Courtney & Connor's Beach Party Blow Out - Part 2!

Oh. My. Goodness. Kathy Scoffield - photographer extraordinaire - took pictures of the set up of the party on Saturday, and I am SO HAPPY with how they came out!!!! Everything was so bright and colorful! It was such a fun day, and I'm so glad I have these pictures to remind me of how beautiful everything looked. Thanks Kathy!

The delicious cupcakes were baked by Courtney & then frosted by Wendy & Courtney.  Courtney...my little Cake Diva.

These cookies were absolutely AMAZING!  Flip flops, beach balls, beach umbrella, and sunglasses.  Super duper cute.  All provided by The Cookie Jar.

Couldn't get enough of these cookies!!

The yard....before the dust storm (almost) came.  That was a bit stressful. 

Can I just say that I LOVED these monkeys!

I provided "Drink Tickets" to the kids for the Slushie Machine.

Corn dogs, fruit kabobs, and ....

Beach Bunny Snacks (caramel corn), Bahama Mama Mix (Munchies chip mix), and

The Big Cheese Daddy (cheese puffs).  I got this adorable idea from here.

Drinks...

Lots of beach balls....

Lights & lanterns.

We rented a Slushie Machine from Tropical Breeze Frozen Drinks.  Um....the Pina Colada??  Delicious!! 

Sweet Storie.  Love this little one.

Wow.  I've never seen my pool so full!!

First of all, I have to thank my kids for putting up with my craziness as I planned this little gathering!!!  And my dear sweet husband, who is the HOTTEST landscaper around!

Kathy Scoffield - Thank you for coming over and capturing such beautiful images - even when we thought it was going to all blow over as that dust storm started to move in!!  Thank you for keeping your cool while I was completely freaking out!  You are a fantastic photographer!

The Cookie Jar - Thank you for such AMAZING cookies.  You are a cookie genius!

Polka Dot Market - Thank you for the fun and festive lanterns!  They are gorgeous!

The King Family - Thank you for letting us come over and raid your Party Closet!  If we can ever return the favor, just holler!!

A big thank you to the rest of my family and friends who put up with my obsession of throwing the coolest 13th birthday party ever.

And Kim, my party hero, thank you for your inspiration, your creativity, your brain, all of your help and advice.  And thank you for the wonderful Surf Collection that you created for this special occasion!  Thank you for allowing me into your life and being a party of the marvelous and delicious world known as The TomKat Studio.  Best. Job. Ever.

Courtney & Connor's Beach Party Blow Out!

Well, 13 is a big birthday.  So, I couldn't let this one go by without throwing the twins the biggest, baddest birthday party EVER!!!!  Months of planning went into this.  I came up with the idea of a Beach Party because....hello....it's AUGUST and I knew the pool needed to be a part of this!!!  Kim from The TomKat Studio came up with a DARLING design for me (to be revealed later!!) and away I went!  Pink, blue, yellow & green were the colors.  A slushie machine was brought in.  The most adorable cookies from The Cookie Jar were used as favors.  Beautiful outside decor thanks to the Party Supply Store known as Melynda King's House, and gorgeous lights and lanterns hung over the yard...courtesy of my dear husband, who works just as hard on these parties as I do!!!  We had 50+ people here...adults & LOTS of kids.  26 to be exact.  Holy cow!  Swimming....Minute to Win It games.....dinner.....cupcakes....gifts......and the highlight of the evening??  A visit from Filipe Fa from Season 7 of The Biggest Loser.  He is friends with my sister-in-law, and when she told him that I wanted a someone to show the kids the Hakka (Tongan War Dance) he graciously volunteered.  He is a wonderful man!!!  And it was a fun surprise for the kids.  :) 

Here are a few candid pictures I took.  The rest of the pictures of all of the decor and set up were taken by Kathy Schoffield....photographer extraordinaire!!!  I'll be getting those soon and will post!  I can't wait to see them!! 

So, here are a few for now.....

I never thought I would have so many kids in the pool at once!!!

I brought in Lincoln & Kamrie as reinforcements!!  Aren't they adorable?

So many gifts....

Slow down there Miss Emmi....

Lots of Minute to Win It games....

The boys kept LOSING at Minute to Win It!!!  So, Kort gathered them all together for a

Pep Talk.  Didn't matter...the girls still CRUSHED them!

Filipe doing the Hakka!  It gave me chills!!

And teaching the boys.....

Filipe & the birthday kids

Kort & Hugh wanted to get in on the action.  So did Filipe's adorable 3 year old son Carey!!

More pictures to come......

I Have Teenagers!!

Absolutely so hard for me to believe that I am the mom to TWO TEENAGERS!

Today, Courtney & Connor turn 13. 

What an amazing young man and young woman they are turning out to be.

It is a JOY to be their mom (most of the time!!) and as we enter our teenage years together, I hope that our relationship will grow STRONGER, and we can be FRIENDS as well as mother and daughter/son (although being a MOM comes first before FRIEND!). 

