wrapping up: birthdays, cousins and bonfires

Remember the Wrapping Up series I was planning on posting every Sunday? Well, this is my second one and I'm officially four days late :) In my defense, we had quite a week last week that started with the usual work, play, cook and sleep week, and ended with a wonderful visit from my sister and nephew, and fabulous birthday gathering for the shorties.

Food: Well, it's been quite a heavy Mexican week. Cinco de Mayo was the birthday party theme, which basically meant that we'd have lots of different colored balloons, and guacamole. Joe served up his famous Chicken Taco Soup and 7-layer dip, Angela made the delicious guac, and Elsa put together the most glorious bean salad that was filled with . . . wait for it . . . Fritos. The kiddos noshed on homemade pizza, endless juice boxes and topped off the party with a glass of milk and slice of Texas Sheet Cake that my sister baked.

Wine: I've been quite wine deprived lately. We had boxed wine at the party for cost's sake, and it's still going, so I'm looking forward to opening a nice bottle of red this weekend and sipping on something new :)

Photography: This is a quiet time of year as we're between seasons, so here is my adorable nephew, Grant, as well my shorties, all looking completely stunning :)







Life: Ah, it was another one of those thoughtful weekends. My sister arrived last Thursday, to stay with us through Sunday, to help celebrate the birthday festivities, and also to give me a little break if and when I needed it. But more than anything, she inspires me when she's here. We have personalities that are as different as they are similar, but one thing I watch her do, amazingly well, is be a mother. She has soooooo much patience, and kindness, towards Grant and my girls, and when I watch her, I think so much of the time, I want to be like that. She will sing and dance for the kids, holds Potato Picnics on the living room floor, puts her makeup on with at least two kids in her lap, and when she's done doing all that, she is still full of humor and entertainment, and isn't the least bit rattled. They say it is harder to be a good parent than a bad parent, and Danielle makes this challenging role look like a cake walk. We wrapped up the wonderful weekend with a few beautiful bonfires, one at my house and one at Joe's, and I'm very excited for ending many summer evenings this way :)

Happy Thursday to you all! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Cinco de Mayo!