all of our favorite people in attendance: Gammy and Gampy, Grandma and Grandpa, Nana, Uncle John, "Aunt" Susan and Kids, Kelly and Mike (honoree family members and Anna's daycare providers), Auntie Amy and of course big sis Alix and Mom and Dad. The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed hanging out on the patio having some white peach sangria and watching the little peach herself toddle about. Soon came everyone's favorite, some present opening...but Anna didn't really get it. She kind of roamed around while Alix unwrapped the present and showed them to her. So many generous and wonderful gifts...Anna is one lucky girl!! We will have many fun filled days playing with our new sand toys, water mat, bumbly cube and cell phone, table and chairs, pony rider toy...and on and on. After all that excitement we took a break for a little dinner: Pork with Peach salsa, spinach and peach/strawberry salad, and corn (there had to be one unpeach dish...we didn't want to go totally crazy with the theme ;) It was all delicious if I do say so myself!! We quickly followed up all that eating with more eating. Dessert didn't have any peaches in it...ha! Of course it did...we had cupcakes with homemade mascarpone frosting (YUM!) that I put a little peach puree into. It was topped with a peach and served with peach pie ice-cream (thanks Edy's!!). Anna dug into the cupcake, but only seemed intrigued by the frosting...who can blame her?! When she was done she got her last present...a water table, where she played and washed the goo off her fingers all at the same time (she's a multi-tasker!) Slowly the party wound down...as did everyone's energy. It was a big exciting wonderfully peacharrific day!!! A wonderful way to celebrate my little peach and all the joy she brings to everyone she has met this past year.

























OH YES! And in other big news: you may have noticed that my not so little girl had an event of her own occur in her life. If you didn't catch it in the previous pics of Anna's party, Miss Alix has decided to go Pink! Her new pinkalicious hair is oh so adorable and I think it totally fits her...

New Background

Do you like it? I borrowed it from http://simplychicblogs.blogspot.com

Cabin Fun!

What a beautiful weekend to head up to the cabin for the first time of the season. Last year we only made it up once due to...well, due to being due...and than doing lots of taking care of an infant. But this year we hope to do better. We had an absolutely spectacular Saturday...lots of family time on the boat, in the water, eating, reading, and talking by the fire (even Alix talked...chatted...without a scowl...it was a beautiful moment). Anna and Daddy did lots of napping too. I think we all went to bed feeling like it was a really nice family day!

It was perhaps a little bit too much closeness, because Sunday brought Father's Day, a nice breakfast at Peggy Sue's and then a little tension. I think it might have been the change in air pressure with the incoming rain (I blame everything on changes in the weather ;) Oh well, not every day can be perfect, right?! So,after lunch we headed home...to more tension due to a dripping water valve and wet dry wall (hmmm, quite an oxymoron there, huh). After some dinner and a little time to calm down the night ended with lots of happy memories from our weekend excursion and a feeling of how lucky we are to have such opportunities to get away and enjoy nature...and each other.




The girls enjoying the leisure of the hammock!


Dad and Anna enjoying the boat ride


Watermelon Face!



Anna loves the water...wasn't sure about the sand at first, but she came around.



Ride 'em Anna!




Anna is showing Dad the ropes on how to drive the boat.




BBQ'n



Pure Cuteness!



Anna's first campfire...or is it just smoke. Either way, she enjoyed the marshmallows and the graham crackers.



Pure Beauty!


Pure Beauty Part 2

Let Summer Begin!!

Alix and I are both finally out of school and today we enjoyed our first day of summer vacation! Here is the excitement from day 1: Our drywall was started!! Anna went from walking 2-3 steps to a whole lot more (and being more brave about letting go of one object and heading toward another!) And, most importantly, the sun reappeared...finally after about a week of cloudy, rainy, yucky weather!

We're looking for a lot more excitement as the 80 days of summer pass by...Anna turns 1 soon, Alix will go to a tennis and writing camp, we'll get to hear about our family's amazing trips abroad (parents in Italy celebrating year 40 together and Amy in Kenya helping give a group of students their first experience with computers!), trips to the pool...and more trips to the pool, cabin adventures, and so much more...Stay Tuned!!

Here is what we've been up to:


We have walls!! And ceilings!!! I can't stop walking downstairs to look at it.