A new chapter begins....

And I'm really looking forward to it.

I wrote about the miraculous way that Courtney & Connor were brought into this world last year on their birthday.  You can read that here.

Crush

I heard the song "Careless Whisper" by George Michael on the radio the other day.  1984.  That was the year.  I was a freshman in high school.  A very small fish in a big pond filled with older, hot dudes.  And, true to form, I developed a crush.  A big one. 

His name was Mark Mirenda.  He was a senior.  Yes, a senior.  How typical, right? A freshman developing a ginormous crush on a senior.  Anyway, I don't even remember when I first saw him, but I'm pretty sure I never actually MET him. Just watched him float all over campus.  He was on the baseball team, and he looked so adorable in his uniform. (Face it, most guys look HOT in uniform....why do you think I married a fireman??) 

I was a super dork.  This crush consumed me.  I remember walking to 7-11 to buy one of those roses wrapped in plastic.  You remember those, right?  They sold them right by the cash register.  You could buy a Slurpee and a rose.  I bought my beautiful red rose, and gave it to Mark at school on Monday.  Yes, I said I was a super dork.

Anyway, my birthday came that April.  1985.  Turned 15.  My friend, Lisa Green, made me a very special shirt for my birthday.  It said in very big letters on the back..."KISS ME MARK MIRENDA!  IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!".  And guess what?  I wore it.  ALL DAY.  All over campus.  And I heard the whispers.  But I didn't care. Maybe Mark would see it? Maybe he would TALK to me? Fingers were crossed all day.

I had tennis practice after school...and at the same time, Mark was at baseball practice.  I wore my shirt to my practice...and as soon as it was over, my doubles partner Debi and I went over to the baseball field.  We took our spot on the bleachers.  And watched.  And tried to get noticed.  (No one else was around, so two dorky freshman sitting on the bleachers was enough to get noticed.)  The players took a break.  And I watched Mark jog off the field.  And through the gate.  To the bleachers.  Where I was sitting.  It was like slow motion.  He came over and sat next to me.  I'm pretty sure he could hear my heart beating, and I'm sure he notice the drool.  He spoke. 

       Mark:  So, I hear it's your birthday today.
       Me:  Yea.
       Mark:  Can I read your shirt?
       Me:  Yea..
I turned so he could read it.
      Mark:  Well, I guess that means I'm supposed to kiss you then.
      Me:  Yea.

And he leaned over and planted a sweet kiss RIGHT ON MY LIPS.  I thought I would DIE!  Debi was sitting right there, eyes as big as ever, watching this dream come true for me. 

Mark:  I hope you have had a great birthday.
Me:  Yea.

And off he went.  I've NEVER forgetten that day.  April 16, 1985.  4:38 pm.  No joke. I remember the time. I'm freaky like that. 

He graduated that year, and we actually became friends..sort of.  He asked me to play tennis with him once or twice.  And I beat him.  I loved him and all, but please, I could totally kick his butt in a tennis match. 

I wonder what ever happened to Mark Mirenda?  Do you think he remembers the dorky freshman with the shirt?  I hope so.

A Day at the Lake

In an effort to get a tan, since I got no sun whatsoever in San Diego, we took the kids out to Lake Pleasant for a morning in the Starship. The Starship is our little pull toy thingy that the kids LOVE! Yes, they convinced me to take a ride, and let me tell you. My 40 year old body doesn't handle the bumps and turns as well as it used to. 'Nuff said. But, we had a blast. I don't know why we don't go out there more often!

And, if I think Lake Pleasant is fun, I can't imagine how much MORE fun we would have at Lake Powell....right Melynda?? wink, wink

Connor has mad skills when it comes to driving the boat.

Last one in is a rotten egg!!  (I guess that would be me.)

Caitlin gets very shy when I break out the camera.

The girls....and Connor too.  He was "driving" the Starship.

Pure joy. 

The kiddos.

San Diego

We just got back from a trip to San Diego.  It was not quite what we expected it to be and started out a little rough....

The Friday before we left, I went to go get my tires rotated and balanced, only to have them tell me and SHOW ME my BALD tires!  So, we had to buy 4 new ones.  NO BUENO!

Ok, so over that and onto getting ready to leave.  Sunday afternoon, I was driving my car when the AIR turned HOT and the "check engine light" started flashing, and the car started vibrating.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  Not driveable. We made arrangements to use Kort's truck (Kort, Amy & Emmi were going to SD with us anyway).  Hugh wasn't very upset about this as Kort's truck is his DREAM TRUCK.  Ok, that problem solved.

Then I got a phone call from a friend with bad news.  Not "someone is hurt or sick" bad news. Just bad news. I'll explain later, when I can.

