Taylor's baby shower

I'll bet you thought I had dropped off the face of the earth.  Sorry to disappoint you, but I haven't.   I've just been too busy doing nothing.  I'm not kidding.  I can waste more time doing nothing and feeling like I'm so busy doing something.   

I'm going to blame the Internet, Pinterest to be exact.  It's my latest obsession. I could be on that all day and night.

Besides, Pinterest, the other thing that takes a lot of my free time is our dog Cookie.  I have to take her on a walk every night.  I thought that the pounds would drop off once I started walking.  But no, I've actually gained 7 pounds.  What the heck?  I'm going to say it is muscle weight. 

But while I was not blogging, life did go on.  Today I decided to share my niece Taylor's baby shower.

The shower was held at Eric and Jeannette's house (parents of Taylor).  It was suppose to be a beautiful day.  Except that Mother Nature didn't get the memo.  The day was actually probably one of the coldest of the entire winter season.  But it was no longer winter, it was actually spring.  But here in SoCal we only have 2 seasons, winter and summer.  It usually fluctuates between the two and they don't always happen in the correct season and/or order. 

I love the color combo they chose.  And the theme was ladybugs. 

I love the labels on the water bottles. 

Here is Taylor patiently waiting for the food to be served.  OMG! (Oh my goodness for those of you that think I am taking the Lord's name in vain, which I am not).  The sandwiches were amazing.  All the bread came from Panera.  I had never eaten there before.  All I can say, it was the best bread I have ever had the privilege of tasting. 

Aren't these the cutest cupcakes?  Love the little ladybugs.  And I just now noticed that the only closeup photo I took has a finger smudge in the frosting.  Looks like someone tried to sample before the party.  My guess it was one of the boys. 

Danica put together these cute ladybug crackers.  I found a link to them on Pinterest (which for some reason I did not save).  They turned out so cute.  And they were pretty yummy as well.  Except for the olive part.  I hate olives.  But you need a head on the ladybug, so they were a necessary evil.   

Taylor had found a link on Pinterest for these dipped strawberries and asked her mom to make them for the shower.  Jeannette tried and said it was an epic fail.   Luckily Danica was able to figure it out and saved the day.   These would be great for the 4th of July as well.

Taylor, Carol (Taylor's Grandma and Jeannette's Mom) and Andrea (back turned to camera)

Jeannette also had these yummy salads from Panera as well.  I think I need to take a trip to Panera to get some more of their yummy food.  Panera could well be my next obsession. 

Aunt Jodi trying to feel baby Page kick. 

Since it was freezing outside, the gift opening took place inside.   Taylor got 2 diaper cakes.  I thought this one was cute.   Until.......

This one was brought in.  The other one was cute, but this one was WAY cute.  And it had baby Page's name on it. 

Andrea, Jodi and Mom (Grandma Dorothy).  Poor Andrea and Mom nearly froze to death that day. 

Taylor opening up her gifts.  Poor thing got so many gifts she was all tuckered out by the end. 

I didn't take a lot of photos during the gift opening process.  Jodi took tons of photos, and I was waiting for her to post them on Facebook so I could nab some.  But so far, she hasn't done so.   This quilt, personalized onesie, pink tutu and "PAGE" blocks were made from one of Taylor's friends Priscilla.  The "PAGE" blocks actually match the quilt that Taylor will be using in the crib that her Mother in Law made. 

This afghan was made by the mother in law of my neighbor Roxanne. 

Here is Taylor opening up my gift.  I placed everything in this basket.  Taylor is using the basket to hold stuffed animals.  The lamb actually opens up to be a blanket. 

I wish I had taken a photo of the front of this cute summer dress.  It has a ladybug on it.  It fit the theme of her shower perfectly.  I also gave Taylor a bunch of diapers as well as a diaper holder and some wipes that i didn't get a photo of. 

And I made this banner that spells "PAGE".  I forgot to take a photo of it at the party.  This was taken at Taylor and Michael's house in the nursery where it hangs on the wall.  I found all the vintage letter graphics from Rook No 17 blog.  Just used small clothespins from Walmart to hang each letter from some twine.  One of the easiest gifts to make. 

And of course later that same day the sun finally came out and it was warm.  But being with friends and family to celebrate the upcoming birth of Page warmed the hearts of everyone there. 

Tomorrow I will try and post about baby Page who was born on April 20, 2012.  She is definitely a cutie pie!  So stay tuned.  Yes, I am a proud Great Aunt. 

