. . . note to self . . .

STOP

CRYING

NOW!

. . . a study in contrasts . . .

. . . i did a couple of days worth

of drew's laundry today . . .

. . . i know . . . i know . . .

. . . he should be doing it himself . . .

. . . i know . . . practice . . .

. . . blah, blah, blah . . .

I KNOW!

. . . whatever . . .

. . . anyhow . . .

. . . for the past several years,

the child could have been

a walking advertisement

for the volcom clothing line . . .

. . . tshirts & sweatshirts & hoodies &

button down shirts & belts & socks . . . . . . & jeans . . .

{go ahead . . . zoom in . . . see for yourself}
. . . then i washed another load
& spent a couple of hours ironing . . .
. . . i want him to look good
at least the first couple of weeks
he's wearing white shirts . . .

. . . what a difference

five more days will make . . .

. . . it's all about drew . . .

yesterday's

"clipboard of fun"

{name that 'blast from the past' sitcom, if you can}

featured the setup, preparation & cleanup

of a little shindig

honoring our soon-to-be missionary son,

drew on the menu . . .

mexican appetizers

{thanks gecko grill}

lots of chips

queso/salsa/guacamole/bean dip/jalapeno cream cheese

fresh fruit

& quite an array of delectable desserts

provided by lots of my favorite people

{thanks mom, molly, vicki, shellene & amber}

amanda was a huge help all afternoon . . .

. . . joined a little later by amelia,

then all three girls stayed late

& cleaned up the entire party
my daughters ROCK!

the guest of honor stayed busy

posing for photos

most of the evening

& tossing a pinata

that wound up hitting me in the head . . .

. . . i'll miss him

. . . announcing . . .

. . . since it's getting

REALLY close

to that time,

i've decided

to share some news

with you . . .

you can keep up with the

adventures/antics/experiences/growth

of Elder Drew Romney

in Mexico

{if he actually writes to me!}

~H.E.R.E.~

{if you hear something

different than/in addition to

what you see posted,

let me know, por favor}

. . . W.O.W . . .

. . . well . . . i promised an update,

& since i'm nothing if not honest,

here is a peek at the

finished wedding dinner centerpieces . . .

. . . fun & festivities ensued when the

~ harmony park catering company ~

gathered to prepare the feast

for the WOW {wedding of the week} . . .

. . .seriously, when this group of

some of my favorite women on earth

was serving at

my daughter's reception last spring,

they were asked repeatedly

the name of their catering company . . .

. . . they're THAT good . . .

. . . friends who've since moved away

returned to lend a hand . . .

. . . service was, of course, given with a smile . . .
. . . peg was amazing, {as always},

in her role as the "kitchen nazi" . . .

. . . the MOG, {mother of the groom},

in red, seemed pleased . . . . . . the tables turned out rather nicely . . .

. . . & the food was,

if i do say so myself,

delicious . . .

the menu included:

♥spinach/berry salad♥

{w/ candied walnuts, red onion & goat cheese}

♥ritzy chicken♥

{w/ lemony cream sauce}

♥confetti rice♥

{w/ carrots, red pepper, celery & green onion}

♥fresh green beans♥

{w/ toasted almonds, garlic & bacon bits}

♥rolls♥

{thanks EVIT}

♥brownies♥

{al a mode w/ raspberry sauce}

. . . oh, & it was all to honor

this happy couple

who were married

the very next afternoon . . .

congratulations brian&liesl
{thanks for the photo, michelle}

. . . now, since you, the loyal reader,

have persevered until the end of this post,

i would like to share

an insider's tip with you.

should you ever be called upon

to tie ribbons around terra cotta pots,

just say no.

instead, run {don't walk}

to your nearest full service ribbon store

& get yourself

some of the elastic

that is used to make

headbands for baby girls.

