Posts Tagged ‘Friends’

A last-minute celebration isn’t the worst thing in the world.

April 25th, 2009
6 Comments

Life for the Esplin clan has been a little hectic, as I’ve mentioned in every blog post the last couple of weeks. Since we’ve been so transient, it was a little hard to plan the birthday celebration for Penelope that I had in mind. While I’ve had to come to terms with reality, we didn’t seem to have any shortage of laughter, cake, ice cream and family.

cake & Penelope

I was a little disappointed that I didn’t have enough time to send out proper invitations, so I settled for pingg invitations and good ole fashioned phone calls. Pingg is fabulous, except when you don’t have everyone’s email addresses. Sadly a couple of family members fell though the cracks and weren’t informed of our partying.

lemon cupcake

cake face

My theme, if any of this had any sort of theme, was yellow. I love yellow, and Penelope brightens so many people’s lives that it just fit. I wasn’t able to get yellow cupcake cups or yellow napkins or yellow flowers (again, seriously only 24 hours to prep for this thing), but I did find my mom’s awesome wedding plates that had a ribbon of yellow, my yellow table cloth and some yellow wallpaper for Penelope’s happy birthday sign. Find the tutorial on how to make your own banner, here.

birthday banner

I now realize how much effort my parents went to when it came to celebrating my birthdays. They always made such a big deal out of us kids. Stay tuned for a special birthday tutorial & download!

Idaho Falls at Dusk

April 11th, 2009
4 Comments

It’s good to be back!! It’s been a while since I’ve had full-blown internet access; so I have a few unanswered emails, over 900 unread items in google reader and this blog has been neglected. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!

Last week we decided to take a last-minute trip to see Chris’s grandparents. We had been trying to decide when to visit and then it looked like they might have a buyer for their home so we rushed up in hopes to catch them before moving chaos. The timing couldn’t have been better for all of us! On the way to Bigfork, we made a detour to Idaho Falls for a helicoptor ride and Island Park for a relaxing Saturday and Sunday with friends and their family.

Chris & Chad in the Victory Cheer

River from the Helicopter

Doyle [my friend’s dad]  just got a helicopter and license so he was anxious to take it for a spin. He did a great job of making it a smooth ride!

_dsc3168sm

I can’t tell you how incredibly excited I was to ride in a helicopter. It was really cool, as evidenced by the 150 photos that I took.

_dsc3152sm

_dsc3141sm

Seriously huge thanks to Alexis and Chad for inviting us, and to Doyle and Elizabeth for the hospitality. We had so much fun!!

The Cat in the Hat

January 20th, 2009
2 Comments

The Cat in the Hat

The sun shone so brightly.
It was perfect weather for play.
So we went to Pottery Barn
on that bright, January day.

We had a lot of fun going to see the Cat in the Hat on Saturday at the local Pottery Barn. Thanks Jane for initiating it.

We arrived just in time to see the Cat in the Hat make his big entrance, but had to stow our strollers and by the time we got back, there was a line spanning the store. We were all so bummed that the line materialized so quickly. The wait wasn’t too bad, though. We were waiting in Pottery Barn for goodness sakes, there are cute things to look at/play with all over the place.

There’s So Much to Say

November 27th, 2008
0 Comment

This holiday has always held a special place in my heart. It’s been a time with loads of family, traditional food (i.e. my mom’s amazing rolls, aunt’s pecan pies, grandma’s turkey), and heartfelt thanks. In my family, a typical Thanksgiving includes extended family, going over to Grandma & Grandpa N.’s, eating food with the kidlets in the kitchen and the parents in the dining room. We talk a lot (the adults talk a TON). After we’re loaded with enough food to feed a small country, we gather in the living room to give thanks. I honestly don’t know if there’s ever been a time when we haven’t cried, and been humbled at how good God has been to us. God is still good to us.

As soon as all of the adults have had their fill of good food and conversation (which is usually around 10pm), the sleepover begins. Each year the boy and girl grandchildren take turns sleeping over at Grandma and Grandpa’s; we play bingo, eat popcorn, have a tea party with grandma and (my favorite part) my grandpa busts out his oil paints and we all paint some sort of Thanksgiving masterpiece. After a laughter-filled and sleepless night, my grandma treats us all to Hootenannies and hot chocolate.

This Thanksgiving is a little bit different; we’re spending Thanksgiving in warm, snow-free Menlo Park. Chris and I decided that it would be just too much stress to travel this week. I really miss my family; immediate, extended and in-laws. Ultimately, I want to express how thankful I am for family: my husband and sweet daughter, my parents and siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, in-laws. I’m also grateful for friends who are practically family anyway.

I love you.

mobile site