Party Dresses

Renee's birthday was June 27. I decided to throw her a little party. I wish more of our mutual friends lived in town so it could have been a bigger, better bash. Renee's husband Quinn was already gone working in Florida by then, and Maria's husband was working that night, so I thought the best plan would be to have both Renee and Maria come over with their kids and we'd all celebrate together.

So I put up some happy decorations.


Prepared the piñata. . . I hung it there so it could double festive decor. That's not where we broke it. It's funny I should mention it though, because long ago Renee and I thought up the perfect way to serve dinner. . . stuff it in a piñata and fasten it above the table, then proceed to beat it, catching any falling food on your plate. We didn't do this for her party, nor have we ever actually done it, but we've always wanted to.

. . . And figured out some food.

Who the heck is that by the stove? And what on earth is she wearing?

Well, here's the thing. . . I couldn't see any reason to have everyone walking around in normal hum-drum clothes at the party, so I provided an assortment of party dresses, etc. for our guests to put on upon arrival. I told Maria ahead of time to wear her muumuu, and she gladly obliged.

Soon we were all in the backyard. I asked Cora to take a few pictures of the three of us. Little did we know, she took advantage of the situation and snapped one before we were completely ready.


Or ready at all. . . Ha! I don't know why I'm sharing this. Sorry, I had something wedged between my chompers.




I bought this masterpiece at Goodwill some months ago. It was one of those moments in my life when I felt an overwhelming gratitude for being in the right place at the right time. A tender mercy, if you will. I hadn't been to a thrift store in a while, but out of the blue I went one day. And ended up finding something that all along, no matter where it originated, was destined to be mine. I tried it on and it fit perfectly.

I love wearing stuff like this, but I'm not completely confident about it. I put it on before anyone got to our house, so I worried that when I answered the front door it wouldn't be Renee or Maria; but a neighbor or a salesman, in which case I would get red, sheepish, and giggle a lot more than would be comfortable for anyone involved.


The kids all played on the trampoline.

(I'm currently using Cora's camera because Oliver has made mine inoperable. =/ The date stamp on her camera is a day slow for some reason. It really was the 27th.)


When Oliver noticed everyone slipping into costumes, he ran upstairs to get his Thor suit.


Renee looked so cute in this fancy frock. I got it at Goodwill a while back as well. Goodwill is my good luck charm!


We ate pizza, fruit and veggies. And chips and salsa. And candy. I had several dishes of it out in honor of National Candy Month. =)



In Renee's home there is a decorative tile on display that says "Don't forget to pray". One of her daughters (who was probably 7 or 8 at the time) was aware of its presence, and at some point it came out that she always thought it said "Don't forget to party".



The birthday badge I got for her matched perfectly, and I didn't even know she would end up choosing to wear this dress.

Maria had her baby boy almost 5 weeks early on June 13. Thankfully he was strong and healthy, weighing 5lbs, 12oz. They named him Rixford, a family name on her husband's side. He'll go by Rix.

While Maria was feeding the baby we did a few birthday themed Madlibs. They turned out pretty funny, as always. Renee, Madlibs and I go waaaaay back.

All the kids gathered around to watch baby Rix get his diaper changed.



He's so tiny and so adorable!

Maria was getting ready to take her kiddies home to bed. Poor Rix had endured his circumcision earlier that day. Maria had forgotten that it was scheduled for the same day as the party, so she warned us that she might not be able to stay long. She stayed for a couple of hours, and we were so glad! It would have been a huge bummer if she couldn't make it at all. She and Rix were good sports. =)
Before she left we gathered 'round to break the piñata.


It was Cora's idea to have it dangle over the banister. We tied it to a long rope, creating a pulley of sorts. It's always more fun swinging at a moving target.





Cora whisked it out of Jane's reach.


Candy everywhere. I didn't catch any pics of the cascading treats because I was too busy enjoying the situation, but I think Mary (Renee's 8-year-old) was ultimately responsible for its demise.


After all that excitement we went back outside to fill up some water balloons to jump on the trampoline with. I keep wanting to abbreviate that and type ''tramp", but it just never looks right. =)

Hazel is a month younger than Oliver. They've been such good buddies.



After the kids got a turn, Renee and I got to try.

It was a blast! We only used like 5 balloons 'cause we were sick of tying them by then. Cora did take a video of us jumping, but it was kind of anticlimactic (like this pic) since there were so few balloons.

At the close of the evening we sang "Happy Birthday" consumed an ice cream cake from Cold Stone.

It was yummy. For her present I gave her a box of Aplets and Cotlets (as a sentimental joke, but she really does like them!) and a mini golden Idaho potato keychain so she can remember us when she's living in Florida. And some earrings that Oliver thought looked like bombs. =)

Well, I think the party was a success. Cora and Jane kept saying how fun it was, so I really felt accomplished.
It was one of the last times we got to hang out before the whole Dittman family moved clear across the country. This is their 12th move in 12 years of marriage, so I have high hopes that they'll be back this way before we know it. =)