Kim

Thanksgiving dinner

Can you believe how fast the fall in whizzing by? I can't believe that Christmas is 3 weeks from Sunday. THREE WEEKS!

And I haven't even started Christmas shopping. Well, I have, but just for me. That's because I know what I want. The rest of my family, not so much.

Since Christmas will be here before we know it, I thought I better post about Thanksgiving. However, there really isn't much to post. Well, I could write a book, just wouldn't have many pictures to go with it.

Thanksgiving was held at my house this year. I invited everyone in my family.

Todd's family couldn't come as they live in Utah. Plus Todd works at Walmart and had to work on Black Friday. So his family had a legit excuse.

Andrea's family couldn't come as Jamey had just got back in town from being away for a month. He wasn't up to driving anywhere and wanted to stay home. A pretty legit excuse.

My step son Brandan's family couldn't come as my daughter in law Crystal had to work. Again, a legit excuse.

Eric's family came. Every last one of them. YAY!!! Finally someone was coming.

Jodi, Mom & Dad said they were coming. I even gave them a food assignment, but I did ask her if I should buy backups. She said NO, they would be there. Then the day before, Jodi calls saying they won't be coming. Mom wasn't feeling well & didn't want to drive an hour and fifteen minutes. It's a good thing I bought back up food.

Then on Thanksgiving morning, Jodi calls and wants to know if we still have enough food for 3 more. Mom was feeling better, and Jodi really wanted to come. I told her "of course we still have enough food". I really wanted to say "NO, we gave your share away". But I was nice. As I am always the nice sister (Jodi is trying not to gag as she reads this. Ha, ha!).

So Mom, Dad & Jodi ended up coming to Thanksgiving dinner afterall. And all was good in the Chalfant household.

We ended up with 14 people at our dinner. So I set up 3 different tables for eating.


This is the table in my family room/kitchen. Mom, Dad, Jodi, Brandon, Mike & I all sat at this table. I guess I should have asked everyone to look at me when I was taking the pic.

This table is in my living room. Jeannette, Jesse, Eric, Jase & Cade ate in here.

Danica, Taylor and her husband Michael sat at the kid's table in my family room.

And that my family, are the only photos I have to share. I thought I took a bunch more. In fact, I thought I took photos of each table before people and food took them over. But there were no pre food photos on either of my cameras. I must have dreamed it.

For dinner we had turkey and cornbread stuffing that Mike cooked. I cooked the mashed pototatos and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, and candied yams. This is the first year I cooked the yams in the slow cooker. They turned out so yummy. Everyone commented they were the best yams they have ever had. I also made Grandma Manning's green jello Thanksgiving salad. We have it every year. And I bought rolls from Sam's Club. I'm not patient enough for making my own rolls. Jodi was suppose to bring jello salad and rolls, but luckily I had the items on hand for making the jello salad and Sam's Club had rolls at the last minute. Jeannette brought Martinelli's sparkling cider and a couple of pumpkin chiffon pies she made. Taylor brought green lettuce salad. Oh, I did make homemade ranch dressing for the lettuce salad.

Dinner was as yummy as ever. I just love Thanksgiving dinner. We had enough leftovers to have Thanksgiving dinner for a couple of nights after as well. I did cook 20lbs of mashed potatoes. A little overkill since I had about 1/2 left after dinner. But I got to make Shepard's Pie this week with the left over mashed potatoes. So a win/win.

I just love getting together with family. I wish I had a big enough house to invite all my extended family, including aunts, uncles, cousins and children and grandchildren of the cousins. Wouldn't that be so much fun? We really need to have a Manning family reunion. Who's up for it?

The only down side of having so many people to dinner, is the dishes. Luckily Jeannette and Eric helped. OK, they did most of the dishes. I did have to run my dishwasher two times to accommodate all the dishes. Thank goodness for dishwashers. See, I am thankful for something.

The best part of the day was seeing Mom with our dog Cookie. She just loved her. Mom loved Cookie so much that we had her convinced to take Cookie's brother (who is looking for a home). But Dad the Grinch, talked her out of it by the time they got back home. Or maybe it was Jodi. They gave some lame excuse about having to open 2 doors to let the dog in and out. Whatever!

Speaking of our dog cookie. She is the best dog in the whole world. You couldn't ask for a better dog. She is perfect. Even my husband Mike who doesn't like dogs, just loves her. And you know she is perfect if Mom wanted a dog just like her. My neighbor (who has worked in vets office for 20 years) says that almost all Golden Retriever's are just like Cookie. Very loving and gentle.

