Pink Flamingo Birthday Tea Party

Gracie sure knows what she wants when it comes to a party.

 For about a month and a half she's been telling people she's going to have a pink flamingo birthday party. About three weeks ago it became a tea party, too. Do you remember last year? She was talking about her 3rd birthday party for three months before her birthday. I'm a little nervous about what to expect when she's a pre-teen...

Well, with pink flamingos and tea parties, I thought mad hatter hats seemed fitting for party hats. That was what the kids did first. They loved it. It was fun to see them decorate their hats. Grace wanted everything red, pink and gaudy. (Her's was the hat with the red feather boa. By the end it had a hot pink bow on top and a peacock feather.)

After a mild attempt at games (which lasted maybe five minutes) the kids were sent on a treasure hunt that ended with goodie bags in a circus tent. I think it was the highlight of the party.

Grace really wanted a pink flamingo cake. Thankfully, I think she was ok that I went for the cupcake size instead. Pink flamingo cake? really?

She had actually asked for cupcakes AND a pink flamingo cake. So I stuck a pink flamingo cupcake on a cake. I know. It's cheating. And it looks like it (see picture below).

p.s. best birthday purchase ever: 6" round cake pans. I can make a cake AND cupcakes with little effort and not too much cake. All kid birthday cakes in our family but one have been baked in a 6" pan.

Knowing Grace is really into tea parties right now, Scott found the above silver tea set for a steal at the Salvation Army. It looked like it had been rubbed in mud, but with a little sliver polish and water it was good as new! It added a little magic to the party.

It was a great party. I'm so glad friends could come and Scott was able to take some photos, cause I was a little preoccupied. In three days our sweet Gracie will be 4!

The winter that never ends

It's almost like some cruel joke by Mother Nature. Last year was the winter that never was, so she's making up for it this year. We woke up to a dusting of snow this morning. Some places were close to 1/2 inch.

Even though I ache for spring, I'm actually not feeling too bad about this. My Minnesota friends and family got up to 8 inches yesterday. This is such a crazy spring.

Cinnamon Rolls for Conference

It's that time again. Yay for General Conference! We've decided to continue our cinnamon roll breakfast (though now it's a brunch) tradition in Michigan. We knew it would be a little less predictable.

Carmel Pecan Sticky Buns and Ham, Cheese and hash brown breakfast casserole.

I made my normal amount of rolls with the usual fruit, but this year I added a quiche casserole, more for me than for anyone else.

Smothered cinnamon buns. Scott said this was the best batch I've ever made.

Conference starts at noon on the east coast, which seems SO late. When we did our party in the fall, we had a really good turnout. This time, however, it was nearing 11:30 and our buffet table still looked like this (with more rolls in the kitchen):

All of a sudden, nearly a dozen people came! Hooray! Even though the turnout was relatively small, they ate three of the four pans of cinnamon rolls, the casserole and all the cut fruit! I'm sure glad, cause I don't know what I would've done with all those leftovers.

When conference comes around, I think of flowers. The floral arrangements in the conference center have always been stunning and beautiful. Here's an image from October 2001, probably one of the first I was inspired by, but I remember them being stunning even in the tabernacle.

Here's an image of the flowers this weekend.

So I've taken it upon myself to beautify my house with flowers for every conference. I'm a sucker for fresh flowers.

This year I got some daffodils, too.

They just make me so happy!

Happy Birthday, Liam!

My nephew turned 1 just before Easter. We were able to go celebrate with him! He is one cute boy.

We thought the centerpiece would be bigger based on the packaging... Oh well, a little centerpiece for a little boy.

As the youngest of five, he had lots of "help" from older siblings and cousins.

Liam had no problem eating the ice cream cake. He's apparently had experience.

The sign of a good birthday gift: everyone wants to play with it right away!

Liam is a petite boy! Here he is in comparison to Henry.

This is what I get when I say "Smile, Henry."