Nina's Easter Egg-stravaganza!

Saturday marked Nina's 4th Annual Easter egg coloring party.

I have so much fun planning this every year!

I started doing this one Easter weekend when I realized that

I had bought 8 boxes of egg coloring kits by accident.

I found a way to take lemons, and make lemonade...

I made an annual event out of it!

Here is the party table!

This was fun to put together at 2am.

(I wanted to surprise Nina when she woke up)

Fun glasses to drink out of, and bunny ears to wear!

Not to mention, cupcakes & marshmallow pops.

I made Nina wait before she started snacking on the treats.

I made her wait for her guests, just so I could snap pictures!

Nina, Maddie, Amber & Kaitlyn were equipped with their ears,
and ready to decorate!

In the invitation, I told the kids to bring 12 - 18 hard boiled eggs.
(We would provide the rest)
Almost instantly, Nina's egg coloring party was in full swing!
Such talented kids, creating wonderfully decorated eggs.
How fun!

There was NO shortage of eggs, coloring kits, glitter, paint, etc.
They were all having a blast!
Us parents were visiting in the dining room.
We loved how all of them started singing together - so cute!

Vanessa, Nina, and Emily - taking a break for some Bunny punch.

They just love using these fun glasses to drink out of!

Feast your eyes on these beautifully colored eggs!
Such talented kiddos.

I'm so happy they had fun together!

It makes all the hours of lost sleep, chocolate spills,

and endless bags of lollipop sticks all worth it!

Pancake Breakfast 2011

Happy Easter!

What a GREAT weekend filled with friends & family.

We're so Blessed to be surrounded by such loving people!

This Easter was already extra special because it was

Jordan's very 1st Easter Holiday!

We kicked off our weekend with friends & a pancake breakfast!

I used to attend this very breakfast every year when I was little.

And I'm so excited to start bringing the kids, and making a new tradition.

We had delicious pancakes, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns & juice.

It was just what we needed to get us prepared for a fun day ahead!

I couldn't wait for Jordan to take a picture with the Easter Bunny!

I guess Jordan couldn't wait either...

He fell asleep in my arms 30 seconds before the bunny arrived!

My tired little baby was slumped over in Mr. Bunny's arms.

(Our friends' son Andrew was the bunny)

This was actually our last picture of our fun morning.

Just another cute memory to look back on!



Here is Nina getting her face painted.

She chose a cute little baby chick.

Jordan also got his face painted!

Here he's getting his little pink bunny nose.

He must have enjoyed it, because he sat still until she finished.

My little Easter Bunny!

Jordan did very well at his first Easter egg hunt!

As a rule, the parents couldn't help their little ones,

So we sat him down near an egg, and he picked it up!

We had a really fun time with our friends, The Cooley's.

Ray & Cheryl are two AMAZING parents that have raised

4 AMAZING children!

Danny & I feel very Blessed to have them in our lives!

Thank you for the invitation to the pancake breakfast.
This was just what we needed to kick off a great Easter weekend!

Bake Sale, Girl Scouts, and The Fuzzy Pet Foundation

Last Saturday Nina and her Girl Scout troop held a charity bake sale for

her favorite non profit organization: The Fuzzy Pet Foundation.

TFPF captured Nina's heart last summer, and we've all been friends since!

This was the 2nd bake sale Nina held for them.

She happily donates all the proceeds to this wonderful animal rescue!

As I was doing some surfing on Facebook,

 I came across a wondeful page - Gwynn Wasson Designs.

She was doing a disaster relief fundraiser for Japan!

For everyone that "liked" her page, and left a comment/email address,

she sent out these darling, free Easter printables!

{They're still available! So stop by and tell Gwynn hello!}

I'm not much of a baker.

But... I can make a mean marshmallow pop!

Here are of few of my baked goods I was dontating for TFPF.

Everything looked so much cuter, thanks to Gwynn's Easter printables! 

The Fuzzy Pet Foundation was part of a HUGE Pet Expo in Costa Mesa.

It was really fun to help out at such a great event!

Here is Nina standing near all the baked goods that were so

generously donated by Nina's entire Girl Scout troop!

All the proceeds from the bake sale went to TFPF.

Her is Nina with a couple of TFPF staff members,

and two adorable, furry friends!

Sheila Choi (Founder & CEO) gave Jordan the title of:
Youngest volunteer for The Fuzzy Pet Foundation!

Here is Bethanie, Melanie, and Nina ~

Turning in their very 1st donated dollar!

Here is Scooby Roo. He is TFPF mascot.
This dog's amazing story is what brought Nina to become
so active in helping The Fuzzy Pet Foundation.
Please read his unforgettable story when you visit their website.

Nina, and her friends had a really fun time with

The Fuzzy Pet Foundation!

During their few hours of volunteering, they handed out

flyers, collected donations, and sold their baked goods!

In appreciation for their time, and hard work,

TFPF gave each girl a fabulous bag!

This made the girls very excited - especially Nina!

These Girl Scouts may be little in size, but their hearts & voices speak volumes!

                                         A big THANK YOU to The Fuzzy Pet Foundation ~

You've touched my little Nina's heart!

Girls Scouts & The LH Fire Department.

One busy weekend... 

Nina's troop went to our city's fire department for a tour!

As you can see, our little darlings were very excited to be there!

Nina and the girl scouts got a chance to wear the firemen's gear!

All the girls said is was really heavy. 

The girls even had a chance to check out all the equipment/tools.

One of the highlights of their tour...

Each girl got a chance to sit behind the wheel of the fire engine.

One of the girls got hooked up to a machine that monitored her heartbeat.

She jumped around so we could see her heart rate increase!

