Katie's rockin' luau birthday (beware of pic overload!)

today was katie's birthday party and i am glad to say it was a huge success! we had a great turnout, with tons of her little bug-friends, and they all had a blast. it was at the bainbridge island aquatic center, which i highly recommend. there is stuff for all ages, from a gradual entry pool to a lazy river, a rope swing and an awesome water slide that the kids all loved (young and old alike!) the party theme was luau because, well, who couldn't use a little fun 'n sun in the middle of our drab WA winters? i made her a hula-girl barbie cake, which was not without it's trials....i got the entire thing assembled last night, stuck barbie in, and realized the cake wasn't tall enough. barbie was exposin' some nether-regions, so i had to get innovative with the frosting. oh well, it all turned out good.








(i *heart* how she is reading this card upside down.)

homiez.



he is such a ladies' man, LOL.....look at them flock to him like the wild salmon of capistrano.....



my own personal tarzan.



ETA: grrr! i don't know why all my pics are cut off....if you click them it'll take you to the originals.

getting ready for the par-tay!

today is gonna be a doozy. i need to get my butt in gear to make it to coffee at tiff's, and then i need to go to the commissary because on top of our pantry getting pretty bare, i have to get all of the snacks for katie's party tomorrow. then, come home, bake a barbie cake, get the rest of the party favors made (party is a luau theme and i'm making some cute lil' candy leis), *frost* the barbie hula-girl cake.....then throw in there all the normal stuff like getting austin to karate and laundry and making dinner.....it is stressing me out just thinking about it. ach.

11:41 pm

well i made it through the day....the snacks are bought, the cake is made, the party favors are (almost!) done......and i am ready for a glass of wine. or maybe just straight to bed. tomorrow promises to be a long day as well......austin has a merit badge clinic in the morning up in poulsbo, i have to finish the candy leis, and then katie's luau party at the bainbridge pool at 1......i will post pics shortly after the party!

joining the 21st century.

in an attempt to join the rest of the world, i have decided to create my own blog. thus enabling the rest of my extended family to peek into our lives and keep up with us and the kids. a little side benefit being, that one of my friends (thanks theresa!) informed me that you can print out your blog into a book.....and seeing as how i have gotten so lackadaisical with the kids' scrapbooks (poor samuel doesn't even have one!) i thought this would be an ideal way to document the milestones in their lives. since i spend about one-half of my life in front of the computer anyways.