The party of the year (Part 2)

So, I left off with a little teaser...here are some of the attendees and the bday girls getting ready to take off on a night FULL of adventures.






Birthday girls with the guests!


Add in just a smidge of SASS!


My beautiful birthday girl in the limo...ahhh, she is growing up so fast!


JM, Arden, Paige and Gracie



And for a little video pleasure, we have lots of squeals and att-i-tude (some which some mama's had to take care of later :/), but mostly lots of fun! I get tickled in one of the videos where Paige's friend, Gracie gets excited about "fancy water!"...lol, it doesn't take much :)





The journey begins here and has several pit stops along the way to reach their final destination... more to come later :)

The party of the year (Part 1)

Someone had a PARTAY this past weekend and it was a HUGE success! Remember not too long ago I shared that Paige was having a joint bday with two of her besties??? Well, it was this past weekend and it was sooo much fun! I'm going to have to break this into several parts, because it was THAT over the top. I told Paige that she won't be having another party like that until she gets married. hee hee


Paige posing before the guests arrived!




Each lady received a pink rose as they stepped out of this...


...oooh yeah, baby, a white stretch Hummer Limo with disco lights, surround sound stereo and lights on the ceiling. It was a tween's dream come true!!!


The cake was soooo cute and YUMMY to boot! Paige wanted to take a little finger "dip" before the guests arrived, but she held off! :)


Loren, Ava and Paige...BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!!


The girls looked quite regal and so elegant in their cocktail dresses! It was so much fun to have an occassion to see all of their friends decked out.


The girls before going for a pre party ride. The whole evening was a surprise for the birthday girls and the guests! It was a very difficult task keeping such BIG secrets from sooo many girls and moms, but we did it!

Sooo much more fun to come...check back for more!!! :)



I converted a pic of Paige and I into black and white and wanted to link up to Lisa's black and white Wednesday since I haven't participated in a while. This was taken at the end of our evening and while we are sweaty, I love this pic of me and my sweet girl! To see more black and whites, head over to the new MOMMY to a beautiful SPICY girl!!!!

Look out EMS...here they come!

Paige's first day of middle school couldn't have been more wonderful! I will let the pictures do the talking...


It started off with a "Cougar Breakfast" for Paige and 16 of her closest friends. Look at how precious that table is! My friend, Kim, is so creative and doesn't leave a single detail out.


There were chocolate chip and blueberry muffins, fixings for parfaits, fruit, milk and OJ, but quite frankly, the girls were too excited to eat much. I think they look pretty darn cute for 6:15 a.m.


They giggled and talked and wondered who their teacher's were going to be, what team they were going to be on (Paige is on the BLUE ...YAY), and who was going to be in their classes. I am sure they had a few conversations about boys, but the moms and I weren't privy to those :)


They posed for some group shots while the mama/sisterazzi went NUTS with our cameras!!! Such sweet girls to allow us to be in their faces ALL.THE.TIME!


They sat with their besties and talked about how they are SOOOO glad to not be in elementary anymore (I didn't buy that for one minute, though).


They talked about hoping to not get lost in their new BIG school!


They shared the latest trends...


They started to look soooo grown up...


They struck a pose...


Waved at buses and passersby who honked their horns...


They took pics with lifelong friends...


They gave us a glimpse into their future...


They gathered for prayer...


We said our goodbyes to the days of wiping noses, drying eyes, tying shoelaces, helping with handwriting or sounding out words...


and we all said hello to a brand new phase in our sweet girls lives.

I hope and pray that God watches over these girls and helps them to make good choices, be kind to each other, learn all that they can, study hard, play harder, and never forget to cherish each moment!

In my mind...

...she is still this little! :( Tomorrow, my baby girl, starts middle school! I know most people don't see this as any big deal, but she is our one and only and each and every milestone just means she is growing up. While I am so proud of the young lady she has become, sometimes I just wish she were this little again and I could still scoop her up and sing to her and love on her like I did when she was so teeny.



No matter what, Paige, you will ALWAYS be my baby girl!
I love you more than life itself! Be the sweet, unique individual you are and you will KNOCK their socks off!

To the moon and back...

National Dance Day!

There seems to be a day devoted to just about everything these days and dancing is no exception! Today, I was perusing FB (FB stands for, ya know that social network where I get on and plan to spend 10 minutes and then end up spending two hours? ... yeah, that one!) and I found out that it was National Dance Day!

Sooo, what does one actually do on this day? Well, you grab your little in the house and you put on some tunes and you shake what your mama gave ya :) Paige and I did "the butt", "twisted and shouted", the hand jive, the macarena, the running man and many other dances. We danced to Michael Jackson to Etta James. We swung and slided and serenaded and sang into the brush. We had a BLAST!

I highly recommend getting up every now and again and busting a move!

Here are a couple of my favorite dance videos...some from Paige's recital to some that just make me smile!!! Enjoy, NO WAIT.... DANCE!!!!!!

Where did my filter go?

Has anyone seen my filter? Ya know, the filter that lives underneath your tongue, in your mouth? It seems that mine is gone and I am just letting my thoughts roll off my tongue these days!

My mom once told me "one day you are going to grow up and find your voice and you will not just stay quiet because you don't want to rock the boat". Well, my friends, that day has come and I feel like a brand.new.person!

I could list the occassions in this past week alone where I have either spoken out for the underdog, or said...are you ready for this??? the word "NO" without any explanations, or given my opinion on something when I usually would have stayed silent or walked right on by someone at the pool who would normally keep me in conversation for close to an hour and I would know everything about them except for their blood type...while I am DYING to get away and spend time with Paige.

I feel great!!! Priority life, here we come :)

No longer are the days of nodding my head in agreement, biting my tongue, or being the "yes" girl.

My life is just as important as those that seem to take my time, without apology, and then don't bother to ask how my day was or how my sweet family is doing. So if you call or see me out and I seem in a hurry, it's because I am. I am in a hurry to spend time with my mom, Paige, brother, sister-in-law, friends whom I adore and love. When you think I am being rude, ask yourself why. Why does she seem different...the answer might shock you.

DONE, GONE, Bye Bye Miss DoorMat!!! :)

Mama said that there would be days like this, my mama said :)

***disclaimer*** I am still a very sweet and sincere person, however, friendships and commitments and all of that jazz is a TWO way street, ya know? My time is just as valuable as others and I intend on spending it with people who TRULY have my best interest at heart! :)

Party planning fun!

It's that time of the year again for our family...Paige's birthday! Since she is our one and only, we tend to go a bit overboard. She didn't have a party, per se, last year...just a little sleepover, but THIS year, she is turning 12! It's a big year for her.

She has two friends that share a birthday within the same week, so the moms and I decided to pull our funds together and have a joint bday party. We met last night to plan and boy, all I can say is, it's going to be a doozy!

The girls know about the biggest surprise which is... a stretch Hummer is taking them and their guests out for an evening of fun and TONS-O-SURPRISES!!! That is all they know. Since Miss Paigee Poo reads this blog from time to time, I can't post details here until after the event.

Here are the pics that we are using for their invitation and for some other surprises...I think they are so precious!


Ava, Loren and Paige




My personal fav! We are saving this one for thank you cards!

I think I am more excited than the girls!