One Year Old Already?

Now come on! How many of us enjoy a birthday cake like Isabella did yesterday? Oh yes, she had her own cake to consume or demolish, and she did a little of both. Then, Lyndsay and friends got to clean up that purple. Even Bella came out a little stained, but that doesn't show well in the pictures.


Take a look in the corner on the left of the picture. That is what still remained of the birthday girl's stash after opening maybe one-third of them. And it does not include the gift in the next picture. As you might expect, she often enjoyed the tissue paper stuffed into gift bags as much as the gifts themselves. Stlll, I think her folks managed to involve her in 75%+ of the openings.

Now, in my view, her favorite present, at least as far as immediate reactions, was the two-seater wagon. Here, you can see the Queen For A Day sitting in her royal throne. This picture was actually taken, of course, before the cake picture, but I wanted the flow of this post to start with the reckless abandon of playing in food. Now, you can see her original party outfit and her beaming about her sweet ride. ZKW, she could probably use some hardware into which to plug her iPod when she gets one. Hint, hint.

It was a great party, great food (no, everyone did not get their own cake nor did anyone else eat practically naked), lots of gifts, and all of Bella's extended family. Thanks to all who helped make it a success.

Official update for Leigh: I have 624 photos involving Isabella. You were the closest guess.

Happy Birthday, Isabella.

Where Is Your Wife?

OK, that was not my wife in the princess photo from Disneyland. Yes, she is a princess, but did not wear her fancy clothes to an amusement park. Here she is with most of Bella's entourage. They are. from left, Casey, Phyllis, Christen, Kyle, Lyndsay, Princess, Nathan, Michelle. Not pictured are Alison and Randy.


Since returning, I have heard that Isabella has begun walking some. Here she is trying to stay up with her Mom and Dad. She is soooo small, the door looks huge, doesn't it? Maybe it was just the camera angle.












Hey, did houses sell in TX? Are baby and mom fine in CA? Did y'all see Susan's purty new kitchen in AZ? When do we get photos of the house in NV? How were the numbers for the accountant's race in TX? Is the bathroom finished in AZ?

Weekend at the 'D'

Happy First Birthday, Isabella Camryn. Ten of us went with you to Disneyland for 2 days of non-stop fun.


Well, as you can see, we had a GREAT time at the 'D'...Disneyland for those of you who don't know what we mean by 'D'. Oh, and I think Kathie might have been there somewhere. Ha ha. I can't remember. The character breakfast was good and I didn't eat again for, like, two hours. Wow. I do wish they had a bit more fruit, but the Mickey-shaped waffles were very tasty. Once, while I was up to get some food, Goofy sat down at my place and added a lot of pepper to my eggs, then turned them over so I would not see. Since the table was all giggling, I knew something was up. So, he did not catch me.




Bella was there, of course, since it was for her birthday. Here she is on the carousel with Dad, Mom, and Grammy. In fact, she got to ride more things than I did....seeing as I was the official photographer. I did not go crazy, however, only taking about 150 photos. And not a stump in sight. A bunch of them were flowers, but I won't bore you with them right now.



Since it was her birthday, Bella went all Britney on us and got a tattoo (well, she calls it her tat). As you can see, it was pirate themed for some reason. She was going to shave her head, but no one would do it and she could not handle the clippers by herself. Luckily, no one else was caught up with either geting tats or with turning into pirates. However, we did ride Pirates of the Caribbean on Sunday, it's 40th birthday. And it is cool how they have added Johnny Depp into the ride. They did a good job.



OK, I might have been wrong about no more pirates. When we came off of the Temple of Doom ride, we came across this motley crew. I thought that eye patches and earrings did not make someone a pirate, but it seems I was wrong.

Hey, you know what I miss. When Indiana Jones first opened, they handed out cards that let you read the signs through the waiting line. Now, they don't even post what the letters are. What's up with that? I am sure Walt would be disappointed.