A Chuck E. Cheese Birthday Bash

We had one final birthday party for the Cruz kid last week at Chuck E. Cheese, and invited a fun mix of both old and new friends to help us celebrate.  I scheduled a Wednesday night party and this ended up being a great idea on many levels.  All nine littles were able to make it, we were the only scheduled party there all night, and other than a handful of families there to play a few games, we practically had the place to ourselves.  This, in my opinion, is the only way to do Chuck E.  My mom came to our house to stay with Mila, and Beau and I (and the sweet hostess) gave Cruz the ultimate kid experience.  I ordered a Star Wars cake complete with all the cheesy decals, we put together some favor bags with a variety of Star Wars loot, and Cruz chose a superhero theme for his party that included a cape, glasses, and his very own cardboard cutout.  We showed up, went over the rundown with the hostess, and they Chuck E. took care of the rest.  It was easy, low maintenance, and Cruz had the time of his life.

Highlights of his night included a pretty successful attempt in the ticket blaster, where he made out with a 500 ticket voucher, the Price is Right game that earned him another 500 tickets, the generosity of his friends and how excited they all were to watch him open their gifts, and last but not least, the macaroni and cheese pizza.  I'm telling ya, we had Mulligans' macaroni pizza last night and both said Chuck E. has it beat. 

It took two trips to get everything out to the car, and by the time we returned home Wednesday night, we were officially partied out.  And Cruz has enough new Lego sets to last through the winter.  For as little as he is, he sure is blessed with some great little buddies. 

  

A Gorgeous White Barn Wedding

My friend, Brooke, was married October 8 in Clear Lake and I was honored to be one of her bridesmaids.  Brooke and I have been friends as long as we have been born.  Our parents were close when they were young, we grew up across the street from each other in not one, but two neighborhoods in my hometown, we were best friends all through high school and college, and I was at Brooke's side the day she welcomed her sweet baby boy, Brody, into this world.  From sipping 7up out of champagne glasses and playing "wedding", to cruising down Main Street in high school, me doing the steering and Brooke at my feet doing the pedals, my growing up years include many memories with Brooke in them.  When you know someone for that long, you've shared just about everything with each other, and for all the silly and sweet memories we've had, we've also been there for the sad ones.  After a lot of years of wondering what was in store for her, Brooke married her forever, Mike, at the sweetest outdoor ceremony, and one of the prettiest weddings I've ever attended.  It was intimate, personal, and unique, and the small details and this absolutely gorgeous location felt like something out of a novel.

The wedding and reception were held at Diamond Oak Events in Clear Lake, and it was gorgeous!  Basically, this couple turned their sprawling property, filled with literally hundreds of big oak trees, into a wedding venue.  On one side of the property, a dozen old church pews are set up behind a gorgeous hops-sprawling trellis, with an old antique chandelier set up above the bride and groom.  Old barnwood doors create an entrance for the wedding party to enter.  On the other side of the property is a simple white barn, with big doors on both ends and windows turned doors on the sides.  At night, hundreds of strings of twinkle lights hang from the oaks surrounding the property, creating this mystical and magical setting in the middle of nowhere.

  

Brooke had a vision to accentuate this setting with simple but unique rustic touches and she absolutely nailed it.  The bright white tablecloths were lined with fresh eucalyptus runners, navy napkins, and craft paper thank yous with bold black lettering.  Wood chargers served as centerpieces and cake plates, and wood blocks and chalkboards served as signs for reserved seating and the wedding party program.  The small details were my favorite.  I loved the big basket of white blankets with a chalkboard sign that read, "To have and to hold, and in case you get cold..."  I loved the old frame that hung from a tree as a photo op for guests.  And Brooke absolutely nailed her dress and the wedding party's attire.  Her simple, yet elegant ivory dress, the guys' navy suits and suspenders, and our bold colored floral maxis made for one of the prettiest wedding parties I have seen.  I'll admit I was a little skeptical when Brooke instructed her bridesmaids to each find our own fall-colored floral maxi dress, but she showed me.  The photographer in me couldn't stop taking pictures of the colors and details and I can't wait to see the professional ones. 

It was a gorgeous October day and everything felt relaxed and simple.  Brooke looked beautiful and I'm convinced she found one of the sweetest men to call her husband.  The wedding party was big and lots of fun, and we all loved the live band reception.  My entire family was there, Mila proved to be the biggest party animal outlasting her cousins on the dance floor, and it was fun to see Taylor and Kate's wheels turning at their first wedding since their own engagement.  Their barn wedding is set for May 2017 and we can hardly wait. 

