Catch Me Daddy

Today was the annual "Daddy Daughter Breakfast" at Rachel's school.  She was SO excited, I don't think she slept all night!  She helped plan her outfit for the big event, and talked about it all week long!  She even let me put her hair into 2 pony tails!  That almost NEVER happens! LOL...

She's getting SO tall!

Well, What do you think?

Wearing one of her favorites... Hello Kitty!

Grapes & Cheese... hmm.... 

Donut Holes... now THAT's more like it!

Daddy's Little Princess... 

Snakes And Ladders

We had a great time celebrating Chinese New Year, as well as attending a wonderful birthday party for another little Chinese Princess... Little Emma's birthday party was GREAT fun!  And it was SO nice finally meeting some of the people I've been "Facebook" friends with for so long!  Rach & I went to the party first.  The kids all had a great time celebrating the Year of the Snake as well as Emma's 2nd birthday!

Our friend Anne Marie was also there, with our little buddy Nicole!  Anne Marie's mom also attended

Trying to get all the little cuties to pose with the big balloon... 

Yes, Rachel was the oldest at the party. She loved being the big sister!

Waiting patiently for the beautiful cake!

It was worth the wait!

The Birthday girl leading the band!

Thanks Ms Sherri for the Parasol! 

One of the craft projects at the birthday party.
We made a Chinese Lantern

AFTER the birthday party, we FINALLY made it to the local Japanese restaurant... we had been trying to go there to use my Birthday coupon for 2 weeks!  We are so very blessed that we have such an amazing daughter and can take her to ANY restaurant! She is so well behaved that we never have to worry.  We had a really nice Sushi dinner (ok, so not exactly the classic way to spend CHINESE New Year, but what the heck! LOL).  We all enjoyed the Sushi and Gyoza.  And of course, after all the fun of the day, our little princess crashed right there in the booth, sleeping pretty soundly for the last half of dinner!

Our beautiful China Princess!

Brave & Crazy

What a long crazy day!  First & most important, Happy Birthday to my awesome Mom!  We had a conversation a couple of days ago and she admitted she really did not expect to make it to this birthday.  I had to be honest with her and admit that I didn't think so either... it was a strange moment for us both... but SO grateful she fooled all those naysayer doctors!  Cancer isn't going to kick HER to the curb without some major fighting!

 So here's how the day played out!

Tommy took off from work because I had to go in for a Colonoscopy & Endoscopy.  Not allowed to drive home from that... Mom & Dad went to pick up Rach from school... She was SO excited about it because she had been telling everyone it was her Nana's birthday & she couldn't wait for all her friends to meet her Nana!  (Especially after just a short time ago, she was telling them all that her Nana was going to die!!!!  Yes, she really did share that with all her Pre-K friends! We had discussed it so much at home since we were all so sure it was really inevitable!  Thank G-D the doctors were scaring us prematurely! )

Well, Nana got a little confused when she headed into the class... she was using her walker even though she was on the stairs... and she ended up taking a MAJOR fall, landing really hard on her back & slashing open her hand pretty badly... She was SO lucky that she didn't break anything!  She was feeling pretty lousy the rest of the night but insisted on continuing with our plans... We all went to the Chinese Buffet (yes, I know... gee, what a shock, right?)  with about 10 or 11 of her friends... It was a nice little crowd!  Rach had a great time & ate herself silly, of course... because she REALLY wanted the Green Tea ice cream!!

All in all, despite all the little medical distractions, Mom's birthday turned out ok... here is a little video from the restaurant (they do this for all birthdays). I forgot my camera so this is actually the only proof we have that it was a good day LOL


Mom's birthday bash at Asia Buffet (and mine too, I guess lol)

Saturday night we will be hitting the Japanese Hibachi/Sushi place in town to celebrate MY birthday... Rachel says she can't wait for good sushi! Is she REALLY only 5 years old?  LOL

Wedding Song

Mom & Dad have been married for 55 years. WOW...
     Tonight Rachel & i joined them at the Italian American Club, where they shared their special night with us and many of their friends. We had a really good time... especially Rachel, because she was the "Belle of the Ball"... the club president asked her to help him pick the winning ticket for the 50/50 drawing... and then he proceeded to guilt the winner into giving her a "tip" for picking his ticket! (I couldn't believe the guy didn't think of it himself, really!).  Then one of Nana's friends rewarded her for her outstanding dancing! LOL... She was SO excited to be out with the grown ups on such a special occasion!

 Took this shot before we left the house...

 Dancing with her Papa

It was a really nice cake...

From the left, My Dad, Rachel, Me, Uncle Babe & Mom... the rest of the table decided to sit out the picture ;-)

Grow Old with Me

I can't believe it's been 13 years since I married this dear man!  He has been the most amazing partner, friend, & father!  And SO blessed to be able to celebrate & share the joy with my parents... in just a couple of weeks, they will ALSO celebrate THEIR wedding anniversary!  

September is a great month for weddings!

 

Finest Worksong

Time to celebrate Labor Day!  We had a fun time hanging out in the pool with Uncle Babe & the gang, AND

 we waved our flags proudly!

In The Summertime

Just some random shots of some random cuteness... and beauty around the house...

 She felt like posing again

 Do I look cute?

 This beauty found it's way onto our lanai... It took me a couple of hours to try to coax it back out to the yard...

So beautiful..

Daddy's Song

Happy Birthday to Rachel's favorite Daddy!  We had a great time celebrating Tommy's birthday at the Italian American Club with my folks, as well a few other friends!

 Rachel & I made a birthday cake at home for Tommy, but we didn't eat it till we came home from the wonderful party at the IAC... since they changed chef's the food there is FABULOUS!

Let's Have a Party

Still can't believe we spent a whole weekend at Chuck-e-Cheese for some birthday parties!  On Saturday, we had our first party and Nana came since it was her "Cancer Buddy" Gloria's granddaughter!

 She was actually trying to "strike a pose" or two... lol..

This was WAY more fun than she expected!

 And the very next day, it was time to celebrate yet again, with Chuck!