Happy Bday Papaya! (On FAT TUESDAY!)


Opening bday cards this morning--one from her brother on his mission.


Happy Birthday Papaya! 


We love you so much and can't wait for you to get your drivers permit to celebrate with red velvet cake and  ice cream tonight! XOXOXOXO




This was her one BIG gift--she wanted to pick out new bedding that wasn't from Target.
(Because for the last 14 years, her bedding has been from Target. LOL! I pretty much shop anywhere I can buy a head of lettuce AND pillowcases. Woo hoo.)

Cards and gifts from the rest of the fam--some of her favorite things: nutella, Reese's minicups, lemonade, nail polish ... and cool elephant pillowcases to match her Indian/African-themed bedroom set.


Popular posts from this blog

I Heart Summertime!

Image
Is there anything better than time with a book you love? (PS: Jr. loves to read, but I'm pretty sure this scenario was staged. He was teasing me about loving reading more than video games. If we look closely, the book may even be upside down. And it's on Pompei!) Turns out it's always summer when you're a housecat! Bam and Papaya on the kayak at the lake near our home. (Our community lets us check these out for use. It is so cool.) I love cooking in the summer--tho my pesto was only medium. I haven't mastered the recipe. I love coconuts. (Even after Survivor. Heck, BECAUSE of Survivor.) Bam is probably the most creative person I know. I was never like this as a kid--and I love that she is. Zu went to visit Janae's Service Hamster, Silver. The running joke between us all: I'd like Janae's family to get a service dog. Janae thinks her hamster fills the bill. "Silver-the-Hamster calms people," she claims....
Read more

Woo Hoo--It's Almost New Year's Eve!

Image
Savaii jury members at Ponderosa with Jeff Probst and David Burris (executive producers). First of all, thank you to everyone who sent suggestions for New Year's Eve celebrations. (What did we do before the internet? Seriously, I think I received about 50 really fun ideas by the end of the day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!) So, have you decided how you'll spend New Year's? After reading all of the suggestions, here's what we decided: 1. We're going to spend the first half of the evening with our whole family, doing chocolate and cheese fondue. We're going to listen to loud music and do "noisemakers" vs. illegal fireworks. (Sorry, Lu and Zu.) 2. The teenagers are going to go to a regional church NYE dance from about 10-12:30pm. (It sounds really fun, there will be a DJ, food, a balloon drop, ping-pong, and a game/video room ... and chaperones. Woo hoo.) 3. The rest of us are going to see a movie (Sherlock Holmes) from 10-11:30pm...
Read more

Yay! I Live To See Another Day In Survivor Caramoan

Image
(c) CBS, 2012. (And thx SurvivorFever.net)   I am so happy to have made it this far in Survivor Caramoan! As of last night, I beat my placement in Survivor South Pacific (woo hoo!). I thought last night's episode was great. (I think my wording was "huge" at the end of tribal. That was no small feat getting Malcolm out. Holy mack!) I liked last night's episode because we saw a lot more of everyone--and you got a really good picture of what camplife is like (people back and forth sharing plans, voting changes, stress over splitting/not splitting votes, idol searching, bluffing, drinking brown water, heat, tears, diarrhea ... the works!) And while it may seem nuts that I bought a rotisserie chicken for $500.00, it was THE best chicken I've ever eaten. And at this point in the game, I felt I needed food more than I needed family letters or an advantage in a challenge. (But I could have been wrong, been blindsided and easily gone home last night. The ga...
Read more