Monday morning....time to leave. We got up early, and waited patiently for Hugh to come home from work.  He was hoping to be home about 7.  But a 3 alarm apartment fire kept him on the job and he didn't get home until about 9:30.  And, he still needed to pack!  But when he did finally get here, he smelled like FIRE and let me tell ya, that smell is sexier than Hugh's cologne.  Oh baby!!

Anyway, were finally off and ended up having a "cool" time in San Diego.  And by cool, I mean COLD!   San Diego was having some of the coolest July temps in years!  We only made it to the beach twice, because it was seriously uncomfortably cold!  And overcast.  Never saw the sun at the beach.  I guess we are going to have to plan another trip!!  Emmi loved it though.  Loved the water, the waves and the sand!  But our two favorites were Del Mar......

and Coronado

Because of the weather, we had to come up with some other things to do....like pick strawberries in Carlsbad!  (Also found some fabulous items at the Coach outlet while in Carlsbad.....good times.)

Visited Old Town San Diego for the first time and it's pretty cool there!  Went to the Mormon Batillion Visitors Center and it was very cool!  Great exhibit and tour!  And it's FREE!  Bonus! 

Had a few meals out.  Of course, a favorite was PF Changs.  We also love Sammy's and their messy sundaes!!  Yum!  But no pictures of those. Sorry.

What made the trip fun and memorable were the people we were with.  Our family. Doesn't get much better than that.  Next time, I'll try to take more pictures of the entire family, and not just Emmi.  :)

Happy Fourth of July!

From our family to yours....

Happy Fourth of July!

Let Freedom Ring!

Oooh, I Have a Story for Ya!

I feel like I've lost my oomph to blog!  I love my blog so much, but my new "occupation" has taken over my life - IN ALL AMAZING WAYS - and I've been slacking!  I've been searching my brain as to what to write about and NOTHING.  Because all I think or talk about any more is TomKat Studio, and I think that's becoming a little overkill for some (Sorry Amy, Wendy & my family).  What can I say?  I have the RADDEST job on the planet!!

But, just for fun...I have a story for ya.

The other morning, I headed off to the gym to get my pump on.  (That's right..I said that.)  I noticed that my neighbor around the corner had left his garage door open.  And there were no cars out front.  And hour and a half later, I drove back by and the door was STILL open.  His garage is very organized, and he has lots of tools and Man Gadgets hanging all over the place.  I felt it was my duty as the Nice Neighbor to see if anyone was home.  Here is how things went down:

I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.  The man (whom I have never actually met, but recognize as the occupant of the home) answers the door...slowly.

Me:  Hi.  I drove by and noticed that your garage is open.  I just wanted to let you know.
He opens the door and comes out.
Man:  Um...who are you?
Me:  I'm your neighbor.  I live around the corner. I'm married to the fireman who drives the red Dodge.(EVERYONE in our area know who the Fireman who drives the Red Dodge is.)
Man:  Oh.....(follows me out to the driveway).  Now who are you again?
Me:  I'm Toni. I live in the cul-de-sac.  I'm married to Hugh.
Man: Oh.  Well, thanks for telling me.  You are a good neighbor.  Give me a hug.
I was frozen with awkwardness.  What do I do?  He's got to be harmless, so I give in.  I swear, I thought the man was going to KISS me.  But he bring me in and hugs me...close and tight.  I mean, COME ON!  I manage to get loose.
ME:  Ok, well, I'm gonna go.  Have a nice day!
Man:  You know I'm separated now.
Me:  Uh..no...didn't know that.
Man:  Yea, it's been about six weeks.
Me:  Wow, that's new. Sorry to hear that.
Man:  Not me!  I'm free and single and lovin' it!
Me:  Well, good for you then. (Time to change the subject.  Just then I notice the newspapers in the driveway of his neighbor, which happens to be the house that belonged to the old man who killed himself several months ago.  Nice, huh?)  I see they are still delivering his newspapers?
Man:  Yea, we pick them up. You know he's dead.
Me:  Yep.  I remember when that happened. 
Man: Are you married?  I'm like Dude!  I've told you that TWICE already!!  What are you on??
Me:  Yep, married to my fireman. 
Man:  Are you happily married?
Me: Yep.  Have been for almost 18 years.
Man: Cuz I'd take ya.
Me:  I have three small kids...you want no part of this.  Nervous laugh.  Ok!  See ya!
Quick as lightening, I hope in my car and drive home.  I call Hugh and tell him - through laughter - what just happened.  Then Hugh informs me that another neighbor said this man has been CREEPING out the women in the neighborhood with his advances and inappropriate behavior.  Uh...Hugh??  Maybe you could have let me know that little tidbit of information?  Had I known I would have driven right by Creepy Man's house and not worried about his garage being open and his Man Gadgets being in plain view for anyone to see or steal!!

Anyway, that's my funny story of the week.  I drove by his house later that day and the door was STILL open.  Maybe he was waiting for another nice neighbor - preferably female - to drive by and let him know.  But it won't be me...that's for sure!  Creepy man.....