Porch Party - 149/365

We had a really exciting morning. We spent it cleaning out the garage. Woohoo! Nothing better than "shopvaccing" up dead bugs. It just looks so much better when it's done though. Now we can reach all her stuff. It's great!

This evening we had a modified porch party! We didn't cook or anything, just had some popcorn, snacks and beverages. It was fun to watch the kids run around. They have so much fun on the playset. And us adults have fun chitchatting!
Rachel pushing everyone on the swings. 

Alivia and Reagan cooking dinner.

 

Milana's First Birthday - 206/365

Today we were heading up to Ron and Rachel's for Milana's first birthday party!

The theme was "Pretty in Pink." It was so cute! We all participated in the theme and wore pink shirts. It was a great party! They had Charlie's cater the food and it was delicious. For dessert they had the traditional cake and cupcakes, but they also had the Kona Ice truck come! Wow, was that a hit! They kids AND adults absolutely LOVED it! It was great! We had so much fun making our own concoctions.

After, the kids could bounce in the bounce house. They also loved driving around in Parker's big wheels. It was so cute!

To end the party, they had an ice cream cone piñata. They sure loved smacking that thing. They all did great! It was a great party!

Papa drove us back down the street, because a minor little thunderstorm was rolling in. Jim had run Brinkley up to Austintown Park to get a quick walk in, so my car wasn't in the garage. Reagan discovered she could make shadow puppets on the garage wall. She was doing all kinds of crazy dances. It was a hoot!

Jim and Brinkley had a great walk and got back in the car just as the rain started! They were lucky! It was a fun day!

The birthday girl!

Enjoying her snow cone with Sadie

 Piñata time

 Jim and Sadie bonding

 The girls all in the pink!

Shadow dancing

 Brinkley enjoying his walk!

 

 

Playing Outside - 90/365

It was a gorgeous day today! 

We could all finally be outside without freezing our asses off and we didn't have to bundle up! It was awesome! 

When Jim got home from work, we went for a walk around the neighborhood, then spent some time out back with Reagan on the swing set. She was loving be back out there! 

As we were playing, Ron, Rachel, Sadie and the kids, were strolling by and popped over for a visit. Parker and Reagan had a blast going round an round on the slide. The dogs had fun running all around, too! It was a fun little impromptu porch party! Can't wait for summer! 

The photo of the day is Reagan, Parker, Brinkley and Sadie playing in the yard!

YSU and One Last Christmas Party - 363/365

This morning, we just spent some time around the house, freeing all Reagan's new toys from their boxes. That took more time than anything. I really wonder where they think the toys are going, that they need to twist tie, rubber band, and bolt them to the boxes. It's CRAZY! 

This afternoon, Jim and Greg decided to check out the YSU basketball game. The Penguins won in a complete blowout against South Dakota. The final score was 85-59! In the first half alone, the score was 53-18! During the second half the Penguins pretty much played all their backups. Jim and Greg ended up staying the whole time, just to enjoy a nice afternoon out. 

 This evening, we went up to Ron and Rachel's to have our annual holiday get together. We brought the pizza and Rachel had chips,salsa, fried mozzarella sticks, cookies and beer! While we were sitting enjoying our dinner, Ron got a beep on his phone, only to discover the Browns had fired, Chud. Really, after ONE year?? WTF!? We were all in disbelief! 

Anyway, we had a great visit and the kids had a blast playing with each other. Parker and Reagan were taking turns bouncing on Parker's new trampoline in the living room. Reagan found a new love for Milana's bumbo seat. She would put it on the trampoline and try to bounce! It was so funny. Sadie and Brinkley had a fun time getting to see each other, too! We all had a great time. 

I forgot my camera, AGAIN, (not sure what's going on) so I had to rely on my phone to try to get a pic. LOL! 

The photo of the day is all our kids at the party....

Next, Jim and Greg at the game...

Finally, Reagan and her new Doc McStuffin's check-up center.

 

Luau Day - 230/365

It was Luau Day! 

The first annual luau, to be exact! 

Adrienne, Jake, Matt, Nikki, Rachel, Ron, Jim, I and all the kids got together for our party! Rachel's mom was visiting, so she joined us, too! 

We had been planning our luau for months, since the winter, actually! We were originally supposed to have it in July, but we had to postpone till now. 

We got the idea to have a luau, from a favorite Disney Drink in the family, the Lapu Lapu. It's an adult beverage they have at the Polynesian resort. It's ultra strong and served in a hollowed out pineapple. Delicious! 

 I spent the day getting everything ready! It was so fun transforming the deck into Hawaii! We had grass skirts for the patio umbrella and tables. We had lots of parrots, palm tress and tiki guys, too! Adrienne found plastic pineapple cups so we could have our Lapu Lapus, in a similar style as at Disney! Nikki brought some fun photo props and our pink flamingo mascots! We even had a giant cardboard tiki, that we named "Freaky Tiki!" It was great, because we all contributed to the party and hope to add some new stuff every year.  

Our menu was, chicken kabobs marinated in Hawaiian Luau marinade, Hawaiian rice and Hawaiian sliders. Adrienne whipped up a yummy Hawaiian salad and Nikki made two awesome pineapple cakes! Rachel brought some Hawaiian flavored Handels, along with some birthday cake ice cream, for Jim! LOL! Nana even chipped in and made us a fruit plate. She made a palm tree out of a green pepper and carrot stick, coming out of a pineapple boat, surrounded by fruit! It was awesome!!! 

We had a great time and the kids enjoyed running around together! We had a little craft and pinata for them, too. The pinata was another tiki guy and they made little paper plate parrots. They loved them! It was so fun! 

Brinkley and Sadie had a fun time running around with the kids. They both were really good sports about their little luau headbands, too! 

 I had a basket of toys, back by the playset and by the end, you could tell a good time was had by all, because the yard was littered with toys! It was HILARIOUS! 

 I asked Reagan what her favorite part of the Luau was and she said, "The tree (palm tree) and eating 'din-or' with the kids." I think she loved her first experience as a "big kid" at the kids table! It was a really fun time and we all are already looking forward to next year!

The photo of the day is the whole crew with "Freaky Tiki!"

 

Congratulations Musilli Family!- 41/365

I had the special honor to take a very important photograph for a good friend today! 

Rachel and Ron, our neighbors and good friends, are expecting their second baby in August! YAY! Rachel asked if I would take a few pictures for their family to help announce their big news! Of course, I said YES! We started here at the house and used my new lights to take a few of Parker in his big brother shirt, first. Then we went down the street and took one outside to "add up" their family. They were perfect subjects and I only took 4 before we "got it"! The picture came out fabulous! 

We all love it! 

Congratulations guys, we're so happy for you! Can't wait to meet the new addition! ♥ 

 They are my photo of the day!