Get your Lemonade!

Last weekend, Nina had a sleepover with her friend Vanessa.

There was never a dull moment with these two!

On Sunday, they decided to have a Lemonade stand!

I came home to find a sink full of lemons -

Danny didn't think the girls would get very many customers -

We live on a cul-de-sac, and don't get much traffic.

Boy was he wrong!

These two savvy business gals raked in $12 by selling  

25cent lemonade, and 50cent popcorn!

Vanessa & Nina are ready for their customers.

The girls had Danny dig through the shed to find Nina's old lemonade stand.

You might be wondering why Nina is wearing two different colored flip-flips...

She lost 1 of each color. Oh my!

They made a GREAT team!

One person got the cups out, they both poured the juice,

and one person scooped the popcorn.

A fool-proof system, for sure!

Here they are happily taking the money from a customer.

Our neighbors were WONDERFUL for stopping by.

At one point, the girls had a line going down our driveway!

For the most part, they kept up with their inventory.

From time to time they ran in the house to pop more popcorn.
I think they sold about 3 bottles worth of lemonade!

Another VIP customer!

This is Max. He's a cute, thirsty neighbor boy.

Such great customer service.

Popcorn in hand, and lemonade being served.

Here is another neighbor that was gracious enough to pose for a picture!

She bought lemonade & popcorn, and even let them keep the change.
Thank you for helping support Nina & Vanessa's lemonade stand!

And the cutest part about this story...

They both decided to donate $10 to their girl scout troop!

{They're keeping $1 for each of them}

PROM - Brady & Maddie style!

Brady & Maddie went to their Senior Prom together.

They are so stinkin' cute!

Two great kids that are the best of friends.

Some of the pictures really capture how much fun they have together!

Brady & Maddie - Class of 2011

Brady gave Maddie her corsage.

So cute!

They both looked great in purple.

I think Maddie looks radiant!

They make the best faces!

See what I mean?

I love the back of Maddie's dress - so pretty!

Here they are again... looking gorgeous!

I love all of their poses.

You can see that they have a great time, wherever they are!

I just can't believe Brady is graduating!

Beautiful pictures Brady & Maddie!

Congratulations & Best Wishes for your bright future ahead!

XoXo

Family, Friends & Food trucks!

I've often wondered what this new Food truck craze was all about...

I always thought of them as the "roach coach"

Boy was I wrong!

Every type of food you can possibly think of, has a food truck.

{Sushi, Mexican food, BBQ, Desserts, and other specialty foods}

Every week these trucks park together, and wait for all the hungry people!

My friend Cheryl & I were interested in checking this out.

Friday night, our families got together, and we drove over for dinner.

I was chatting with my friend Shannon earlier in the day, 

and she suggested we bring our chairs. She said everyone tailgates.

She was right! Some of these people went all out.

Some were enjoying their dinner on a folding table - great idea!

{I'm thinking about doing that next time} 

Here is Cheryl & I with our Tornados. They're potatoes on a stick.

It's an entire potato, twisted, and made to order with your choice of seasoning.

I can't remember all 10+ flavors, but I had Sour cream & onion.

Mmmm! It was really tasty.

 Cheryl's son Andrew was pretty excited about his Tornado!

Cheryl's husband Ray ordered some BBQ meat, piled on french fries.

The picture doesn't do his meal justice!

Danny ordered some Korean tacos. He said they were very good.

Nina doesn't like to try new things... at all! 

She decided to stick with a major staple - Ketchup & a side of fries.

Not all fries are created equal, but she said these were delicious!

Cheryl also wanted to try the Sushi. She ordered a Salmon roll.

Let me just tell you, this was the freshest roll I've ever tasted!

I'm totally gonna order this next time we head over there.

My mouth is watering just looking at this picture!

After we all walked up & down the two aisles of food trucks,

full hands & all, we headed back to our picnic spot.

We had to use Jordan's stroller to help transport our drinks.

 The scent of our yummy food tickled our noses!

Thanks to Shannon's suggestion, we had a place to take a seat.

Here is Cheryl & Nina getting ready to eat.

It was really fun tailgating in the parking lot with our friends!

We had our chairs set up in a circle, around Ray & Cheryl's truck.

Ray & Andrew - chatting & eating dinner.

{Andrew is the one hiding his face with his Coke & Tornado}

Jordan was very content sitting in his stroller.

I think he liked people watching. There were LOTS of people to watch.

One of these days he'll be old enough to sample some of the yummy food.

Danny & I stopped feeding our faces for a quick picture.

We were having the best time with The Cooley's.

Chatting, eating, laughing, and sharing stories - funny stories!

We were having such a great time, that we didn't leave until after 10pm.

This is what it's all about... 

Hanging with friends, making fun memories, and sharing laughs!

Spring pictures!

Spring has sprung, and that means... another photo shoot!

I adore looking at pictures of my 3 beautiful children.

And we were lucky enough to find Danielle Odom Photography

She's an amazing photograhper that helps capture everything my heart desires!

