She's crafty too...

My girls are proud Americans, they love their country, so it was no surprise that the theme for Katie's birthday with her friends this year was "America". Everyone was asked to wear some form of red, white and blue. A little light bulb went off in Delaney's head and she remembered a tutorial she saw and gathered the supplies needed to fancy up some shorts to wear to the party. They turned out fabulous, sisters requesting pairs for themselves to be worn on 4th of July!

Delaney's version. So cute, I love the addition of the eyelet around the bottom. Did it all herself. Proud mom!

Delaney's 20! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our sweet tiny baby! Twenty years have gone by so fast.

Delaney and Michael at the top of the Empire State Building.

Delaney on a hike in Idylwild, first grade.

We love you, Happy Birthday!

Lap Quilt or uh, blanket

I'm trying desperately to get three warm and fuzzy "quilts" made before Christmas. I can tell you right now, I'm not going to be 100% done. I have, however, finished Delaney's. First of all, it is not quilted, so I hesitate to call it a quilt. I did piece the top together, but they wanted the backs to be warm and soft so I didn't quilt the blanket.

I learned a couple of things making this quilt. I need a quilting foot, which I bought to make the second quilt and a walking foot to put the binding on, which I haven't bought yet. I also should have made the zig zag lines contrast instead of blend. I made this without a pattern, so no instructions and to make each line stand out, I needed to contrast the lines. I blended. I couldn't see it until it was all sewn together and then it was too late. Oh well, I've learned not to do that.

The good thing is that Delaney doesn't care, she loves it and can't wait til Christmas to get it. She picked out the fabric and the backing is nice and soft and warm. Thank goodness she is not a perfectionist (neither am I!).

Catching up

AXO had their winter formal and Delaney took her boyfriend Michael.

Katie went with her friend Kendall who is in Delaney's sorority, so the sisters got to be together.

Halloween Weekend 2011

Delaney had a great idea for a costume and she was excited to put it together. She watched youtube videos on how to design and apply her make up and she made her own Day of the Dead costume and applied her own makeup.

I think she was the only sorority girl on the planet with enough self confidence to go to the parties with her face painted. It freaked everyone out and random people wanted their picture taken with her. Above are two of her good friends Roxy and Kaki. Her boyfriend, Michael, also got dressed up as a Day of the Dead person and looked great. Unfortunately, the only picture I have, sent via text, wont download. I'll try to get it for you later.

Katie went to VEGAS BABY for Halloween. She is pictured above with Pauly D from The Jersey Shore, her bff Kendal and her friend Megan. They were staying at The Palms and were headed out for the night. The elevator randomly stopped on a floor and Katie looked out. She saw Pauly D and as the doors were closing she yelled, "Wait!" and stuck her hand out to stop the doors from closing. She then ran out of the elevator up to Pauly D and the first words she said were, "Kendall is going to die!". Kendall and Megan are still in the elevator confused as to what is going on. Katie calls them over to meet Pauly D. Katie carries on a full conversation with Pauly D while Kendall (who absolutely loves Pauly D) is starstruck and can't utter a word. He invites them to the club where he is the D.J. for the night, but they have other plans and don't go. The bodyguard takes the picture and it is a bad one, but proof non the less.

Katie is "Made in America" for Halloween. She was also a ringmaster, but I don't have any pictures of that yet.

Happy Halloween Weekend!

THING 1 and THING 2 started off their Halloween weekend line dancing at Incahoots.

More to come on various other costumes.

Some Updates

Delaney is pictured here with her two roommates, Sydney and Kaki. Delaney received two awards last night in her sorority: highest GPA in her class and Dean's List. We are so proud of her.

Katie is Pledge Mom this year and is loving it. She is teaching all the new little baby Pi Phi's everything they need to know. She also made the Dean's list for the 6th time and is in the top 15% of all the students at San Diego State. We are so proud of her!

Delaney is crafty...

