Happy Birthday To My Man!

We met in our 20's!

(just a couple of years ago!) ;)

We navigated our 30's together!

Building our life & our Family!

And now, in our 40's

Life's still an Adventure we face together!

Yes, even after all these years, 

You're still the Man of My Dreams! 

I Love You! 

Happy Birthday!

Our Breakfast At Tiffany's Photo Shoot!!

As you can see from my last post our Theme for my Daughters' Sweet 16 Party is Breakfast At Tiffany's! So when I started planning it, I wanted to make our own Invitations & I had the idea of them dressing up as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany's  & taking pictures to use as the Invites. So, this is the results of that Photo shoot . . .

I had seen this wall Painted in Black & White in down town Phoenix & a friend had had some of her Senior Photos taken there & I really liked them. So we went down town & I love how they turned out! 

 

We found black dresses at Good Will on the extra 50% off days for like $5.00! Score! They had Tiaras from when they were flower girls when they were little! And we got long black gloves at Party City, added Pearls & Sunglasses & just like that, we had our Audrey Hepburn's!

I like taking pictures & since they were little, they've been used to being my subjects! :)

I wrapped some little boxes in Tiffany Blue colored wrapping paper I picked up from the Dollar Store for the party to use as props!

Two Cute &/or Too Cute!! :)

We also took old wooden Picture Frames & Painted them our color to put Quotes from the Movie in at the Party & decided to bring them on our Photo Shoot as well!

 

This was the shot we used for our Invitation! (See Below)

Here's Looking At You Kid! ;)

Then we decided to go to Scottsdale Fashion Square where there is a Tiffany store. They were walking through the Mall repeating "This is so embarrassing!"

But after a few people made comments like "Oh, Breakfast At Tiffany's, I Love that Movie!" and "You Girls Look Beautiful!" They relaxed a little. But still wouldn't stay there long enough to get all the pictures I wanted, they are after all Teenagers! ;)

We did have to get the classic, looking in the Tiffany's Window shot, like Audrey Hepburn did in the Movie!

 

It was a fun day! And we were all really happy with how the Pictures & the Invitations turned out! I took the pictures & wrote out what I wanted them to say, then my gifted Hubby took my concept & created the Invites.  Just one of the MANY perks of being married to a Computer Geek! :) I can not wait for this Party & yes, I will be posting many pictures of the actual event, so stay tuned! :)

Sweet 16 X 2!!

Once upon a time . . 

There were Twin little Princesses

Who grew into Beautiful young Ladies

The Queen Mom couldn't be prouder of her girls

Who are now 16 & are very Sweet (Most of the time!) ;)

 So, in their honor, she threw them a Ball!!

Give Me Five: Movies That Are Better Than Their Books!

Yes, you heard me right! Now I know I always say "Don't Judge A Book By It's Movie!" and that "The Book Is Always Better Than The Movie!" and usually that is the case. But once in awhile you come across the exception to the rule!

That's right, I have found 5 Movies that I actually liked better than the Book! Now it took me awhile to come up with some of these, but some I knew right away! So here's my SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the Movie or read the Book & intend to, I need to warn you that I may have to tell what happens in explaining why the Movie was better than the Book. So here they are . . . 

1. The Time Traveler's Wife

I saw the Movie first & walked out of the theater saying, "That was so Imaginative!" I wondered how someone came up with such a concept, it was so good & so different. So I had my Book Club (of Church women) read the Book & it was so overtly sexual that it took away from the story & the concept itself. Definitely stick to the Movie for this one!

2. The Notebook

Now these are both really good, let me just get that straight. It's just that the Movie is so Visually Stunning. It is Beautiful. And one of the best parts is the Shoes that Rachel McAdams wears in the film. If you've never noticed them before, watch it again just to see her shoes. You won't be disappointed! :) 

3. Breakfast At Tiffany's

Again, not a bad Book by Truman Capote, but I've got Two Words for you: Audrey Hepburn! Just like she Adores Tiffany's, I adore her! :) And the Book doesn't have so much of a Happy Ending as the Movie does, Cat finds a home with a new family & Holly gets on that plane & the writer never sees her again. There's no kissing in the rain to "Moon River" playing in the background, that makes the Movie, don't you think? 