Enough about Cookie and Thanksgiving. Time to journey on to Christmas. What are your plans for Christmas? We are going down to Mom and Dad's house. Plus we will be able to see my Grandson Gunner.

And then on New Years Day, we will be back down in San Diego to attend Zak's homecoming. Zak is Andrea's oldest son. He gets home from his 2 year mission to Detroit on the 20th of this month. Everyone in our family is so excited. Andrea is beyond excited. It will be so good to see him.

And now, you are pretty much caught up on what is happening on the Langston side of the family. At least the stuff that I know about.

Take care & have a Merry Christmas! Just covering my bases in case I don't post again before Christmas.

Love,

Kim

P.S. Happy 21st birthday to my stepson Jesse. And Happy birthday to Andrea's son Simon. I think he turns 18 years old today. Yikes! Our kids are getting old. How can they be when we are not?

The Reception

Daniella & Dusty's wedding reception was held at Daniella's Aunt Kristin's house. And what a house.



When we first arrived it was sunny, but cold as the wind was starting to blow. This photo was actually taken on the way out, but you can see what a gorgeous house it was.

As we were walking up to the house, I tripped over the edge of the sidewalk & down I fell. Just call me Grace. Luckily nothing was hurt except for my ego.

The reception was to be held in the backyard, but the weather was turning bad real fast.

They placed all the tables as close to the house as possible. Trying to keep them all under the patio overhang.

There was a chocolate fountain. Which was great fun once the wind kicked up. Chocolate ended up getting everywhere.

It was so cold outside that everyone ended up inside. We mostly hung out downstairs in the game room/home theater. This room was fabulous. The seats for the home theater were so comfy. Mike & Brandon had front row seats. In the 2nd row we have Cathi (bride's mom) talking to Tyler's friend, with Tyler talking to his aunt from his mom's side of the family. Sorry but I don't remember her name right now.

This is their TV. It was huge. Perfect for watching a movie. The fireplace was pretty fab as well. It was a gas fire & made the room nice & toasty. Julianna was goofing off a bit in this photo.

I was so enamored with this house that I mostly took photos of the house & not of the family.

The basement had a basketball court of all things. Doesn't everyone have a basketball court in their basement?


And they keep their pool heated to 85 degrees. When it started raining later, steam was rising up from the pool.


And because it was so cold outside, the favorite place to hang out was the outdoor fireplace. And I have no idea who these people are. But I'm sure Daniella and Dusty do.


Finally the bride and groom arrived. Daniella looks so happy.

This little girl was so happy to see Daniella. But she forgot she had chocolate on her hands. So chocolate got on Daniella's dress. But Dusty was so cute. He made sure that someone helped get the chocolate off. So all was well.

The cake was originally outside. And it didn't have these flowers on it when we first arrived. It seems the flowers that were on the cake when I first saw it were all wilted. They wilted from being in the fridge or freezer. So Dusty came to the rescue again. He took apart one of the bridesmaid's bouquets and placed the fresh flowers on the cake. Another tragedy averted.


Everyone gathered in the kitchen for the cake cutting. I did take a video, but the photographer was in the way the whole time so it's not worth posting as you can't see a thing.

Then I took a video of Daniella & Dusty feeding each other the cake, but for some reason my camera didn't focus. Another video that was a dud.

But I did get this photo of Dusty's toast. Too bad I took the photo when the glass was in front of his face.

Here is the view from the living room area looking into the kitchen. And by the way, I'm in love with this black buffet. I need it in my house.


Isn't this the best photo? It was taken the night that Dusty proposed to Daniella. He set up the camera & put it on a timer. That way they still had a very private intimate moment, but had it documented forever as well. I love how they are in silhouette.


When the reception first started everyone was downstairs here in the game room. But once the cake was to be cut, everyone moved upstairs so I was able to get a better photo of the gameroom. And I have no idea who these kids are either.

And have you noticed that I haven't really taken any photos of family members? I told you I was more interested in taking photos of the house. I need a house like this.

I never did get any photos of Mom, Dad, Jodi or Todd. Mom, Dad & Jodi ended up leaving early as the weather had turned really bad. The wind was howling and the rain poured down.

Here are a couple of videos that did turn out of Daniella throwing the bouquet and Dusty throwing the garter.

A little story about the throwing of the bouquet. Todd's oldest daughter Mari really wanted to catch the bouquet in the worst way. But she started out at the very back of the pack of girls. Mike saw her & knew because she was short that she didn't have a chance in catching the bouquet. So he grabbed her & moved her to the front. And lucky for Mari that he moved her as she was able to catch the bouquet. Mari was one happy girl after that.









