A Good Day For A Party...

...or even two. Last Friday morning we rubbed the dust out of eyes and scrubbed the rodeo scum off and got ready to party. First on the list was a shower for one of the expectant mamas around here. This was not your run-of-the-mill shower, but rather, a casserole shower. Each woman invited brings a casserole or two in foil 9x13 or 8x8 pans. You could take soup in a Ziploc instead. The key is to take your food in something disposable. This way the expectant mama has a freezer full of dinners with little to no clean up. I know that she also received half a dozen loaves of bread, some coffee cakes, granola, etc. So, she should have a few nights of easier meals after the new baby joins them. When I was expecting Ezra a lovely friend planned a shower like this for me. But instead of each woman bringing a casserole, they each contributed money and bought the meals from a local "Dinner's Ready". It was oh-so-helpful and I recommend it for anyone out there planning a shower for a friend--it's especially nice for mothers of more than one child.


Kids and moms alike enjoyed some yummy treats while we visited and played.



We managed to get all the babies lined up in one chair. These are 4 of the 7 that have been/will be born between May 2009 and May 2010. This here is "Levi and his Lady Friends". They are in age order: October, December, January, February. Notice how interested Levi was in that hair bow : ) The babies stayed so happy sitting together in the chair. We decided we need to sit them that way more often!


We left that party around lunch time and dashed home for naps. When we woke up it was time to get ready for party #2--Teddy's 4th birthday party! The kids were super excited, of course. Aunt Heather served up some delectable beef brisket with all sorts of tempting sides. We (read: ME!) stuffed ourselves beyond bursting. Then the kids all helped Teddy rip through his gifts before playing a game of pin the tail on the donkey.

The shot I didn't get was Ezra totally disoriented. He pinned his tail on a counter top across the kitchen, and then on the cupboard door next to the fridge. We all had fun watching.

The new and excited 4 year old!


Aunt Heather fed the obsession for Tom and Jerry with this really yummy cake.

These folks joined us for the evening.

We left Ezra to spend the night with Teddy. We hear there was not a lot of slumber going on for the boys that night. They stayed up late and got up early to keep the fun going as long as they could. Ezra came home with a giant smile the next afternoon and many stories of all the fun he had. Thanks Uncle Alan and Aunt Heather for all your hard work. And thanks to Teddy for having a birthday : )
This last picture is from two days ago. Miss Kine (yes Penny, we still call her that sometimes) was in a self-destructive mood that day. She "bonked her noodle" (as she says) three times in pretty amazing fashion. Poor thing. She's feeling better by today, but her head and face still bear the marks of her accidents.