Here we go Lake show!

A few weeks ago we celebrated Chris' birthday with a big, fun, bash at the bowling alley, if you didn't read about it or forgot, click here. So when I asked Christian what he wanted to do he immediately said: "Bowling." We literally did the exact same birthday for Christian as we did for Chris: pizza, beer, bowling. And it was still awesome. There was one difference though......

My family (myself included) are HUGE Los Angeles Laker fans. Being originally from Orange County, California makes that automatic. Being a Laker fan is woven into my genetic code.

Us kids at a game in 2006

Christian and I during the play-offs last year. We were doing our best to help generate a win by wearing our "rally jerseys" to no avail....you just wait until this year though!!

 In the picture below not only can you see my mom and dad doing a weird dance move, but you can see my dad is wearing a Magic Johnson shirt. The date on dad's shirt is 1989 which is a year after Christian was born. I think I can safely say Christian's obsession with the Lakers began in utero. 

I'm not using the term "obsession" lightly here, the guy is a surpremely passionate die-hard fan. He even has exactly what he would say planned out in his head if (when?) he meets Kobe Bryant....although I think he may just fall down and kiss Kobe's feet if he ever does meet him.

We decided to make Christian's copy-cat birthday his own, by giving it a Laker's theme, and wore our Laker gear:

Doesn't Andrew looked thrilled to be taking a picture with me? 

All of Christian's presents were Gold and Laker Blue:

I believe the phrase "best birthday presents ever" was used....

Patrick, Christian's best friend, was unimpressed, but he's a New England Patriots fan, so his opinion doesn't count.

Christian was so excited about his new clothes, that he immediately put on this shirt to wear to the bowling alley:

 

There is one more part of this Laker themed birthday that literally takes the cake... and 

I'm sure you know this, but if not, click here to find out about my love of cake.

Yeah, I totally made this:

I asked Christian: "Soooo....was this the best birthday ever or what!?

"Duh."

The Top Eleven Ways to have a Surprise Party.....

You can read all about my love of surprise parties here. We are going to a surprise party tonight, but right now it's raining so hard we can hardly hear each other talk:

Yikes, Missouri!

This past summer's theme seemed to be "Surprise! It's Your Birthday Party!".  Since I went to quite a few of these parties, I'm kind of an expert- you'd really do well to listen to me. So without further ado, here are my Top Eleven ways to have a kick-ass birthday party: 

1. Make sure there is actually someone that wants to throw a surprise birthday party.

In Michele's case, it was her good looking kids that pulled everything together.

2. Beautiful birthday signs are always a hit, and the birthday girl (or boy) can take it home as a memento! Hannah and I made this sign for her mom, Joni. 

3. Don't forget the cake!

 4. Adult refreshments should be abundant:

The birthday hat is optional, but my father-in-law wanted to celebrate 50 in style.

5. It's always fun to tell stories to the birthday honoree. I'm actually telling the story here, not listening, despite my shocked face. It was about Hannah, which is why she's covering her face with horror, and her mom is trying desperately not to laugh at her.

"....and then I said: Hannah! What the hell are you doing?!"

6. Family members should definitely be involved: 

Can you tell they are sisters?

7. Don't forget the cake!!!

8. You should always sing happy birthday: 

9. A happy host or hostess, is the best kind of host:

Hi Carrie! You sure are a great hostess, and your house should be in a magazine!

10. A table full of delicious food makes the mood perfect for good conversations:  

Does this remind anyone else of Da Vinci's "The Last Supper"?

11. And finally, whatever else you do, just DO NOT forget the cake:

Ok. Ok. Ok.  You're right. I know, it's NOT always about the cake, I mean.....

....sometimes it's cupcakes!

Shhhhh.....

I am going to my friend's surprise birthday party tonight! I LOVE surprise parties-well, I love surprise anything, really;  I would say "if you have chance to throw a surprise party for someone DO IT!" but I recently found out someone in my family would "rather die than have a surprise party." So that throws 80% of my ideas out the window!

In honor of surprise parties, here are some pictures of my surprise 22nd birthday thrown for me by Chris and my best friends (P.S. Please ignore my terrible haircut/outfit. Being as this was a surprise I was NOT warned to wash my hair and/or look my very best! I blame Chris):

SURPRISE!

Backyard Surprise parties are the best! 

Yep, that is my smooshy face back when he really was a little smooshy faced boy!

Every party needs a pinata, especially one representing Pirates of the Caribbean!

CANDY! 

Chris, giving me a birthday toast:

I just realized that for all these years I thought it was a 22nd birthday party that was thrown....it was not, it was a 23rd birthday party....What else have I been getting wrong all these years?!

He must really like cake.

Our huge smiles say: YAY for surprise parties! 

Since my surprise party was such a success, maybe I should throw one for that reluctant family member? Is it possible to throw one for myself? Well, either way.....

