Montana Time - Elena 4th Bday Tea Party/Malea is 1! - Day Three

After a wonderful hot breakfast from Becca, we are off and running.  The day is drizzly and overcast, not at all promising for an outdoor "Garden Tea Party".  We arrive at Rhiana's to find balloons being filled with helium and birthday cakes needing to be finished, decorating still needing to happen, and a decision whether to wait for the rain to stop or just go with an indoor tea party.  A short while later:   indoor it is.  I set to work on the cake while Rhiana and Amanda and Mister get the decorating underway with Mister pitching in and being the "documentor".

Once everything is in place it looks just like a ladies tea - oh so pretty and feminine.  Just like Miss Elena.  We even have little flower pots to be done as an activity.  Ryan and Elena (and Raef) spend a great deal of time coloring and keeping themselves out of the way.  That is a great help all by itself - don't you agree?

A few minutes before the party starts, Mister and I want to give Caleb his "late birthday" gifts and allow him to have something to focus on while people are arriving.  I hide the Geo Trax Cars behind my back but he sees what I am doing and races around behind me to take them.  So much for a build up.  It works nicely though and he is ready to play with a little help from Raef.

Within moments the house is full of little girls in pretty dresses all ready for their "tea party" and having deep discussions with one another.  I am not sure just what details are being worked out here, but they sure seem serious.

While the little ladies are making their arrangements, the boys have momentarily fled the scene and with a little help from Matt, they are having a great time on the trampoline.  When they return to the house, I am not sure who is more tired -- the ones who jumped or the one who laid on his back.  All are certainly breathing heavy and sweating.  Of course -- it is time for the party and the sun is back.  It is a beautiful day.  Perfect for a "garden tea party."  Argh.

Oh wait - perhaps the heavy breathing from Matt is because he is sitting with Becca?  Not sure, but they look like they are enjoying each other.


As everyone starts gathering around the table, I have a few fun moments with Miss Malea.  It is our shared birthday today and so a balloon is definitely in order.  I still cannot believe how lucky I am to share this day with one of my beautiful grands.


It is tea party time!!  The hats go on!  After all what is a tea party without hats?

All the little ladies and a few young gentlemen take seats at the table and enjoy their finger sandwiches of peanut butter and jelly, fresh strawberries, and cupcakes.  Their sparkling grape juice is served from a beautiful pink ceramic teapot much to their delight.  It is perfect.

Not all of the boys wish to participate at the table and so we are feeding them in the kitchen as well.  This gives me good time to talk with them as my time has certainly been taken with preparations for the party.  It is nice to find out what is going on with them as well.  Raef is such a delight to visit with and I am looking forward to more time with him and his brothers in a couple of weeks.

Once the tummies are full, it is time for the creative juices to start flowing.  They settle down to the little table to make headbands - an idea given to us by Britanie, Elena's nanny.

It is finally time for presents and we get to watch Elena as she opens her tea set from us.  What a treat as she immediately takes it so serious.  I cannot wait for a pic of her and Mommy using it one afternoon.  (Check out the headbands on the girls -- too cute.)

After a VERY short break to let kids play, it is Malea's turn and although she is tired, she rises to the occasion.  Big sister helps blow out the candles and it doesn't take long for the smiles to show up as she is giver her cake.


There is not any fist-filling though -- Miss Malea is very neat and enjoys using her spoon.

Elena is once again a big help opening Malea's gifts and she is content to sit and watch the activity from the center of the table.

Grandpa had found a great snack container for Malea to go along with her gift and it is a big hit, both with Malea AND with Britanie.  Simple things.

Mommy's gift to Malea is a trike stroller and she has absolutely no qualms about getting on and going for a ride.  Waaaayyyy too cute.

Daddy's gift to Elena is a covered sandbox and it doesn't take long for Elena, pretty dress and all, to find time to herself to play there. The male cousins have been in it most of the afternoon -- I think it was the only part of this "girls" day that they were totally comfortable with.  Poor things.

My wonderful children pull me aside and give me a beautiful birthday gift of Zebra Wood Hair Sticks.  I absolutely love them and the thought that went into the gift.  I am ALWAYS looking for unique hair items to keep things under control in Dallas as I get a little frizzy down here when it is humid.

After helping clean up, we are soon on our way back to Matt and Becca's to start on the preparations for tomorrows party.  We sit down for a few minutes and Becca comes out with a cheesecake covered in candles and I get my own little "Happy Birthday" song.  What fun and oh so thoughtful.  Thankfully she didn't try and put all 55 candles on the cake, but even still it takes Hyrum and I awhile to get them all off.

Time to get to work.  Becca and I get the table decorations finished as Mister starts in with the wall and ceiling ones.  We have a lot of balloons to fill with air and use for decorating.  Matt gets out the air compressor and away we go.  It doesn't take very long and we are soon rewarded with a very long string of balloons.