This is the 20 sq feet of tile I special ordered and then didn't like because it didn't match the other tile like I thought it would, but can't return...ahh, the joys of remodeling. Anyone need some gray hex tile??? I did order what I should have ordered all along. It means that our shower won't be done for 6-8 weeks, but it also means I won't have to regret putting in something that didn't match well, so I guess it'll balance out.



Alix being a ham...as usual



Steve's trip to the Boundary waters with his friend Chad, and Chad's Brother and Cousin (or was it uncle?). They say they had a good time, but I can't figure out how since it was cold, there were mosquitos, and they had to poo in a hole. I will take their word for it. The picture with the pinecones is Steve winning big as they were playing poker.






Anna walking



Anna's favorite past time...climbing up her little slide. We're still working on what to do once she gets up there :)

What a busy weekend!

What a weekend...anna's first long travel in the car, my cousin's wedding in Omaha, good visit with friends, and lots and lots of gin.

It all began Thursday as we headed out on our 6 hour journey to Omaha, NE for my little cousin Sara's wedding. (OK, so she's not so little anymore...when did all my little cousins grow into adults?!?!) I wasn't too worried about this part of the trip, since it would be at night. Anna was sure to sleep, right?! Well, she did fall asleep about an hour in...then she woke up. She was sure to fall asleep again soon, right?! As each moment passed I was even more sure that she would fall asleep at any second. It was after 8, and her bedtime is 7, so she must be tired. Only, I guess she wasn't because she sat in the backseat for about an hour and a half (until 9:30) just staring into space with her eyes wide open. At least she was quiet. Not sure what she was waiting for...i would've fallen asleep well before then if I hadn't felt guilty for leaving steve to drive in the dark alone. Finally asleep, and stayed that way until we arrived in Omaha around midnight. Off to bed we went...a long day was finally over.

Friday we were lucky enough to be invited over to my dear friends Brandi and Eric's house. Brandi and I were college roomies for a while and she had met Eric working at Boys town in college. Now they live and work in Omaha and have 2 sweet little boys. They had us, and another college friend--Emily, over for a DELICIOUS lunch. I must get the recipe for those yummy panini sandwiches!!!!!!!! Lots of good talk later and it was time to take my 2 tired girls back to the hotel. Later that night it was more good conversation and food as we hit the rehearsal dinner at Sara's in-laws home. It was a beautiful sunny evening in a beautiful setting, add in some great italian food, some wonderful family and it was the perfect ending to our first day in Omaha.

Saturday was very busy. We hit the mall...I mean is a vacation complete without some shopping?! Then it was off to the wedding at St. Bernard's. It was a beautiful catholic ceremony (which says a lot since catholic masses are not really my cup o' tea). The priest was witty and made the homily very personal which I really appreciated. Another highlight was when my cousin-in-law (is there such a thing?) Gini, sang the Ava Maria. I swear it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard! Then I think I almost started bawling when sara waved up to her school kids (she teaches 3rd grade) as she walked out of the church newly married. I think they were just as excited as anyone there...what a memory for them! Later that night...after a nap and a swim...we headed out to celebrate the big event. It was another great opportunity to catch up with relatives we see much too rarely, drink some...ok, a lot...of cocktails, and dance a dance for two--yes, I actually danced. Grabbed a cab home and called it a night.

Sunday was the day I was dreading. Up and out by 8am. I was nervous all week about how Anna would do on this drive. Night driving in one thing...almost guaranteed a lot of sleep time, but day time driving was a whole different deal. We had no idea what to expect from Anna during this time of day. Luckily, we had about a repeat performance...up for a while, asleep for an hour, up for a while, asleep for another couple of hours until we pull into home. Amazing...6 hours and only a few wimpers. I'll take it!

It was a great weekend,couldn't have asked for a nicer time, but so glad to be home again. It's our last week of school and it doesn't seem possible, but summer vacation is right around the bend. Ahhhhhh...I can't wait!

Some pics from the weekend...unfortunately, no good wedding pics (we need a new camera...they all turned out too dark!!!) or pics of the college friends (I must be better at remmebering to use the camera!) But some cute ones of anna outside the church and a few cute ones at the reception...enjoy...