Monday, December 10, 2007

VINNY'S OUTDOOR BIRTHDAY PARTY

Did I just write outdoor birthday party?  Yes, I believe I did.  Vinny never thought she would see the day when she would be able to have a birthday party outdoors unless she wanted to go sledding or have her party in July.

So, imagine how happy she was this year. This is what her party looked like....

HPIM3730

Yes, that is Vinny in the black and white polka dot dress shielding the sun from her eyes.  The temperature was a mild 74 degrees on Saturday, December 8 so we were able to hold the main activity outside. As you can see, that activity was decorating gingerbread houses.  I put 15 houses together the night before and then the girls and two boys (Mitchell & his best friend Skyler) decorated them at the party. They really had a great time even though they were hot. I asked them if they wanted to go inside and finish up but they preferred to stay outside.  The boys were already inside.

Here are some photos from the day.

HPIM3725

HPIM3726

HPIM3728

HPIM3733

HPIM3735

HPIM3736

This is Macy, Skyler's little sister.  She was smart and moved inside to cool off.  She is only 5 and boy did she do a great job on her house.

HPIM3737 

They took a quick break to have cupcakes and open presents and then got back to their houses.

HPIM3741

HPIM3747

Skyler's house.

HPIM3749

HPIM3750

Vinny's house

HPIM3751 

Anna-Kate was the last to finish at 3:20.  The party ended at 3:00.

HPIM3755

Alli is the blond and Abigail is the brunette (she is Anna-Kate's identical twin). See the close up below for the reason for this photo.

HPIM3753

Yes, the first thing they noticed when they arrived was that Alli's nail polish matched my front door and Abigail's shoes matched the door.  They wanted me to take a photo next to the surfer door. When they saw my Christmas wreath, Abigail said, "what is this old fashion symbol in the middle? I know I have seen it somewhere?"  See the photo below of my wreath and the old fashion symbol. I know I felt very old after that comment.

HPIM3754

Yes, it is a peace sign wreath, the kids saw one in a catalog and asked if I could make one.  So, I made two, one for the door and one for inside of the house.

HPIM3775 

Vinny's actual birthday is not until December 19 when she will turn 9.  Wow, I cannot believe my baby is going to be 9. 

NikisHouseXmas 003 Today, December 12 is my  great niece Jessica's birthday! Happy birthday Jessie!  We all love you and miss you very much and hope you had a great birthday!  She is 10 today! Wow! Double digits, Becki how does that make you feel?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey, but it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to leave a comment, so now I'm out of time, but I'll say Merry Christmas and nice to get your card. Say hey to Charlie for me.
Best,
Joel (and CJ) Wisner
joel.wisner@unlv.edu

BBSweet said...

Hi Paddocks,
Thanks for thinking of Jessica yesterday, it is unreal to think that she is 10 already. Vinny party looked like fun. We had a surprise party for Jessica this year. We went ice skating at the new rec center. Your Thanksgiving looked nice, we went to Mesquite with Mom and Dad and had a nice quite dinner in their new 5th wheel. Hope to hear from you soon. Love Becki

Anonymous said...

Shaun,

I just read your family newsletter. I had no clue that you picked up and left the promised land! That's a huge move. I like your blog too.

I left PH, and I am editing the accounting list at Wiley. I work for Chris DeJohn--you must remember him from Macionis days. Anyway, things are going pretty well. Shannon is freelancing from home when she's not busy being the Cub Scout den mom. Whitman is in 3rd grade, and Preston is in kindergarten. We got a New Jersey cat to add to our very weird Utah cat.

Stay in touch and drop me a line at vitaminj11@mac.com.

love Jeff, Shannon, Whitman, & Preston