forest lawn cemetery

each memorial day we wake up early and head to forest lawn cemetery in buffalo.

this is a beautiful cemetery where some famous people are buried.

president millard fillmore

rick james (of super freak fame)

kristen pfaff (bass guitarist for hole)

sara hinson (founder of flag day)

among others.

 many of the people buried here are not famous, but they served our country and many died while doing so. 

these are the people we come to commemorate each year. 

it's a beautiful sight to see, once all the flags are posted at each grave.

 we usually meet up with friends and work together.

we are grateful for the truly brave men and women who serve our country throughout the world.

happy birthday old man!

ryan had a birthday!

our boy turned 36 last week.

 he had meetings in jersey, but luckily he caught a flight home just in time for a delicious birthday dinner.

all his favorites...

hamburgers on the grill

macaroni salad

corn on the cob

watermelon

raspberry ice crystal light

and chocolate eclair cake

 the girls and i had a ton of fun rushing around after school picking up balloons, decorations and last minute gifts.

 peanut butter m&ms and a new ipad were the favorite gifts.

 36 candles!

success!

we love you ry!

the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

ella couldn't go on the playground 'cuz she wore the wrong shoes.

afton got hit in the head with a frisbee.

amy lost the pta presidential election.

"it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day", i said. 

and then we started to laugh a little, because it's kind of funny when someone gets hit in the head with a frisbee. 

photo catch up

here's ella's cute new bedding.

elle saw a picture of a cute bedroom and we tried to re-create it.

luckily grandma was able to make the quilt and pillows!

 and FINALLY we have aftie's winning artwork!

she was awarded honorable mention at the regional reflections contest!

 the winning piece.

 above and below...

afton and buddy showing me their artwork at the school artshow.

the artshow is interactive, so the girls worked on a piece of a mural that would be assembled later by their awesome art teacher!

but in this photo they're just painting their names.

 and here's my artwork!

just a folder for the new kindergarten parents.  but, a folder with a super cute apple.

 and lastly...

afton and cutie friends after their spring orchestra performance last week. 

they did a wonderful job!

year 11

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AFTIE! 

 i've always told afton that she was my best mother's day gift.  so this is an extra great year since her birthday falls the day before mother's day! 

friday morning aftie found her locker decorated by her cute friends!

she loved it!

ella and i took cupcakes to her classroom and checked her out of school a little bit early, just for fun.

 at 5:00 the giggling and squealing began.

it didn't end until 10:30 this morning.

oh, my achin' head.

 there was much laughter, much trampoline-ing, much game playing, much batting (trying to break that cute owl pinata), much pizza consumed, many starbursts roasted (on the firepit), many water breaks, more laughter and squealing, many moves busted during just dance2, new games learned and made up, and a tiny bit of sleeping.

 everyone got lots of turns hitting the pinata!  that tiny little owl would NOT break open!

 afton chose the theme of "camp party"

my awesome tree made of plastic tablecloths fell down 5 minutes after the first girl arrived.

the tent-like atmosphere in the family room was pretty fun, though. 

we even had sparkly stars (white christmas lights).

 afton wanted to play games outside, eat pizza, chips, "dirt" cups, and have s'mores.

we served all of that, PLUS cute vegetable cups and fruit cups!

 after the friends were collected this morning, we went for lunch at red robin.

afton debated going to a paint your own pottery place, but i sort of talked her into going home to open her presents from ryan, ella and i.

i can't stand the waiting!

 her big gift was an ipod touch!  woo-hoo!  so excited!  but she loved every single gift she received.

she had a few gift cards to deal with, so off we went to target and barnes & noble.

afton's dinner request was once again...

peanut butter noodles!

then dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting.

i thought this picture showed the signs of a good party. 

the decorations are falling down, the furniture in disarray, scattered sleeping bags, etc.

a very happy birthday for our sweet and wonderful-in so many ways-aftie girl!

thinking outside the budget

here's afton's birthday gift wish list. 

chalk pastels

craft kits/supplies

a trip to glen park to try and draw the scenery

a stencil book

fingerprint book

twistable crayons

american girl stuff

cute paper

calico critters

owl items/owl shirt

joanne's gift card

a trip to disneyworld  (she said she's trying to think outside the budget)

barnes & noble giftcard

kingdom keepers book (shell game)

the last olympian book

the serpents shadow book

old reliable

while driving home with afton this afternoon, i informed her that she would need to hurry so that i wasn't late picking up ella from a playdate. 

afton said "you know she's going to try and talk you into something bigger". 

i said "what do you mean, something bigger?" 

"you know, like staying longer or sleeping over or having her friend sleep over at our house" she said.

"oh well, it IS the weekend.  that'd probably be ok" i said. 

afton laughed and patted my head and said "that's why you're so reliable, mom".

  the girls both claim they can talk me into anything.

and what's so wrong with that???

lunch demands

here is the list of ella's lunch demands for tomorrow. 

in the order specified, thank you very much.

pudding

applesauce

ham, just plain ham

water bottle

string cheese