My daughter Delaney made this beautiful beaded bracelet this week. Her own design, her own beadwork. She has always loved bracelets and rings and lingers over the jewelry counters. She has made little string macramé bracelets for herself and her friends, but Wow, she really got down to business here. She strung turquoise, white and clear seed beads on duck cloth in a chevron pattern.

Her sisters have already requested that she make them one and she has a new design in mind for another one.

Beautiful Delaney!

Interactive Art...

A few things here and there

Alyssa took her sisters to Stagecoach, a two day country music concert. They had a lot of fun together.

Delaney with friends Kaki and Sydney. Cinco De Mayo Party.

The Handsome Husband gets together with friends from high school. Jim, Mark, John and Bob. I think that these guys have typical names from the 50-60's Nowadays these guys would be named: Jacob, Tyler, Ryan, and Stone. Names sure have changed.

Alyssa and Greg in Jamaica. Only pic. You would think it would be on a beach with clear blue water and some palm trees. This is all I got. Lucky to have it. This child does not take pictures.

Delaney and Katie in Miami for Spring Break.

6 girls. Delaney, Natalie, Amy, Lynn, Kendall and Katie.

Different club every night with Limo's and VIP service. Oh to be young and pretty!

Delaney (left) and Kaki as Tuffy the Titan during Greek week.

I like to see all this school spirit.

Skydiving

Yep, that's my youngest taking years off my life.

Delaney has been talking about SKYDIVING non stop for 3 years. One day she came home from school and scared me to death when she said she wanted to go skydiving. First response: You're not old enough. Then she turned 18, second response: It is too expensive and just wait a year and if you still want to do it, then we will talk about it. Then BLAMMO, Alyssa and Greg buy her a jump for Christmas. Thanks Alyssa, thanks alot! Alyssa bought Greg a jump too, so Delaney and Greg can go together. Then Alyssa did another nice thing, she SUPERCHARGED the jump. Yes, now they are going to jump out at 13000 ft instead of 10000. Wow! What a peach!

I have to admit, he looks like he is having a lot of fun, but nothing says it better than the picture below. Pure Joy!

I told him he looks so happy in this picture and he said, "yeah, happy to be alive!"

They both LOVED it and can't wait to do it AGAIN!

See how they jumped out of the plane attached to a professional skydiver?

Check this out...

Bob, 24 years old, jumping out of the plane on his own. He had to pull his own cord to open the parachute and wait for his chute to open. He hit his hand on the way out, thus the expression on his face (check the upper left corner). Eight hours of classes, no professional to save you. If you think that is crazy, check this out...

Yep, that's me, 18 years old!

One time only!

Catching up on the Birthdays

In Jan. we celebrated Delaney's birthday. Some of her friends came over. We had chicken artichoke pizza, played a HILARIOUS game of celebrity and enjoyed a homemade, german chocolate cake (made by the Handsome Husband).

You might notice a piece is missing? We were having so much fun playing celebrity that the time got away from us. Those who had to work the next day announced they had to leave. We quickly started to dish out the cake, but wait, we forgot to sing happy birthday! At least only one piece was dished out before we caught our mistake.

She hates to be the focus of all the attention, but she is getting better at it. She is happy and that makes me happy.

In Feb. we celebrated Katie's 21st birthday. We had to wait for her birthday celebration at college to be over. She celebrated with various friends and activities from Thursday night through Sunday night. It was finally our turn on Monday. She chose this cherry blossom theme. (I had a hard time putting this tablescape together for some reason. I never felt that I got it right.)

While we waited for the Beef Stroganoff to finish (her choice 4 years in a row), they all watched The Hangover.

We then sang Happy Birthday and she loved it. (She loves being the center of attention).

We made lemon bars and had sparkler "21" candles. She doesn't like frosting that much and since I made the cupcakes for all her college friends, she wanted something different.

These were the cupcakes I made for her college party. I couldn't really get a good picture for some reason. I added white sprinkles later.

I ordered the little toppers from my friend Katy Larson. She does a beautiful job making all kinds of birthday and holiday paper goods. Click here for her blog. It is very inexpensive and she does a terrific job.

And finally a picture of the birthday girl living it up.