The kids grumble when they know they'll be taking pictures...

But I'm sure they'll thank me some day!

Last weekend we met Danielle at a park, near our house.

I scoured the stores to find the perfect color combo for the kids.

I was SO pleased with how perfect the kids' pictures turned out.

These are only a few shots - I'm waiting for the disc to arrive!

My boys ~ Brady & Jordan

They make my heart swell with love!

Brady, Nina, and Jordan

They are my World! How did I get so lucky?

God is good!

Notice how the basket is tipping... My baby is a chubby-chubber.

I was standing nearby in an effort to grab the basket before it tipped over!

He was more interested in the ribbon than anything else.

One of my all-time favorite pictures of Jordan.

The photographer was lucky to get this shot!

He kept playing with the latches, and wouldn't put his head up.

Jordan & Nina

She's such a sweet big sister!

Jordan already enjoys tormenting her - he likes to pull her hair!



Mother's Day Tea!

During Nina's last girl scout meeting, the girls held a Mother's Day Tea party.

I can speak for all the other Moms when I say we were so excited!

The troop leader did an excellent job in organizing this special tea.

All the girls were told to wear their Mom's dress & heels!

The table was set up with our pretty tea cups & saucers.

There was a variety of delicious teas to choose from.

And we even got to feast on little, cucumber sandwiches!

They were delish.

We were treated to juicy strawberries, dipped in chocolate.

Yummo!

And as if that wasn't enough already...

Our girls were making the Moms a special,

Mother's Day present, to give us at the tea party!

After a few last minute touch-ups, we were ready to have some tea!

Nina was fixing Vanessa's hair for her.

Pinkies out!

I picked one of my favorite tea flavors: Peach

Nina was nibbling on a yummy, frosted cookie.

She looked so cute wearing my cocktail ring & Tiffany bracelet!

The girls couldn't wait to pose for pictures!

Natalie, Genie, Vanessa, Nina, and Bethanie ~

Thank you for making our Mother's Day SO SPECIAL!

We're incredibly blessed with such sweet little ladies!

XoXo

A Fiesta with Friends!

Since I was in party planning mode {like always}

I wanted to do something different this year...

I wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

So a quick punchbowl.com invitation, and few grocery items,

I was ready to roll!

I displayed the salsa in a couple of my favorite Margarita glasses.

I can't believe they're almost 12 years old!

I used a Serape I found at my Grandma's house for the tablecloth.

On one of my MANY trips/party adventures to Party City,
I found some really fun sticky mustaches!

I actually giggled when I saw them. Oh what fun we would have with these!

Ray, Matt, Brady, and Andrew were such good sports!
I didn't even have to tell them to put them on...

I turned around and saw them with a catepillar above their lip -

Too funny!

My Cinco de Mayo Fiesta wouldn't be complete without 

the Margarita machine, and Taco bar. 

Thank you to my friends who all brought something to share.

You guys helped make everything delish!

Michelle, Yvonne, Cheryl, Alex, and I were

enjoying our Margaritas!

Sadly, it had been a while since I had one.

But I certainly made up for it last night!

Time to eat!

The taco bar was a huge hit!

And so were the Margaritas :D

Danny & Jordan arrived a little late from my Mother-in-law's house.

But they were just in time to celebrate as we were about to hit

a pinata outside! Alex brought one, and filled it with goodies!

Thank you for joining Danny & I on our 1st ever Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!

Our 2011 World Champion athlete!

This is my son Brady. 

He's a competitive cheerleader for the California All Stars in San Marcos.

This past weekend, he became a 2011 WORLD CHAMPION!

His dreams have become reality in just 2 short years,

and Danny & I couldn't be more proud of Brady!

Sunday morning I received a very emotional phone call from Brady...

He got the gold medal, and a Worlds ring.

We now had a World Champion athlete in the family!

Talk about a very proud moment for us all!!

I didn't waste any time with getting some banners made,

and putting together a last minute surprise party!

My dear friend Cheryl welcomed her daughter Dori home from college,

and I jumped at the chance to have her come over to help with the banners!

She was very happy to help, and did an excellent job!

"Welcome home World Champion"

This is the banner we hung on the garage door.

We couldn't wait for him to see it when he got home!

{Thank you so much for helping us Dori!}

Here is a video of Brady and his teams' winning routine!

Please take a minute to watch it. You'll be amazed, I promise!

Monday evening we were expecting Brady home around 7:30pm.

That meant I had less than 24 hours to put something together for Brady.

I had very little time to gather some friends & family -

But this is what I was able to put together on such short notice...

I had a great time putting this last minute surprise together for Brady!

Here's a close-up picture of the cupcakes I made.

Along with a couple pictures of our World Champion,

I had an ice cream bar, and a few other goodies for everyone to enjoy.

We also had a do-it-yourself burrito bar for dinner.

       

Another picture of my cupcakes.

California All Stars - 2011 World Champions!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

We love you Brady - XoXo