At last, it is time for little ones to go to bed and big people to relax a wee bit.  Amanda and Rhiana came over and we spent the evening playing games and laughing oh so very hard.  I have videos from the night but have been forbidden to post them.  All in all --- a GREAT day with family and many new memories to treasure.

Montana Time - No Rest - Day Two

Amanda and her boys arrived late last night and are staying at Rhiana's house for the party fest.  We are on our way over there to spend the day helping get everything ready for Elena and Malea's parties and suggest to Becca that she drop off Hyrum and Zyra for the morning so that they can have cousin time as well.

First up -- shopping.  Rhiana has to work and so Amanda and I are armed with lists and set out to accomplish as much as possible during the 2 hours that Mister has graciously offered to help Brittany (Rhiana's nanny) watch 7 kids.  Oh my, we must dash.  First up: Michaels for tea party decorations, cake decorating supplies, and activities.  Then we are off to The Home Depot for plants for the yard and finish up with a stop at the grocery store for cake baking ingredients and lunch.  Now it is time to rescue Grandpa.  What do you suppose he has been up to?

It seems that he played photographer while we were gone and managed to get some fun shots.  I had located sets of the "Go Fish" cards I had at the beach last summer and shipped them up here ahead of my trip so that each family could take a set home.  They were an instant hit and if watching these little ones sit down and play a card game unsupervised isn't extra special -- I am not sure what is.

The only one missing is Malea.  Where do you suppose she is?  Ah -- food.

Caleb finds the pink tent --- this is a pretty girly house.  Too funny.

Grandpa soon herds everyone outside and then just sits back and watches what happens.  Free entertainment and so many dynamics all working together always makes for interesting interactions.  Sit back and enjoy with me while we peek in on their moments.

Deep in thought.  Elena

Hyrum, Zyra, and Elena - Way too cute.  Major decisions being made I am sure.

Best cousin friends.  Hyrum and Elena

Caleb the Ghost heading back into the house.

How much longer do we have to stay out here Grandpa?  We're getting tired.  Raef, Zyra, and Elena.

Now we're talking -- at least food is being given out but it really needs to be eaten indoors don't ya think?  Caleb

Group jump - five cousins together at once.  Raef, Ryan, Hyrym, Elena, and Zyra

Where is Grandpa?  Elena has found him and decides that he needs taking care of so sets about tying his shoes and making his hair pretty.  Sorry, no picture of the hair, but the shoes are killer.

After we return from shopping and start the lunch process, we discover that Elena is not willing to give Grandpa up.  She can almost always be found in his lap snuggling away.  While the kids are eating, Mister sets about getting the yard ready for tomorrow's "Garden Tea Party" and puts all the plants in that we picked up while shopping.  I am pretty sure that he is not minding the solitude in this task.  After all, seven bodies is a lot of busyness while we were gone.

He fills all the flower boxes and hanging baskets on the porch, the large pots on on the ground, and some smaller pots to place on the steps.  The previous pictures showed bits and pieces of the landscaping that Rhiana had already accomplished before we arrived.  She has certainly been busy lately.

Oh my, where is the day going?  Time for Gammy to get started on cakes.  After making 7 layer cakes and 2 dozen cupcakes, it is time to start frosting so that tomorrow I will not have quite so much to do.  Elena popped in to help with the decorating and had so much fun placing roses and sprinkling pink sugar.  Great moments - no pics though -- it is soooo hard to be everywhere at once.

Once the work is at a stopping point for the day, we get Malea and Caleb settled in for the night and Mister and I take everyone else out for dinner.  I absolutely love these moments with my family.  The kids are so well behaved and the grands do excellent as well.  Ha ha -- Gammy made a funny.  It is a great end to the day -- and we don't have to do dishes.

Montana Time -- 3 Birthdays!! - Day One

It is that time of year again --- we are off to  Montana for the pack of birthdays that take place during this time each year.  We have Caleb on April 26, Zyra on April 27, Malea on May 4 (me too), and Elena on May 7.  Wow.  It was determined a few weeks ago to try and combine things into one weekend in Billings and we are sure it will be a jam-packed few days.

Mister and I are fortunate and our flights go perfect into Billings along with my handheld tea set for Miss Elena (see Tea Time for Miss Elena).  We arrive around 1 p.m. and after picking up our car are soon on the way to Matt's house. 

Becca makes us a wonderful spinach salad for lunch and we are starving so dig right in.  It doesn't take long and Miss Zyra climbs up into my lap wanting to share my lunch.  I watch in amazement as she literlly finishes every piece of spinach that is left in the bowl.  Is there anything more heartwarming than children who eat vegetables?  Especially fresh ones?  

We spend the afternoon with two very excited grands who greet us with smiling faces peering out from the front room curtains.

