And the Oscar goes to.......Katina!

Welcome and come in to Oscar night 2009 ....
V.I.P.'s only please.

Sunday was the Oscars and I was lucky enough to go to Katina's "4th" annual Oscar Party. We had a great turnout and great food. We snacked on an assortment of appetizers: artichoke dip, sushi, veggies and dip, stuffed mushrooms ... and more. And we had 2 kinds of soup: a delicious potato soup and a delicious white bean soup. And as if that wasn't enough, Peggy made us a most scrumptious carrot cake.

Front row center, watching the red carpet gowns. Which one was your favorite?

Tammie and Cynthia not happy with the winner?

Cynthia and Julia,
Enjoying our large array of dining choices spread on the island. Notice the cute cloths Katina put down for color. Katina where did you learn about that?

Diana and Shelley, were they laughing at Mickie Rourke?
No, I think they were admiring Hugh Jackman. Hubba, Hubba.

Too many Secrets????????????

and then it was time for cake ..... goodie. Check this out Kristi, you are in trouble now.

Peggy, good job .............. sooooo yummy!!!!!!!!!

Cute presentation with the matching plates and napkins.

The award goes to: the Best Carrot Cake ever!

Delicious cream cheese frosting. You can never have enough frosting.

Hooray for Hollywood and Peggy's Carrot Cake.

Tablescape Thursday - And Babies make 4

Another fun Tablescape Thursday has arrived and I thank
Susan at the beautiful blog Between Naps on the Porch for hosting us.

You can use this handy link to return for the rest of the tablescape
participants.

My daughter decided she needed a romantic dinner for two. She and her hubby are
the parents of a 26 month old and a 3 month old. Not getting much alone time she decided to make a late dinner after babies were in bed and prepare a delicious dinner for 2. She had just bought this lovely rustic bistro table, so I decided that should be the stage for her romantic dinner. I arrived bearing sunflowers, candles and a few essentials. She supplied the rest.

We used her blue dishes and her Chris Madden salad plate, and bowl and tucked
the napkins under the plates.

The blue glasses are Mikasa and the White bubble glasses are from HomeGoods.

The candles were lit, the scene complete. Dinner was simmering on the stove,
the salad was chilling in the fridge. Babies were bathed and asleep. Hubby
had just arrived home.

Salad was served and wine was poured.............

and then it happened. Both babies woke up and dinner was postponed and postponed and postponed.

I called the next morning to see how the evening went and she just laughed. She and hubby
ate in shifts each one tending a baby. I suddenly remembered many dinners

when my kids were little that didn't go quite as planned. Next time I need to be
a better grandma and let them go "out" to dinner.

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Outdoor Wednesday - Mammoth Mountain California

Happy Outdoor Wednesday

Thank you to Susan for another fun Outdoor Wednesday. I just purchased a scanner to do a post for my daughters birthday and I am having so much fun going through some old pictures of my family

Flash from the Past

The year: 1993

The event: A ski trip to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday.

He actually skied for the first time on his 60th birthday and
I think it was one of his best memories. After he passed away

we found his lift ticket from this trip in a small box with a few of his favorite things.

My mom and dad. This was the last day of the trip and he was

pretty sore from all of his tumbles. He did great though. I need to find a pic of him on skis

This is me and Kevin. Check out those tight black ski pants.
They were supposed to be stylish but they sure were cold.

The view from the top is amazing.

Our daughter Kristi in her bright colors.
Kristi turned 27 yesterday

Our oldest daughter Stacy, skiing was never her favorite.
Stacy is now 29


Sean started skiing when he was 3 and I almost lost
him down a cliff. But that is another story.
Sean is now 23

Me, Kevin, Sean, Kristi, my brother Tom and his wife Diane before
they had kids. Where's Stacy?

Mammoth Mountain is one of our favorite places and holds some of our fondest memories.
Thank you Susan for allowing me to remember such a good time. I hope you enjoyed my flash from the past, now swoosh on over for more Outdoor Wednesdays, to Susan at A Southern Daydreamer

Happy Birthday Kristi

This is the story of a baby girl that was born 27 years
ago in a far off land called Arizona. Her mother was nine months pregnant, and
bowling one night, when all of a sudden she felt a bit of a labor pain. Since
she was having a really good game (and this didn't happen very often) she
decided to continue. The labor continued throughout the night, and since
she was scheduled for a cesarean the next morning she decided (because she was young and stupid) not to wake the doctor and wait until morning to go to the hospital.

At 6:39 A.M. that morning a beautiful Chinese baby girl was born.

She was called Kristina. She was

8 lbs. 2 oz. and 22 inches long.

She was a good eater and at 3 months old had grown a second chin.
Her mother was so worried about the look of her wrists and ankles she
took her to the doctor. She asked the doctor what the folds were where her
wrists should be and the doctor just smiled and said "fat".


At 6 months her mother covered her fat ankles with socks, but
you could still see the fat wrists. It was after all too hot in AZ to wear
long sleeves.
But at 9 months, she seemed like a very happy and normal baby. Actually Kristi was the perfect baby, always very happy and smiling. Just like now.

This story is to be continued because I am still trying to figure out how to work the scanner.
I will leave you with a glimpse of Kristi a few years later.

Happy Birthday Kristi.

To be continued ....................

Kristi - Part 2 of 6

It is a little known fact that Kristi is a possessor of "Magic"
If you look closely you can see her touching her chin. This
is where she always kept her magic.

This picture shows Kristi always wore black patent leather shoes.
She would have my mother wash the bottoms whenever they got dirty.

Kristi always chose the perfect pumpkin. Not the tall skinny and orphaned one, but
the round plump one.

Kristi must have used her "Magic" when she was fishing because she
always caught a fish, even when no one else did. She still does.

Once she caught a fish on a peach.

One of my favorites.

Kristi - Part 3 of 6

Kristi went off to Kindergarten when she was 5. She learned
several things when she was 5. She wanted to change her name to "Crystal" for one. And she
learned to skip. Unfortunately she failed skipping and was able to re-take it
and passed with flying colors. Kristi was always a fast learner.

In first grade she was the only one in the class that
didn't lose a baby tooth. Each student had a drawing of a toothon the wall and when they lost a tooth, the teacher would put their name on it and they got to take it home. Kristi took hers with her to 2nd grade.
Then Kristi moved into her athletic years. First soccer, then softball (where she came
home from practice and asked me where right field was) So I drew it out and

the next day she new right where to go.


She also loved to go to the river (Stacy did not)



and she started to take piano lessons. We promised her if she
stuck with it a year on the keyboard we would buy a piano. She did.

Kristi - Part 4 of 6

Our first motorhome trip started about this time. We were on
our way to Arizona.

And Kristi's teenage attitude was about to kick in.

This was a trip we took to Disneyland the day after Kristi got about

a million stitches in her leg (you can see the bandage) I'm still

not sure exactly what happened ;)

One of our many "1st day of school pictures"


And full attitude. Check out the ear muffs.



Can I have a musketeer bar?

Kristi - Part 5 of 6

Tinker Bell, look out someone is out for your job. I guess this
is why Riley likes to wear wings. Like mother, like daughter.

Volleyball .....

Stacy's graduation.




Prom



Good friend Crystal and Stacy

Graduation silliness