Best wishes to Brooke Nicole and her groom, Mike.  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and a forever of big and simple adventures together.

            

43/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2016"

 

Cruz: I chased the bus down for you this morning, buddy.  You were being your usual pokey pete and we barely made it the bus stop.  And when we were met by several other kids wearing their shades for Red Ribbon Week, we realized yours were on the bench in the mudroom.  So, I did like any good and crazy parent does - I drove home to grab them, then circled the neighborhood until I saw the bus.  I'm sure you were quite surprised to see your mom walk down that narrow bus aisle, but that small little smile on your face showed me you appreciated it.  Love you honey and I hope you have the best day at school today.

Mila: And you were in the car watching The Little Mermaid, completely oblivious to this entire escapade!  I love that at the end of the movie right before the credits roll, you always say, "Are you ready, mom?" I think this has something to do with my love affair with all Disney music and that one time I put on a riveting performance of Under the Sea in the car on the way to school.  You know that's "my part" and want to make sure I do, too. :)

A Day in NE Iowa

We headed to Northeast Iowa last Sunday for one of our longest standing fall family traditions.  We've been trekking up north for some pretty leaf hunting since we were kids, packed in the back of the gray Dodge mini-van with our walk-mans and cassette tapes of Trisha Yearwood, the Judds and Boyz II Men.  Dad would drive through all the same "cool towns" and we'd anxiously look out our windows for all the various points of distinction along the way.  Even back then, I'd have my little camera and a fresh roll of film in hand, ready to capture fuzzy pictures of the big red strawberry in Strawberry Point, that pretty little bridge in Fairbank, and the pink elephant in Marquette, signaling we had reached our destination for the day.  Mom would pack a picnic, "fancy" sandwiches with lettuce and mayonnaise and red wine vinegar, and we'd run through the piles of leaves, throwing the football around with Dad, and eventually talking them into hiking all the way to the waterfall, even though we knew it wasn't much of a waterfall.

I look back at those days and feel my age, in more ways than one.  Walk-mans are long gone and have since been replaced with dual DVD players that entrance our kids and take them away from the scenes outside their windows.  GPS on our phone gives us the "fastest route" there, surely eliminating back roads and that pretty bridge in Fairbank.  And that big red strawberry in Strawberry Point is definitely not as big as I remember it from my childhood.  That adventurous spirit and wonder and delight for the little things, like driving across that big blue suspension bridge over the mighty Mississippi or getting to put red wine vinegar on my sandwich, are what keeps me going back to this tradition each year.  As I look into that day with an older, wiser pair of specs, I see so much through them.  I see my Dad's love for comfortable adventure, the twinkle in his eye as he pointed out the same old things, like that stuffed polar bear at Starks and those boring barges way down on the river.  I see my Mom's effort to make things special for us, as well as her love for the small details, like that bright red maple tree that always stands out against that pretty white church steeple in McGregor.  I see characteristics in them I so want my kids to see in me someday.  But gosh, in our world as it exists, full of constant distractions and our instagram boxes of pretty, are we over-saturating them?  Are we curating so much experience for them that they're unable to distinguish the magic in the mundane?  Or are we just filling their lives with so much stuff that they're only getting the chance to barely scratch the surface?  My Grandpa Hank's famous line on road trips that we laughed over and used often on our road trip to Georgia was "Look out the window, it's free."  But as I think about my kids, staring at their screens with their headphones on, I realize I have some work to do in this department.  And that I now sound like an old geezer. 

  
I regained a little hope as we drove through Strawberry Point and Dad took the short detour to show Cruz and Mila the big strawberry.  Mila's eyes lit up and she said, "I want to see it again!"  We drove by it a second time, and two more times on the way home.  I saw the same childlike wonder and delight in her face.  I saw it later at Shihata's Orchard as she came face to face with a donkey and watched Grandma feed him grass.  I saw it on all the cousins' faces as they perused the big tub of gourds and begged us for a quarter, and later as they squealed and chased each other through the fallen leaves, dirty cheeks and shoes filled with sand.  These days and the small moments weaved throughout them are the threads that become our life.  And as I sit and snap fuzzy photos like I did when I was a kid, trying to capture the wonder and beauty of it all, I sure hope I'm parenting in a way that enables my kids to see it too.