{which, by the way, is available in a wide array of styles/colors,

none of which were anywhere to be found

when i was busy having/raising baby girls.

who me? i'm not bitter at all}

but i digress.

stitch said elastic into "potbands".

attach bows to bands & stretch around pots.

this will change your life,

& you'll be able to remove the bows,

water the plants

& use them for another wedding dinner

to be held a month from now.

you're welcome . . .

. . . happy birthday to a. davis romney . . .

***disclaimer/warning:

. . . i'm telling you straight up . . .

if you do not wish to

see/know a lot

about my favorite son,

please close this page now . . .

it's very hard for me to believe

that my youngest child

andrew davis romney

was born nineteen years ago today.

{he has let us know that someday,

when he's famous/important,

he wishes to be known as a. davis romney}

. . . he's shown here

modeling his blessing outfit . . . . . . very quickly, he became

chubby/darling . . .
. . . & always stylish, as shown here

~ at age 2 ~

in this gymboree ensemble,

complete with functional suspenders . . .

. . . gotta love the patchwork denim

& double-laced basketball shoes . . .

. . . he ♥loved♥ sporting

the bowl cut . . .
. . . and posing for photos

without being prompted . . .

. . . he pretended to

like baseball . . .

{it was a lie}

. . . now showing

~ a tommy hilfiger dress shirt ~

on his baptism day . . .. . . he has spent his whole life

being {mostly} adored/slash . . .

. . . tortured by

his three older sisters . . .

{he's also the boy version of amanda ~ exactly}

question: wouldn't he have made

a cute little girl?

answer: yes

. . . before we knew it,

somehow he turned into a

high school sophomore . . .

. . . & a proud/amazing

member of the

mhs jackrabbits

basketball team . . .

{he has an award named after him}

. . . and {where did the years go?} . . .

. . . a senior! . . .

. . . then he had the nerve

to go ahead & graduate

{with honors} . . .

. . . along with his

adorable friends . . .
. . . i hope he enjoyed

watching general conference

last october ~ eating donuts . . .

. . . drinking mountain dew & sleeping . . .

{because the next time he watches conference

will be three days after he enters the mtc}

question: what do you get a boy

{who'll be leaving soon}

for christmas?

answer: a wii

{to leave behind for uncle brent and tate}

. . . and ties . . .

. . . we'll miss him ruining . . .
. . . our family christmas photos . . .
. . . because he's leaving in three weeks

to serve in the

mexico mexico city north mission . . .

. . . this {un}professional missionary-ish photo

will have to do until next saturday

when amanda, a real pro

will work her magic

~ you know ~

so his portrait can hang

on the mother's wailing wall

at the church

for the next two years . . .. . . happy birthday drewski . . .

i'm so proud of you

& you are all i could ever

want in a son!

♥love you♥

. . . how wii roll . . .

. . . when i say wii i mean tate . . .. . . wii rush to the toy room

immediately upon arrival

@ grammy's house . . .

. . . wii find the beloved "tar" . . .

{translation: guitar}

. . . wii run to play guitar hero

w/ uncle brent . . .

. . . wii are very serious about it . . .

. . . wii focus intently . . .

. . . wii bust a move . . .

. . . wii concentrate real hard . . .
. . . wii don't appreciate interruptions . . .
. . . wii don't like to lose . . .
. . . & wii aren't even hooked up! . . .
p.s. . . . wii are only 22 months old . . .
{thanks for the pix aunt amanda!}

. . . i'm going to pot . . .

. . . no, really. i AM going to pot . . . . . . these gorgeous red geraniums . . .
. . . in these freshly painted

chocolate beauties . . .

{had to paint 'em since they were terra cotta

& as we all know, orange is NOT a real color}

. . . earlier in the week, i potted these

fabulous "peppermint splash" geraniums . . .

. . . you probably can't tell,

but they look like

they've been splatter painted,

just like the t-shirts

i used to make

for my girls

in the '80s.

those were the days . . .

something else that's gone to pot today?

. . . my manicure . . .
don't worry . . .

i'll keep you posted

on the centerpieces we'll be putting together

for some fun/upcoming wedding dinners