These Are a Few of My Favorite Things Party

She's had a lot of favorite things over the years.  When Delia loves something, she loves it hard-- like orca whales, pandas, dancing, and donuts.  And we've often designed a party around them.  For her important 16th birthday this year, Delia thought a "Favorite Things" party would be a fun nod to her past and present!

So, she designed this cute invitation and had her 8 best friends (one couldn't come) over for a night of favorites!

The table was set with all her favorite foods: cheeseburgers, berries, mac salad, BBQ chips, smoothies and rocky road brownies.

After some time to laugh and visit and some Jackbox games to get everyone warmed up...

the highlight of the night occurred!  An epic team Lip Sync Battle!  Delia couldn't have planned a more perfect activity for this fun, creative bunch of fellow performers!  Teams were picked with leis or bandanas then each was given a prop bucket and 30 minutes in different parts of our house to come up with choreography and a silly show.  SO fun to watch!

The videos are too big to post. so here are a few pictures.  Team Lei danced to "Shiny" from Moana, "The Final Countdown" and "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical. 

Team Bandana danced to "Cotton Eyed Joe", "Did I Mention?" from the Descendants and "Good Time".  Both teams really brought it and had their strengths!  The Leis had super unique choreography and the Bandanas had a real dramatic flair to their performance!

One of the sweetest parts of the night was the gift opening.  Not needing a single thing, Delia had the idea to tell her friends that if they insisted on bringing a gift, it had to be handmade (or candy ;).  One friend baked Delia's favorite cookies ("MY cookies!") Delia exclaimed when she opened it!  Another friend crafted a charm necklace representing Delia's favorite things.  A jar full of quotes, Bible verses and encouragement was made for Delia to open each Monday morning of this school year.  An origami camera was unfolded to reveal a train of photos of Delia and another buddy.  Long-time friend Kate made a keychain that has a Spotify code "baked" into it.  When Delia scans it, she's brought to a specific Kate 'n Delia Playlist of hits from their past.  So much love and work went into these thoughtful and perfect-for-Delia gifts.  The night of favorites, laughter, singing and dancing was super fun for our birthday girl (and us!), but seeing how well she is loved by her people was my favorite thing!

Girls' Camping Trip!

June was kind of a funny month.  It felt busy with entire weeks of the calendar blocked off with VBS, Hi-Camp, and Dave's work travels.  But, for me, most of it was spent at home waiting for my people to come back.  When we flipped to July and saw a lot more blank spaces, I was itching to enjoy my family and some summer scenery!  Even with the holiday, Dave couldn't swing any time off, so we tried something new-- an all girls camping trip!  I snagged a last minute cancellation at our favorite mountain lake and we enjoyed a few days of fresh pine air, our favorite views, and the satisfaction of surviving on our own! 

Delia and I joked that we'd never attempt this without Ella!  She's our scientist/survivalist.  This year we watched her start a fire (intentionally) with just an old battery and a gum wrapper!   She didn't have to do anything like that, but Delia and I may have slept in a half assembled tent, or just wandered the forest lost from our campsite if Ella were not around to guide us!  I was struck by the contrast of it!  I can remember my first time fears of camping with kids and how hard it would be to take care of them, and now here my oldest is taking care of us.

After setting up camp, we always like to wander over to the book exchange and general store.  Here we had some fun re-enacting a years' long family Pinecrest debate.  On that one hiking trip around the lake many years ago, was I protecting Delia from the snake, or pushing her into it??? ;)

For grabbing a last minute spot, we had a pretty sweet campsite!  Quiet, nice families all around us and one site next to us stayed empty-- unheard of in the summer at Pinecrest!  We were right by the amphitheater and the good bathrooms and steps away from the lake.  These spots go as soon as they open in February, but I've found over the years that if you can handle a last minute camping trip, cancellations always open up!

We packed up our blankets and movie snacks and caught the show in the amphitheater-- the new Indiana Jones!  It was a fun movie to watch in this setting. The best part of a movie experience here is watching it outside under the stars with the outlines of trees and swooping, mosquito-eating bats framing the screen.

While Delia held down the fort at camp, Ella and I quick knocked out the 4 mile hike around the lake in an hour and a half.  Ella was the hike leader, she sets a brisk pace. ;)

Few hikes have as varied of terrain as this lake loop which is one reason it sits in a Top Five spot on our favorite hikes list!  (We discussed while hiking and another friend did ask me to share.  If you're interested, other Top Five hikes are: Pipiwai Trail, The Crevice, Mist Trail, and the Creek Hike at Mount Hermon.  Big hiking trip planned this summer, stay tuned for a possible shake up!)

On this hike, we cross creeks and squelch through mud, we walk through pine and bamboo forests and past rustic mountain cabins, we climb rocks and traverse bridges and get misted by a roaring river, and we hike along the dam with turquoise lake water pooled on one side and turbulent cliff-tumbling water on the other side.  It is all magnificent!

The cooler temps in the mountains are always a delight until it's time to sleep! As cozy we we try to make our tent and as much as we all cuddle together, no one ever sleeps great.  Good thing we return home to lazy summer days where make-up-sleep naps are easy to grab!

And, of course, no Pinecrest trip is complete with a day just enjoying the lake!  We got a great spot on the beach this year and could even hang up the hammock to enjoy some lake views with our books and camping snacks.

The lake water is snow-melt cold, but the parts of you dangling off the raft into it always get used it after a bit of floating.  This was my first big outing this summer and I'm so thankful we made it happen. Girls' Camping Trip was a success!

Time to Party!

