Christmas in February?

After Riley's pary wound down, the guests left, and we did a quick pick up of the house it was time for Christmas...that's right Christmas!

This was the first Christmas that Jason has ever been gone and we waited to celebrate with his family until they came out to visit...so we transitioned from Riley's big party to family Christmas!!!

We were also leaving the same day for our family trip to Lake Tahoe so we crammed a lot in and there were a few moments where I thought we were crazy for jamming so much into one weekend but it was so much fun! The deal was we had to get the house picked up and the car loaded before opening our Christmas presents. I hadn't packed anything for Tahoe since I had been busy focusing on Riley's party so I quickly got all of our gear together and the boys schemed up a way to get us all up to Lake Tahoe in one vehicle!

Once we were all set to go it was present time and these presents were the only thing keeping Riley awake because she was exhausted!

Here's the fam...getting ready to open presents!

DiDi, Doc, and the infamous "Buddy" CJ got some Aggie gear...he did ask for this we aren't just brainwashing him! He lives in Arkansas and is surrounded by a ton of Razorback fans but he still loves the Aggies too! Riley got a Baby Alive and a doctor kit...not to mention the princess castle that she accidentally "found" before her party!

Gaby got some Tom's shoes...I think she was excited!

We wondered how Riley would do getting new toys and having to leave them so quickly but she gave her baby who she named "Dolly Doll" a quick bottle, put her in a safe place, and she was ready to get to Tahoe!

We had a quick but fun family Christmas...thanks LoRusso fam for all the great presents!

I'm not sure how the guys pulled this off but we managed to get all of us and all of our "stuff" in the Tahoe...every seat had a person in it, we loaded up the car top carrier with 5 suitcases, and we used the hitch carrier to carry all of our gear and ice chest! I'm so glad we could all fit in one car because it made the road trip that much more fun!

What a full day...birthday party by morning, Christmas by afternoon, and off to Tahoe by evening!

Riley's Party Day!!!!!

Riley's Party Day was a long awaited event...this little girl waited several months to have her big party so her Daddy could be home to celebrate with her!

I hate to admit it but we didn't actually ever have a party for Riley's 2nd birthday...we did plenty of celebrating but no actual party so we made a big deal about this one!

We went back and forth between having it somewhere or just having it at the house but ultimately decided to have it at our house. We also thought it would be fun to do it the weekend Jason's family was going to be in town so they could celebrate with us!

I had spent the entire week leading up to the party making something every single day...the weekend before I set up all my decorations, one night I made marshmallow pops, one night I made 4 dozen cupcakes, and on and on. I have to admit I got in a little over my head, but it was all for my girl so totally worth it!

I had also worked hard doing a lot of preparing so I could go out Thursday night with Hannah and Nicki to celebrate Nicki's 31st birthday because her 30th was not so fun...we had to make up for it! So we went to Davis and had a great dinner and shared some mojitos!

Then we headed to a dance club and danced the night away to this awesome 90's cover band! We had such a fun night but were out WAY past our Mommy bedtimes...and I still had to be in a meeting at 7:00 the next morning, get all my work done, get the house ready for the party, get the house ready for company, and think about leaving on a ski trip just hours after Riley's party! About halfway through Friday morning I realized I couldn't get it all done so I called Hannah and she came to the rescue! She is a party planner by nature so I finished my work and she set up the entire house for the party...what a lifesaver! By Friday evening everything was set up, cupcakes were iced, the bounce house was set up, and we were off to pick up the LoRusso clan at the aiport! The next morning it was finally time to have Riley's party day...here's the birthday girl herself! We did a "Sweet Shop" party and I set up an entire candy buffet!

Here's the rest of the spread...peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, jalapeno artichoke dip, and fruit salad!! There were little hands digging into the candy buffet the entire time..I loved it but their parents might have been unhappy with me later that afternoon!