It doesn't take long and we are soon wrapped up in games and trampoline fun.  It is hard to believe we haven't seen these treasures since August.  Oh my, the time is flying by.

What fun Hyrum, Zyra, and I are having!  His face is so cute and this trip is the first time we don't have any shyness at all -- he is just so excited to have us there.  We plan to spend lots of time hugging, playing with, and listening to him and his sister this weekend.

We are the new toy in town and not a  moment goes by that someone is asking us to play something.  We simply spend the day enjoying each and every moment with these two.  I do manage to get in a visit with Becca while Hyrum and Zyra give Grandpa the "Mario" lesson.  That lesson turned out to be quite long as Zyra fell asleep on Grandpa and he just held her until she woke up.  Now THAT is devotion.

Once awake, it is Gammy's turn to play and so I get schooled in a game of Memory.  I have a hunch that will happen a lot this week --- their memories are so good and this old lady's is starting to fail now and then.  Where on earth is that red bird?  Oh --- and Zyra looking for the elephant will make me giggle for months to come.

I peek into Zyra's room and see her doll in the stroller -- have to laugh as I cannot even comprehend how much time and effort has gone into making her look this beautiful.  Future cosmetologist at work!

This is truly our only day of rest as we will certainly be up and running the rest of the weekend.  We zip over to Rhiana's after dinner to say hi to her and the girls.  After getting an idea of her plans for parties and what is needed tomorrow, we help her finish some yard work while playing with Elena.  After dark, it is time to return to Matt's and when we arrive -- they are all in bed and the house is dead quiet.  It is 9 p.m. and so off to bed we go as well for some much needed sleep.

Sewing For the Girls

There have been multiple projects going on around the house the past month.  It seems as though they have all come together this past week.  Mister finished the quilt frame, we both finished the tea set, and I finished the matching outfits for Elena, Zyra, and Malea.  Whew.  We have certainly spent a great deal of time in the studio lately.  This doesn't mean that there aren't still a ton of things we are in the middle of, BUT ---- we did finish a few.

Tea Time for Miss Elena

*****Rhiana - if you see this before Elena's birthday, please don't let her see it*******

Many years ago (oh, let's say 20) a ceramic shop in Billings was going out of business and I bought quite a bit of the greenware.  I boxed it up and put it away for a time when my children were grown and had families and homes of their own.  Then, about 5 years ago, many changes happened in my life and I had to go through my stash and purge.  I was able to keep a few of the pieces of greenware and put them away hoping for a chance to put them to use still.  Finally, one of my chances arrived.  My granddaughter, Elena, is all girl and loves to have tea parties with her dolls.  She is turning 4 this year and so I decided it was time to give her something special - a handmade tea set.  So, I dug out the greenware and started in on it.



First step was to clean it, smoothing out all the raw edges and mold marks.  Then, off to Trinity Ceramic Supply, a local shop that makes their own glazes.  With underglazes in tow, I set to work putting the color directly onto the greenware.

This was a new technique to me but I loved working with the product and was excited to see my project come to life.   I loved how they turned out -- next step was off to the kiln for the first firing.  At this point, Rhiana let me know that the party was an "Alice in Wonderland Tea Party" and I could not believe my luck.  I have the perfect gift.

Yay!  First firing went well!  No cracks and the glaze worked just as I had hoped.  Now to clear glaze for the final firing.  Again, I was nervous as I had been an abundant glazer in the past and did not want a repeat of past experiences.  No runs please!  Back to the kiln and wait the 4 days to pick it up.  I was so scared -- please let it all have worked.  When I walked into BPERS to collect my project, it was all sitting out on display.  It was perfect!  The owner said she searched for problems and couldn't find a single one.  Oh my -- I was doing the happy dance.

Now I had the dilemma of how to get it to Montana for the party and at the same time provide a storage place for the tea set so that it didn't have as great a chance as breaking once Miss Elena owns it.  It just so happens that there is a Tuesday Morning within walking distance from the house.  A quick trip down and I had found the perfect box.  Another YAY!  During a recent cleaning of the studio, I had come across 4 foam seat cushions that were almost a perfect fit for the box and now it was Mister's turn on the project.

He had to make the foam fit just right by slicing off one end of the square on all four cushions.  Next, cut out all the shapes so that the pieces locked in place and yet were protected.
After 4 hours, he had a finished project.  Hopefully the next time we tackle something like this, it will go a little quicker since we have a small idea of how to go about it.

Here is our finished product -- all boxed and ready to be hand carried by me onto the plane.  Isn't it oh so cool?

And just so you can see the box -- isn't it pretty?  I love how the colors went so well -- it was a lucky shopping day.

OH - in case you didn't notice --- the studio cleaning took place during this project.  LOL -- that is why the room looks different.  Upper picture is also pre spilt glaze -- in the lower picture you can see where it stained the rug.  Yep, not everything went perfectly.