So, you know the beautiful backdrop we've used for the past 3 years' Formal Pictures?  That is the amazing home of Ella's best friend Ruth.  When Ruth asked Ella and another best friend, Anna, if they wanted to do a combined grad party in her picturesque back yard, of course our answer was YES!  Ruth's family has a connection to a guy with a food truck too, so we just had him park in the driveway by the pool and serve our 160 guests delicious, hot pizza all night too!  We've been to approximately 17,000 grad parties over the years and this one was my favorite. :)

The 3 girls made it so easy on us!  They designed all the décor-- crafting the vases, and hand picking and arranging all the floral centerpieces from Ruth's family's amazing garden.  Anna came up with the darling idea to embellish the patio columns with a photo life timeline of each girl-- two pictures from each year of Anna's, Ella's, and Ruth's life were admired and exclaimed over all night.

Again, too much personal info to put on the blog, so I'll just describe Ella's "shrine" (as we jokingly called it).  Each girl made a table display of their high school interests and memories/future plans.  Ella's included her college acceptance letter, decorated grad cap, pennant, and framed photo in her college shirt; her academic accolades-- her gold cords, Science Department award and diploma; a stand of Robotics treasures-- her pins from her times being Technician and Drive Team, her Captain arm band, framed photos of the team with the robot and holding their awards, her Varsity letter, and her Robotics cords; and a section of playbills from favorite performances, with a collage of her framed Senior pictures taken on the stage propped on top of an impressive stack of scripts from the past 6 years.  A little glimpse of all things Ella for our guests to enjoy!  We had fun putting it all together.

This grad party was like a little wedding in the sense that all of our most important (local) people assembled together for a few hours to celebrate with us.  The time flew by visiting with teachers, coaches, church and school friends, and people who have poured into and invested in Ella's life these past 18 years.  I forgot to take pictures of things like the pretty tables around the pool, abundant dessert buffet, and special touches because it was so delightful to just spend time with everyone!  I certainly didn't get a picture with every friend-- from Delia's BFFs who love Ella too, to drama friends, to older college friends who've been an example for Ella to look up to. 

 Ella's favorite science teacher, Mrs. H., whose wonderful teaching methods and Ella-like personality grew a deep love for biology and anatomy in Ella's heart.  Want to get Ella realllly talking?  Just ask her about the cat she spent a month dissecting in Mrs. H.'s anatomy and physiology class!

Robotics buddies who weren't on vacation already! ;)

My two best friends, Doreen and Lisa came to celebrate with us!

Ansley and Kate, two more dear friends and important people of influence in Ella's life!

Mrs. M, Ella's favorite math teacher and one who changed the trajectory of her life, making her fall in love with and excel in math and STEM things and giving her the solid math foundation she needed to succeed in Robotics.  Ella and her friends and Mrs. M exchanged numbers at the party and made plans to go hiking together this summer!

Mrs. S., the girls' Strength and Conditioning teacher, who trained their bodies and strengthened their muscles, but also shepherded their hearts.  This class was one of Ella's favorites.  (She's on Ruth's back because right before the pic was taken, Ruth was showing Mrs. S how she can do squats with Ella on her! Ha!)

Our people were so generous with their gifts and words!  The night of visiting with and hugging those who have had an impact came to a perfect end when Ella got to read all their sweet, encouraging messages and promises of prayer.  I love seeing what an impact she made on her friends and teachers.  These are just a few from the stack of cards she came home with!

And a last picture with Ruth and Anna, the other two party honorees.  While setting up for the party, I got to spend the day with these 3 ladies and they are amazing!  Talking with them about their futures and hearing their hearts and humor was a grad season highlight for me.  We have so much to celebrate.  It was a super special night.  Last 2 grad parties (out of 10!) tomorrow and then this fun, feeling-full season comes to a close.

The Best Weekend with the Best Humans!

Not only did we get to celebrate Ella this weekend, but we also got to host my dear family.  Heather braved single-parent airplane travel with an infant while Anna and Derek boarded their dog and drove from LA, THEN they also showered our grad with generous gifts and kept us laughing for 4 days straight!

 

Annabelle, our newest and cutest family member, was the star of the show!  We love her like crazy!  She's the most content, smiley, cuddly, playful babe ever!  She absolutely lit up whenever she'd catch a glimpse of Dave and his awesome-to-touch beard.  She had nothing but side-eye and judgement for Derek, something we were amused by all weekend!

This wasn't really a visit with grand outings.  We mostly enjoyed staying home and eating, catching up, and playing games.  We ventured out a few times.  One was to take Annabelle to the park for her first swings and slides!  The same ones the girls grew up on.  She liked it.

Another morning was spent at the Farmers Market and cheese place where Annabelle, like her cousins before her, learned the fun of feeding the friendly goats while we learned the riveting process of making gouda cheese.

A real highlight was the time we spent digging through the tubs of random things we stored when we cleaned out my mom's house 24 years ago.  Back then we were kids, overwhelmed with adult tasks, like emptying and selling a whole house or planning a funeral.  We sensed their importance, but didn't put too much thought into the war telegrams and uniforms, old letters and pictures, diplomas, wedding and death certificates, and vintage fashion we packed away.  At that time, for some levity, Heather and I modeled these fabulous treasures we found in my mom's closet.  It's always been a precious memory.  This weekend, while we finally opened and poured over the tubs together, Ella and Delia recreated our 2 decade old fashion show to our delight.

Auntie Heather and Uncle Andrew gave Ella a pretty special grad gift-- a hand made and monogramed leather portfolio for her future resume.  

And then there were the Jackbox games.  Containing inside jokes almost exclusively, these won't mean anything to my readers, but I'm dropping them on the blog so we'll remember some of the things we created that made us actually laugh-cry, laugh-sweat, and belly-ache! 

How blessed are we to have these amazing people in our lives?!  They went to great lengths to be here for Ella this weekend and then filled our days with so much happiness.  This has been a pretty incredible year, but this Grad Weekend may go down as a Best of 2023 memory for me.