4. Soul Surfer

Love this Movie! Love Bethany Hamilton! I took my Girls to hear her speak at a Church before, she is so Inspirational. And It's not that I don't love the Book, but please keep in mind this was written as a childrens/preteens Book by a 13ish year old girl. My Daughters have done a Book Report on her before. Great story.

And the Worst Offender: 

5. My Sisters Keeper

As you know I lost my only sister to cancer. So this movie really tugs at my heart. After seeing it for the first time, I decided to read the Book. The Movie is sad enough, but it ends how you think it will & should. The Books ending is Totally Different! As I was reading it, I literally said "What?!" out loud! I couldn't believe the twist Jodi Picoult threw in there. You'd think after reading her books before, I'd come to expect it! I just can't bring myself to tell you how the Book ends! Read it if you dare.

So there you have it, my picks of 5 Movies that I actually liked better then their Books! Though generally speaking, the Books are usually much better. So Keep reading! :) What are some of your good/bad comparisons of Movies & Books? I'd love to hear them!

Farewell to Summer, Welcome to Fall!!

The last Official Weekend of the Summer is Labor Day Weekend. Our Church had a Staff Retreat for all the Staff & their families at a Beautiful Resort in Tucson. It was the perfect way to say Goodbye to Summer . . .

The Resort we stayed at is Loews Ventana Canyon. Beautiful Arizona Desert, surrounded by Majestic Mountains! The perfect getaway for a long weekend off of work!

We had free time to hike, hang out, swim, sleep. Whatever we wanted. Our boys had to work, so it was just the girls that went with us. I have a Brother & Sister In Law in Tucson & we were able to meet them for lunch both coming & going! Bonus!

I found my Happy Place! In our Hotel Room was the largest Bathtub I have EVER seen. I could have spent my whole weekend right there! :) I swear you could have sat 2 or 3 People shoulder to shoulder in there!

We found a Beautiful Waterfall right in the middle of the Dessert . . .

So of course we had all had to pose with it! :) Me!

My Man!

My Beautiful Erica!

The Lovely Lexi!

We saw a lot of Amazing Flora & Fauna!!

Yes, for you non Arizonians: The Desert Can be Very Beautiful, it's not just a lot of dirt!

But don't try to pick the Flowers! Ouch! :)

My other Happy Place; as the sun worshiper that I am, just give me a comfortable lounge chair, plush towels, good music playing at a Swimming pool in the warm sun with a good book in a Beautiful setting & I am one happy camper! They had sunscreen for guests & free Snow cones, with a blow up water slide for the kids & the adults brave enough! (you know who you are!) ;)

The resort had coy ponds with free fish food. They also bring in small animals & set up displays in the lobby in the afternoons. This resort is very Family Friendly! And since it was a Holiday weekend, on Friday night they had out on a patio, free Cotton Candy, Snow Cones & even Glow Sticks for the kids & they did a Fire Works show that would rival any 4th of July display we've ever seen! We also saw a lot of Bats flying around at night, which you always do in the Mountains in Arizona!

As you can see we made good use of the Glow Sticks! ;) We had a Hospitality Suite where we all met to eat, play games, watch Football & just hang out! It was great getting to know the other staff members & their families!

On the grounds of the resort they have a Butterfly & Hummingbird Garden. So Beautiful!

By the swimming pool & everywhere you went, you would see Butterflies flying around! So sweet & unexpected!

In all our group had 29 adults & 18 kids! Wow! It was so nice to get away, make some new friends, relax & have fun! It was a great ending to a Great Summer! 

I do love Summer, but it's this time of year, once School starts & Labor Day has come & gone, that I am ready for Fall. I'm ready to wear Boots & Scarves. It's unfortunate that the weather in Arizona isn't quite as ready for it as I am though! At 100 plus degrees, I don't think I'll be wearing scarves anytime soon. :( But I will welcome Fall as soon as it can get here!