July 25, 2014

Kelly's Bridal Shower

My sister is getting married! Yay! 
I was super excited to celebrate with her and 50 others at her bridal shower!  
Below are TONS of pictures of the fun day we had...


The invite




in my sister-in-law's backyard

the bride



the table


the centerpiece 


the ladder "chandelier" 



the bunting





queen anne's lace everywhere!


the personalized favors that guests were encouraged to fill with...

lemonade, strawberry-lemonade, peach-lemonade or water
made by my sis-in-law who is also Kelly's soon-to-be-sis-in-law :)
(cake topper in the middle is from my parent's wedding cake!)


the wonderful dresser that was so generously lent to us was the centerpiece 
of the shower as well as the serving table for hors d'oeuvres and later - desserts! 
 

a closer look


looking forward to a september wedding!


I PROMISE you this was COMPLETELY a coincidence 
and TOTALLY not planned, but was too hilarious to change!
  


 
 
hor d'oeuvres: caprese skewers, spinach balls & cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto
I cannot take credit for any of these scrumptious delights that 3 super ladies pitched in to make  


 pictures of the happy couple on the day of their engagement along with pictures of their parents on their wedding days






it's me!



bride-to-be with her mama


bride-to-be with her mama-in-law-to-be :)


quick story:
4 days before the shower it was looking like thunderstorms would come just in time for the shower.  I went to bed that night talking to Jesus (with much boldness) about the exact weather I wanted for the shower, which was: partly cloudy and 78 degrees.  The next morning I woke up to a changed weather forecast that was showing *no* rain!! with a temp that was a bit higher than requested.... but I was okay with that. I still had complete confidence that 78 was in reach!  As shower day came along I intended to look at my phone to see the temp at 4pm (time the shower started) to see my 78°, but in my craziness/busyness I forgot.  A little before 5pm, I was chatting with some of the guests (under partly cloudy skies :) about the beautiful weather we were enjoying and telling them about my exact request of 78° with partly cloudy skies and how I forgot to look at my phone...
well wouldn't ya know - one of them pulls her phone out to show me the temp!
  Yeah - that says 78 degrees!!
Jesus loves me - this I know!
the end :)


the first game we played as guests arrived







when finished, guests placed their guesses here


I don't like yelling to get people's attention, but for some reason it is easier for me to get loud when I stand on a chair :) I got up on that chair quite often to make an announcement  or explain a game.


next game: mad libs!
 









and the "he said, she said" game



here we are announcing the answers
  

the menu for our main course
made by 1 grandma, 2 moms and 2 sisters of the bride

buffalo chicken taquitos with blue cheese

chicken curry on naan with mango chutney

smoked pulled pork sliders

mongolian beef skewers 

tuna-olive or cherry-cream cheese pinwheels
(made by grandma who also made these for mom's shower too!)

everything was SOOOOOOO yummy!





 

 







time for dessert!

chocolate chip cookies
by sister of the groom and bridesmaid Julie

chocolate covered vanilla bean cake bites
made by bridesmaid Danielle (her dessert blog here)

strawberry and nutella stuffed phyllo cups
by my wonderful sis-in-law Pina




the bride and her bridesmaids


 1 bride, 4 bridesmaids, 1 junior bridesmaid and 1 flowergirl


time for presents!

guests were asked to bring small gifts or gift cards since Kelly will be moving (hence the suitcases)

                                                 suitcase to collect everyone's cards


pillows made by mom


apron made by grandma

one more game in the middle of opening presents!
"find the groom"
everyone look to see if a picture of the groom is under your chair
hmmmm.... NO one has found the groom??
"WHERE'S THE GROOM???"


THERE HE IS!!

a surprised Kelly
  
and lots of surprised guests!


John flew in from Missouri just to surprise his bride at the shower



 



time for a few more presents
  

and of course the hat! 
(kelly LOVES this part ;)





So thankful for such a great sister!

The success of #OperationShowerKelly would not have been possible without the help of SO many hauling tables and chairs, setting up the tent, picking weeds on the side of the highway, lending me furniture, tying bows, threading bunting, cutting and folding papers, building a ladder, cooking/baking DELICIOUS food, making lemonades, setting up all my crazy little details, photographing every little detail, packing up every little detail, taking down tables, chairs and tent and hauling it all again.  PHEW!
I am SO thankful to SO many!

December 25, 2013

Elmer our Shelf Elf - Season #2

Elmer - Our Vintage Shelf Elf



Elmer was waiting for us on the wreath outside! He had a note explaining that Santa forgot to tell him we moved! Once he looked at the envelope Santa sent him with, he walked all the way from Roselle Park to Chatham!

Elmer brought nightlights for C&E!

Elmer praying on dad's bible

Elmer in on a roll! or should we saw IN a roll?

Elmer downloaded the new bible app for kids for C&E!

Elmer must miss the snow at the north pole, but looks like he found a creative way to have some fun!

Elmer is thinking Dad's Christmas sweater fits him better!

Tying to teach the little ponies to be reindeer! 

Snap, Crackle....errr...Elmer, Pop!

