Happy Feet

Here are the pictures I took at the party we had for the kids. I think there were about 18 kids in all, and that made for a very noisy but fun party! This first picture is Jamie teaching them the Cupid Shuffle.




The second picture was much later, when the kids drew a piece of paper with a description on it. They had to dance like a firecracker, or ocean wave, etc, and the other kids had to guess what they were. They were great! They were great dancers and astute guessers!

The clapping is for the Casper Slide, one of the most popular dances in the last few years.


There were pretty rose-topped and gross worm-infested cupcakes, the kids were ready for some refreshment after almost constant movement. They overwhelmed Jamie, who tried to pass them out in an orderly fashion.

Good thing Chantze brought a handheld electronic game. It gave them a break from the girls.

Karaoke was enjoyed by many of the kids. Grace and Sandra sang together.


Kayley and Brandie have worms hanging out of their mouths!

Barb brought Rebecca and Rose to the party, and Rebecca quickly got chocolatey.

Paige, Jordin, Brooke, and Kendall were lively and fun, and they were dressed beautifully with their hair done, make-up, dancing shoes, the works!

Emily and her friend Kat hammed it up for the camera.

Here is the whole gang.

It took a long time to get all those lights up, when once I did, it turned the basement into an underground disco scene!

The Macarena was a popular dance because just about everyone knows how to do it!

William brought Elijah, who was a big hit with the girls, they tried to get him to dance and he actually did once or twice. William enjoyed teasing the girls and shocking them, as in this "see food" picture.

Paige does the Macarena with a smile!

Look Ma!

Going through my pictures tonight, I found this one which I think Mike sent me. It's Jessie's 2 children (I think) from Tulsa. Okay, I don't exactly remember how I got this. Maybe I stole it off a blog somewhere. Sure is funny, tho!

And Then There Was a Party....

The good time had by the ladies at Laura's bridal shower could only be topped by a night of music and libation. To celebrate their upcoming wedding, Jamie invited the adults in the family to a party at Old World Pub. Chris and Laura were made to play several games, including a version of the "Newlywed Game." They were publicly toasted, and many songs were dedicated to them. One of the X-rated moments occured when they had to "do shots" off each other's bodies! The drinnks flowed and our party added to the musical fun by getting up and singing some of our old favorites. Ray and Laura amazed us all by singing "One Week" together with hardly at glitch, and they resisted the urge to mess each other up by keeping an (almost) straight face throught the whole performance! Val, Mike, and I did our version of "Going to the Chapel" acapella, and received many compliments. (BRAG.) Valerie outdid herself with Whte Rabbit and Mustang Sally. We all danced, fast and slow, including our requested new favorite, the Cupid Shuffle, led by Jamie.

Mike reprised his role as dickhead from years ago at Chuggies, when he put a condom on his head and blew it up using just his nostrils! Unfortunately, the condoms all broke before the blow-up, possibly because Mike's head is larger, the condoms are weaker, or could it be the buzz cut? It was a fun attempt, and made some people's eyes bulge redly! Chris wore his groom hat with good humor, and Laura wore her veil almost all night, except she lost it about 3 times! There were lots of laughs, and if I left out anything I should have included, just put it in the comments. It was one of the most fun parties we have had, largely due to Jamie's brilliant planning and the joy we all felt at the fact that Laura and Chris will soon be a whole family.

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

Get READY because my next post is going to be part 2 of the celebration of Laura and Chris's upcoming marriage. Oh, and by the way: SOME MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER VIEWERS.

A Shower of Love

The shower for Laura was held in our downstairs recreation room. Val and the girls worked hard to decorate it beautifully! It was a tea-party theme, and some wore dresses and hats you would see at an old-fashioned garden tea party. The cups were exquisite, although no one actually drank tea. But there were satin ribbons and tea roses in tea cups, a Victorian bridal doll, and many other unique and clever decorations which were admired by all.

Valerie demonstrated how NOT to drink tea. You don't hold your lips ready until the cup gets all the way up to your mouth....everyone laughed and made her show us again and again.
Lisa B. and her daughter Victoria came, the first I have seen them in about 2 years.

The food was great, of course! Some of the specialties were spinach dip and home-made chicken salad sandwiches, some very rich whole grain dark breads, the little BLT's like the ones Mike and Margie made for Mom's memorial....they became a new family favorite. And of course who could ignore those olives and cheese on a toothpick that Emily made. Brandie and Grace helped with the food, which was mostly provided by Jamie. Valerie brought some too. I was supposed to make the punch and I didn't. I was embarassed. So Fritz went to the store and got pop.

The girls put on skits representing Laura in her younger days. In this skit, narrated by Brandie, Grace and Emily play Laura and Jamie in a famous incident in which Laura knocked Jamie off the toilet.

Hailie represented the cheerleader Laura. Her acting was spot on...she did the giggly air-head to perfection.

Grace also represented Laura as Susan B. Anthony, Laura's 8th grade play, in which she played the title role very well, having had to memorize several long monologues.

Emily played the role of rebellious Laura, when she made herself a sign almost exactly like the one you see Emily carrying. She was protesting unfair labor practices and began picketing the living room, refusing to work because of unfair conditions. Laura got quite a few hearty laughs out of it, and we all agreed the girls did a great job playing Laura.

The gifts brought by family members and friends were awesome. I don't know why Cindy or Luwanna didn't get into any of the pictures, but they were there and added to the fun. The twins loved the spinach dip and the "Belle" castle wall decorations. Laura was amazed and pleased at all the recipes. The idea was to shower her with favorite recipes and the ingredients to make the dish. In some cases, guests even provided the cooking dish. The games were fun and creative. It was so fun to have this time to spend with our family and friends, they all went the extra mile to make sure Laura took away many recipes to treat her family with. Oh, but wait, you haven't seen the bride-groom pictures yet! They are coming! (I hope I didn't leave out any other highlights, if I did I am sure I will get some comments on that!)

A Teaser!

Here is just one picture from the wonderful and amazing bridal shower we had for Laura last Saturday. Emily and the other girls were put to work getting some of the food ready. Emily, with her own two little hands, created these appetizing olive and cheese hors'de ouevres. Now, I happened to notice that a few got eaten before the shower. I can't really say who ate them. All I can say is that once the little treats began disappearing, Emily got tired of making them. That is why I took this picture when the tray was full. Oh, did I mention, Emily LOVES olive and cheese? She did such a great job!

There is a Margie!

Someone wrote on Mike's blog that he (or she) wondered if there is a Margie. So....there is a Margie, it was her birthday, and here she is taking a very rare shot of something nasty and intoxicating!