On to the luncheon...Drew was thoughtful enough to give Jasper a wonderful card displaying her artistic genius, and we gave her some great dress-up clothes. Little did we know, we picked out the perfect outfit...a princess cap and glittery skirt. It was an instant hit!
Being a bit bashful...
...but she warmed up very quickly.
I have to give myself a pat on the back, I improvised a yummy lunch. A pizza roll with fresh spinach, mushrooms, mozzarella, basil & fancy Italian deli meat with some watermelon on the side. I'm tellin' ya, it was DELISH. Then we made sundaes with pastry cups, strawberries and chocolate syrup. Drew gave it a thumb's up!
Well, Matthew did it again...organized a wonderful steak-n-eggs celebration for Dad. We all went over to Mom & Dad's house to celebrate our wonderful father. Dad told me he suspected something was up until Matt called and led him to believe that he would be fishing that day instead. Surprise, surprise...the caravan arrived around 11am! (Except Jasper and I...it seems I am always running a bit late, catering to the little man's napping patterns.) It was a relaxing sunny day...so relaxing infact, that Dad took a little snooze outside. I guess basking in the family he had created...
Taking a snoooooozzzeeee....
So, my baby nephew (not so much a baby anymore!) is growing up before our eyes. I noticed these changes in Ryan at the family reunion a couple weekends ago. It hit me like a ton of bricks. All of a sudden, I realized that this little round baby with a huge head and big blue eyes was not that chubby bouncing boy anymore. Plus - he has proudly announced to everyone that a mustache has emerged. So, as a right of passage, Matt decided to teach Ryan how to cook steaks and work a grill. Every man should master a grill right?!
Ryan prepping the steaks...
Here are some more random shots from the get-together...
Ryan, Jasper & Brade working their GQ pose. They obviously know their angles. Well, maybe not Jasper.
A family gathering isn't complete without the essential Jasper & Rose pics in the occasional chair!
The requisite Rose fashion show...
I leave you with some funny pet photos I came across at Mom's house. We always had pets growing-up...including a guinea pig, a few dogs (Lizzie, Jangles, Jackie & Remi) and too many hamsters to count. Here are a few images of the fun we had with our furry pals...
Poor Jangles was the first, (make that Vonalee Bojangles Jarvis). He was with us during our toddler phase...which meant a lot of ear pulling & dressing up. God bless him! He put up with a lot...
Happy Birthday!
Jangles looking very stylish (notice the collar is UP, preptastic.)
Happy Birthday Murray! (Notice the tinie-tiny pancake. OMG - so adorable.)
I believe Murray is the hamster I thought I "lost" while cleaning his cage. I found out 20 years later that my Mom had accidentally snapped him with a mouse trap. I guess she didn't have the heart to tell me what really happened...probably better off, ugh. Next is Dot, the guinea pig. Oh how we loved her so. She was a wonderful guinea pig. When you sang, she would run circles in her home/box kicking her heels. She actually lived quite a long life, we ended up allowing our former kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Moreland take her...after Matt didn't care for her cage, (I opened a can of worms with THAT one, expecting a blog comment any moment now. A good lesson for disciplining children and teaching responsibility, maybe another time. Plus - I think Matthew still feels guilty.) Anyhoo! Dot lived to be like 24 yrs old! Amazing.
Myself, Matt and the amazing Dot looking stunning in her summer dress. (So, some would say I looked like the Peanuts character, Peppermint Patty. Hahahahaha. Too bad I could never get Matthew to concede to be a Yes-Man and address me as "Sir" at all times.)
Well, that concludes today's post. I will back very soon. I have been a very crafty b*atch lately. I have re-discovered my great love of Modge-Podge....more on that later...)