Well that is the end of Daniella & Dusty's wedding and reception. Tomorrow I'll share what we did on the rest of our little vacation.

Kim

Daniella & Dusty's Wedding-Kim's version

Well I've been such a slacker. I'm finally getting around to posting about Daniella & Dusty's wedding which happened about 30 days ago.

I know that Jodi already posted her version. But mine is better. At least a tad bit more entertaining. Don't worry, Jodi knows I love her.

For those of you who do not know who Daniella is, well she is Todd's 2nd oldest daughter. So that makes her my niece.


Daniella & Dusty got sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City temple on Saturday 5/28/11.

The temps that day were on the cool side. But the sun did come out & warm us while we were waiting on the temple grounds.

Loved this bench that Mike is sitting on. He wanted me to walk around temple square & take photos. But I was afraid that Daniella & Dusty would emerge from the temple and we would miss them.

Here is Mari and her boyfriend Ladd. Mari is Todd's oldest daughter. So that makes her Daniella's big sister and another of my nieces.

My son Brandon.


This is my ex sister in law Cathi (on the right). She is the mother of the bride. Here she is with her girlfriend Kim (on the left). I hadn't seen Cathi in years. It was good to visit with her again.



Cathi with 4 of her 6 children. Mari, Julianna, Erin Grace & Tyler. Daniella was still inside getting married. And Colin couldn't come to the wedding. He is in the Air Force so he couldn't get away. I don't know why I never took a photo of Todd and his kids (these same kids). Probably as he was inside attending the sealing. The rest of us were taking photos outside to pass the time away.

Finally the family started emerging from the temple. Cathi went over to say "hi" to Todd. It was good to see that the two of them could put aside their differences for the occasion.

Three of Todd & Cathi's daughters. Mari, Julianna & Erin Grace.

Mom & Jodi after the temple sealing. Waiting for Daniella & Dusty to emerge from the temple.


Everyone is anxiously waiting.

Finally Daniella & Dusty come out of the temple.



Give your wife a big smooch Dusty!


They are such a cute couple.

Daniella with her mom Cathi.


Then it was time to take photos on the temple steps. Technically you only have 20 minutes to do so. At least that is what another impatient photographer told us.

This is Dusty's family. I don't have any of our family as we were all busy being in the photo that we didn't have anyone to take the photo of us. Except for the photographer, but she was busy taking her own photos.

While we were up on the steps Mike had to get a photo of the doorknobs. They are fabulous.

Then Mike took this photo of everyone down at the bottom of the steps. You can see the back of me. I'm to the right of the bride.


The "Grandma's" getting their photo taken with the bride.


Jodi & Julianna goofing off between photos.

The bride's parents. Todd and Cathi.

The bridesmaids. Julianna is to the left of Daniella. And Mari is to the right. The other 2 girls are Dusty's sisters. Daniella's other sister Erin Grace was an honorary bridesmaid.



Erin Grace didn't seem to mind.

I like this photo of the bridesmaids jumping. It looks like Daniella is floating.

The proud papa Todd.

Dad & Mom aka: Grandpa and Grandma visiting with Brandon.



I love this photo of Daniella and Julianna.

All 4 sisters.


The groom and his groomsmen.

Everyone is a photographer these days.

More waiting. I'm sure we took double the allotment of time for taking photos on the temple steps.



Do you think these alcoves were made just for taking photos like this?

I do believe they were.

We can't forget the shoes. Forget fancy high heels. This bride wanted to be comfortable along with her bridesmaids.

Are we done taking photos yet? Isn't that what Todd's look is saying?

Julianna looks bored. Dad just wants to know when it is nap time.

Nope, the photographer isn't quite done. Just one or two more photos.



Speaking of photographers. I was trying to practice my photo skills with these flowers. I still have so much to learn.


Temple square always has so many beautiful things to photograph. I now wish I had walked around temple square taking photos while we waited as Mike had suggested. Maybe next time.


The End. But really it is the beginning of Daniella and Dusty's wonderful life together, forever.

If you made it through this entire post, you deserve a medal. I know it had a lot of photos. But I didn't want you to miss a thing. Didn't you feel like you were right there? Of course you do.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll post about their reception. And then I still need to report about the rest of our trip. Plus I still have to post about Cade's (Eric's son) high school graduation and Danica's (Eric's daughter) college graduation.

So stay tuned.

Kim