HAPPY SATURDAY!

Way back when preview....

Ok I know I promised you a spectacular "Way Back When" surprise to help celebrate mine and Chris' anniversary tomorrow, and it's still happening; but since you have been good, and have had to fight Christmas crowds I'm giving you a little preview.

I had a definite vision of what I wanted during the planning phase. The hard part is translating that vision to an actual wedding. I knew I wanted romantic and dream-like. I drew a lot of inspiration from what I envisioned the parties in "The Great Gatsby" would be like - beautiful, imaginative, unexpected, unforgettable, vivacious and a rip-roaring good time.

Fortunately, I had my mom to help me figure all this out and she wisely insisted I narrow the vision down to beautiful, imaginative, and a rip-roaring good time. On top of working with artists to create amazing center pieces, a cool cake tables and chic lounge areas, we had the best food (pizza, wings, stuffed mushrooms, etc.) in town. If you were there, you know the awesomeness I'm talking about. If you weren't, here are some pictures.......

THE LOVE BIRDS

THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN OUR WEDDING.

THE FAVORITE PICTURE

THE MAN WAITING FOR ME.

THE MAN WHO WALKED ME DOWN THE AISLE, AND WHOSE HARD WORK MADE THIS DREAM WEDDING POSSIBLE....THANKS DAD!

THE "I DO" AND THE KISS

THE: WE DID IT! DANCE

THE COLORS.

THE SWEETS.

THE PARTY.

THE MOTHER-SON DANCING.

THE FRIENDS.

THE LOVE.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow on our anniversary so you can see something TOTALLY worth seeing!

How to have an awesome baby shower....

My sister-in-law is expecting a baby boy in December, and we sisters-in-laws took it upon ourselves  to throw her a kick-ass baby shower (can you say kick-ass when discussing baby showers?)

Chhhiiieeeffsss!! I mean....GO ROYALS! No, wait....CARDSSSS!!

I'm never a big fan of anything traditional, so a St. Louis Cardinals theme (2011 World Series Champs no big deal-you go Missouri!) was perfect for this celebration. 

 I love all showers, why? One simple, glorious, happy word: CAKE. 

 

Baby Jack's cake was SUPPOSED to go: 'ball, bat, ball, bat, ball', separately in their own squares, but somehow that concept got lost in translation and we got a ball/bat combination in EACH square. 

Honestly,  I didn't care because that meant MORE frosting for me!  I even managed to snag a corner piece to really double up on that delicious frosting goodness.....Stick with me kid, I'll show you how to live it up right!

The Guest of Honor.....

Umm, Amanda? Can you please get out of the picture? I'm trying to get a shot of the guest of honor. That's it, now tilt it up just a bit more more.... Oh ok fine. I guess you can be the guest of honor, sister!

I have an extreme need for photos to look candid and unplanned.....

Amanda is making this 'trying not to laugh' face because she started to smile when she saw me taking a picture and I literally yelled at her: "NO! I'M TAKING A CANDID PHOTO! ACT NATURALLY!"

As you can see, I am a master photographer......

A MUCH better candid photo if I do say so myself.

The two pretty ladies on the left are my fellow 'aunts' and shower throwers. The two on the right are baby Jack's cousins. It was quite the family affair.

 

The day continued on and presents were given....

...much laughter and fun was had....

And we FINALLY got to eat the cake. 

Where is the picture you ask? Silly reader. How could I possibly take a picture of cake-eating when I've got my hands full with two pieces of my own?! Here is a representation: 

Don't judge me.

It was decided that we needed to work off the sugar in our systems and the most fun part of the day was had....

(I have got to tell you, games in the baby shower department REALLY need a make-over. Playing the 'melt different candy bars in  diapers to make it look like poop and then pass the diapers around and try to guess the candy' is a little outdated if you ask me.)

We kicked it up a notch and decorated onesies: 

The table filled with stamps, fabric paint, fabric markers and creative artists....

My mom had me draw a baby baseball player which she colored in, then she showed us all up by sewing a  baseball button on his hand....cheater! I didn't know props were allowed!

Baby Jack's big sister, Alli, created this masterpiece for her little brother. We're hoping the paint will dry by the time he actually gets here....in a month.

Even Grandma Pearl got in on the action.

You go Grandma Pearl!

Sure he may love you, Aunt Lorri,

but let's be honest he will probably love me MORE!!!

After much deliberating, Aunt Traci settled on a doggy design...

Where is my masterpiece you ask?

Notice my intense concentration on my onesie?

Ta-da! 

I realize the Harley looks like a motorcycle/buggy/4-wheeler hybrid, but if a baby is truly driving - how it looks it the LEAST of our worries.

For some reason, I just wasn't satisfied with that onesie. I thought and thought, it was then that I was struck with inspiration and came up with this little gem: 

.

.....No big deal.