The marshmallow pops were a hit...strawberry marshmallows dipped in almond bark and topped with an M&M made to look like cupcakes! Riley with her DiDi! We had a great turnout...I think there were over 20 kids alone and the weather wasn't cooperating so we had to keep everyone indoors! We bought Riley a bounce house for her big present so that was out for all her friends to play with! Riley got an awesome princess castle with a crawl through tunnel from DiDi and Doc for her birthday so we put that up for the kids to play with too and it was a hit...especially for the girls! I think fun was had by all! Faith, Hannah, and Bryn with sweet little Graham! The kids had fun checking out all the toys in the playroom too!

Ollie loved Larry the Fish!

Riley gave Carter some sweet hugs!

The tools were a big hit...let's put these kids to work!

Carter and Brandon playing a game!

Gaby made some new friends with the Levien girls...such cuties!

Eventually it was time to sing Happy Birthday to the special girl and she loved it!

Blowing out those candles!

Me and my sweet girl...I can't even begin to express how special Miss Riley is!

She sat with her Bubba and ate her cupcake!

Yum! I made Martha Stewart's strawberry cupcakes with homemade strawberry icing...they were awesome!

Riley's favorite part of a cupcake is the icing...she is just like her Momma and this icing was to die for!

We had a pinata for the kids to get even more candy!

Since we were stuck indoors and didn't have a safe way to hang up the pinata for a traditional beating we resorted to the other option of pulling strings...I had never seen this before but what a great idea...each kiddo pulls a string and only one will unlock the pinata and allow the candy to fall out...this way no one gets hurt!

Jason's making sure all the candy is out!

We asked that people not bring presents since Riley had already celebrated her birthday several times and had more than any girl could need but a few of her friends still wanted to bring her presents so she opened those up and got more fun toys!

What a fun and special day! Riley had an absolute BLAST with all of her friends and it was just a great party...we couldn't have asked for it to go better! It was great for all of our friends to meet Jason's family as well!

I sure love my little family and we were so excited to celebrate Riley's 3rd birthday in such a special way!

And we like to be goofy too!

Happy Birthday Riley!

I Heart You

Riley had a Valentine's Tea at school and Jason and I both were able to attend!

She was smitten that we were there and we got to eat cookies and drink "tea" (applejuice) with her and her friends!

Riley had special Tinkerbell valentine's to share with her friends and she got some cute valentine's cards from her class as well!

Of course there were lots of special packages delivered to our house for our little Valentine and she had a fun time with all of her goodies!

We got a few fun treats for Riley...her favorite being a mylar balloon that is still floating in the air and living in her room! She also got one sweet treat and some play golf clubs! :)

However, at the last minute one of my sweet friends from Bible study offered to babysit because her husband was leaving that day on a trip...so sweet of her! So I jumped on the offer and we ate dinner at Vintage Cafe...our latest date night favorite!

I got all dressed up for my date...I even wore the same dress I wore to my high school graduation...not sure if I should admit that but oh well!

We had a great dinner and a great evening out...I think Riley kept Bryn entertained all evening and they had fun too!

I sure love both of my Valentine's!

Party Party Party

Two birthday parties in one day?

Sounds like a blast!!!

The Sunday after we returned from Florida was booked in Riley's calendar and with two parties and the potential for no nap we decided to put her down to nap early and lo and behold she slept great and we had to wake her up to get ready for the first party!

First we went to Claire's house to celebrate her special day!

Claire was dressed as a princess and there were balloons galore...Riley was so happy!
They played lots of fun games, danced, and of course ate cupcakes!

My silly girl...let the sugar high begin!

After Claire's party we headed to the park for a triple first birthday for these cute little dudes...Blake, Jeff, and Will

It was a beautiful day and Riley was having a blast just running around!

I did catch her hiding under a playset eating M&M's...a girl after my own heart!

She got to take some balloons home and this just made her day!

Here are the parents of the birthday boys toasting to surviving the first year...love it!

Me and Nicki...

The whole gang...Riley was especially being a toot during this picture but you can't tell too much from this shot...the other picture she is vividly screaming!

What a fun day...and it didn't stop there. When we left the boys birthday party we met the Welch fam for dinner for the finale to our super fun party day!