Marshmallows roasting on an open fire, while Jack Frost does his thing outside!

Up all night taking pics with his friends and managed a sELFie!

Elf Bungee Jumping


Today on Eating with Elmer...

Being crafty with q-tips!

Letting us know we are 10 days away!

Elmer found the sprinkle stash at Grammy's!

Elmer and his lessons to the little people

Elmer decided mom's christmas tree is just the right size for him!
 

 Elmer doing his morning workout

 Uh oh Elmer! Mario is NOT gonna be happy!

With some help from is bro, Mario sets Elmer straight!

Elmer practicing his freestyle stroke in mom's caramel corn! (must be an event in the next Elf Olympics!)

Birthday Balloons for Caleb!

 Elmer always reminding us the reason for the season

See ya next year Elmer!

June 26, 2013

ROSELLE PARK 8 YR OLDS TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Below is a link to all the pictures from the game.
I took a lot of shots during the last half of the game.  Some of the pictures I was trying to get didn't come out that great. I loaded the ones that are decent.
The camera is my sister's and I'm not that good with it.  So between figuring out the camera settings... trying to take action shots.... the lighting.... and focusing the camera through the fence (sometimes through 2 fences and/or 2 coaches ;) it was a bit difficult to get all the shots I was trying for.

I tried getting pictures of the medals being handed out but the camera wasn't focusing right :(  I got a few decent ones.

I plan to bring her camera to some more games and will try and get some more shots of the boys and post them for everyone.

See you all Saturday in E. Brunswick!

Cheryl (Caleb Muller's mom)

VIEW ALL PICTURES HERE

December 29, 2012

Elmer the Shelf Elf

Caleb and Emma received a special visitor this month!  A little Shelf Elf named Elmer who came all the way from the North Pole!

Those of you not familiar with the whole Shelf Elf thing - click HERE for more info. Our shelf elf looks a bit different and differed a little from the traditional Elf on the Shelf story (which was explained in the letter for the kids he came with)

He came with a letter from Santa explaining his visit. (if you'd like to see the letter, please comment below and I will send it to you) 

Apparently Elmer is a little naughty and gets himself into a bit of trouble! But most of all, Elmer just likes to have fun!

All pictures taken with my phone and posted on my instagram (not the greatest quality but did the job!)
Follow my instagram HERE

Our shelf elf arrived Dec 1st. 
He looks a lot like the vintage dolls Caleb and Emma's Great-Gma collects
.... just saying ;)


During the first night Elmer was here 
he helped himself to some popcorn leftover from our tree decorating party 
and watched Mickey's Christmas Carol!...


Elmer was up teaching the little people a lesson... 


Elmer was up making a "miss you" card for his friend Rudolph!
And OF COURSE we know his preferred brand of glue! 


Long story... Caleb accidentally swallowed a marble... a few days past.... 
stomach pains.... Dr.'s vitsit.... 4 hours in the ER.... 2 x-rays.... marble moved! 
Elmer must have found the x-ray, so he posted it on the window and let Caleb know marbles are
"NOT FOR EATING!"


Elmer with a thumbs up thinking HE is a better tree topper than the star!


Elmer is skilled in candy cane climbing!


Elmer found a cozy place to spend the night. I guess there was no room in the inn!


Oh boy! Someone needs to tell Elmer maple syrup is "not for drinking!"


Elmer flew over to Grammy's where Caleb and Emma were spending the night.
He spent the night trying to beat Mario and Luigi....


Kids woke up to find Elmer in the fridge with some special elf milk! It was green!
He also set up their bowls and a special sweet cereal for breakfast!


Elmer was up playing Scrabble Scoop with Woody, Mario & Dora.
Looks like Elmer was about to win! (Elmer was looking for the word ELF, Woody was
looking for JEANS, Mario was looking for TOAD and Dora looking for DOLL)


Elmer helped finish our tree by putting the icicles mommy forgot to put on! 
What a helper!


Elmer reminding us to start our "adornments" book. 


Elmer reminding us there are only 10 more days til Christmas! 
Good thing he found the erasable crayons! 


Elmer enjoying a marshmallow bath while scrubbing himself with Emma's toothbrush!


Elmer was on the computer! He elfed himself!


Caleb and Emma set up a bed, a rug, a bracelet (that I was told was a hula-hoop for Elmer) 
and a friend to keep Elmer company. So... Elmer Hula-ed!


Elmer sticks to the 4 main food groups: 
candy, candy corn, candy canes and syrup!


Oh oh. Looks like Elmer is a bit under the weather! (must have been all that candy!)


Elmer must be feeling better! 
We found him the next morning zip-lining through the living room!


Elmer wrapped the bathroom door for Christmas!


That Elmer!  He opened Caleb's Birthday present!
Caleb forgave him.... I think! :o/


Elmer knows the reason for the season!

We all had a BLAST having Elmer with us and were sad to see him go :(
But we look forward to seeing him next year!


LOTS of these Shelf Elf antics can be found on pinterest. (Most helpful!!!! ;)
Follow my pins HERE