Much to their surprise...

The girls of troop 1099 were invited to go on a ride in the fire engine -

Complete with sirens blaring, and lights flashing.

It was very exciting!

Once the girls returned from their ride,

the girl scouts had a chance to squirt water from a fire hose!

Just as the girls were finishing up, our firemen received a call!

They had to quickly gather their things, and hop in the engine.

It was a really great afternoon spent at our fire station!

A baby and his ball.

The weather this past weekend was just gorgeous!

Taking advantage of the warm sun, I put Jordan out back.

Becuase he's so fair-skinned, I didn't keep him out too long.

This is Jordan's ball. It's actually his favorite toy right now.

My Grandma bought this for him a week ago.

A little flying bug caught his attention for a moment.

I've fallen in love with his rich hair color!
And as my friend pointed out, it's shiny too.

We all have very dark hair, so I'm not sure where this

warm, chocolate color comes from... but it's nice!

Jordan wasn't sure what to think about the grass...

He just focused on grabbing his ball!

I get the biggest kick out of his dimpled hands.

And I'm crazy about his little toesies!

Jordan could play with his ball ALL day!

Our 1st Book Convention!

On Saturday April 9th, we attended a book convention!

We were invited by my friend Cheryl, and her son Andrew.

Cheryl was especially excited for this year's convention because

they were holding a Teen Day for the young adult readers!

Nina LOVES to read! She reads any chance she gets.

And often times, she's reading in bed when she should be asleep!

When she heard about the convention, she was all for it!

Here is Nina with one of her favorite authors - Michelle Jaffe

Nina bought one of her books, and had it signed.

Michelle was one of THE COOLEST authors we met Saturday!

She loved Nina's tutu, and told us she wanted one in pink as well.

She also told us that she wears roller skates when she writes!

A quick picture of Nina & I at the convention.

We were having so much fun together!

Cheryl couldn't wait to see her favorite author- Catherine Coulter!

Such a lovely woman. She even took the time to chat.
Cheryl LOVES reading her books!

While Andrew & Nina were waiting for the

Teen workshop to start, they did what all book lovers do...

They started reading a book they bought at the book fair!

They were so into their books, they didn't know I  was there!

This is Clare B. Dunkle - another of Nina's favorite authors!

Nina wanted to chat with her at the book fair, and so did everyone else!

Nina had a chance to attend a workshop and Clare was on the panel.

Nina was so mesmerized, she asked begged me to buy her book!

After all the Teen workshops were finished,

Nina & Andrew attended a Teen Party!

This was a neat event! I got to go as a Teen "companion".

They handed out swag bags to the first 250 teens!

(even the teen companions were loaded up w/goodies!)

Nina & Andrew went home with nearly 10 books,

TONS of signatures, pictures, great memories,

and an even deeper love for reading!

My Springtime Ice Cream Social!

One afternoon, while Facebooking with my friends,

I got this FUN idea to throw an ice cream social!

For a few weeks, I scoured my favorite blogs for inspiration.

Here is a picture of the table that greeted my guests!



I set out bottles of rootbeer, and sundae glasses.

Ice cream, cones, and toppings!

My guests enjoyed creating their own delicious ice cream treat!

I also made these very Spring-tastic marshmallow pops!

And the 'We all scream for ice cream' water bottle labels

helped complete my fun, springtime Ice Cream Social!

Getting ready for a Circus Party!

The Circus is coming...

Time is passing by at warp speed!

I can remember when I was pregnant with Jordan...

I had already decided that his 1st Birthday would be Cirucs themed!

Tomorrow Jordan is 8 months old, and I've got 4 months to

make his first ever birthday party a SUCCESS!

I'm so lucky & thankful that my friends are even hunting for Circus items!

Here's a picture of the Circus loot I've collected so far.

I've got SO many ideas overflowing in my head,

and TONS of inspiration from some really great party websites/blogs!

Kara's Party Ideas, + The Tomkat Studio = AMAAAAZING!

I've mentioned in a previous post that I got the custom cupcakes on order,

I've ordered cookies on a stick, and...

I have a great photographer coming to capture Jordan's special day!

Now if I can just scale down his guest list from 100+ guests... Winky face

Friends, Fun, and the La Habra 5K

Almost a week ago this past Saturday, 

 The city of La Habra held a 5K/10K walk/run.

Nina & I have been waiting for this day since last year!

We both had so much fun in 2010, and couldn't wait to walk this year.

 

During the festivities, we bumped into my friends' daughter, Mariah.

She's one of the cutest La Habra High School cheerleaders we know!

Here I am at the 1 mile check-point.

Our youth volunteers do a great job of encouraging the runners/walkers,

and even hand us little cups of water.

This is my good friend Cheryl's son, Andrew.

I had someone take our picture because Cheryl didn't make it to the walk.

Our neighbor Alex was also volunteering during the 5K/10K

It was so great to see them working hard, and giving up their Saturday morning!

Thank you!

Further on our walk (after the 2 mile check-point)

Nina & her friend Marley bumped into Mrs. Sanchez, and her granddaughter.

She works in the school office.

Our La Habra High School cheerleaders performed for us!

And we saw our La Habra Citrus Fair mascots dancing!

After completing our 3 mile walk with friends,

we all treated ourselves to a yummy breakfast at IHOP!

Marley, and Nina were happy :)

Here we are!

Me, Cheryl, Jennifer, Marley, Nina, and Leiann

It was a great time that morning!

The restaurant was packed, but we were too busy having fun to even care.

Marley, Nina, and Leiann -

We joked about her sitting on the little girl side.

Yummy food, wonderful friends, and great memories!