I found a darling cookie cutter on an "after- Christmas- sale" last year. 3-D sleigh. Made 18 of them for my women's group. It didn't hurt that they were filled with See's Candy, YUMMY!
The finished product! Smells SO GOOD! Better than any candle I have ever found....
We had our refreshments and then "cozied" up by the fire to learn about some of America's National Parks. Last year we studied about the Supreme Court.
What a blessing to have such wonderful women in my life........!
Just had to run outside and change out some of the frosted white bulbs we bought for Will's reception and put in the beautiful red ones for Christmas. My kitchen Christmas colors are red and white. I was so excited to go into Fry's for groceries last night and they were playing CHRISTMAS MUSIC! HOORAY!
Thanks to the Bella Life...I got this idea for hurricanes with candles. I took my old drink holders that we have had for years. Sprayed them black and the girls hot glued the copper fabric and roses with moss inside. We made fourteen of them. Perry and Sherman put them around the back yard for us. We had a fun family party the night before and got all the lights up in the trees.
Perry and Gina, once again, flew over a day ahead to help with the final preparations. He brought his new ipad and everyone had fun with it. He is an amazing artist, skilled in air-brushing, faux-painting, model ship building, plumbing, lighting....oh...the list is endless. He made me beautiful jewelry boxes out of stained glass. He used to be in the commercial art business. He worked on top-secret work for the Government with his technical drawings and as a young newly-wed going to classes at Art Center in L.A.... worked for an antiques/interior decorator and did all kinds of painting of furniture, etc. Perry is now an executive for Advanced Image Express and is one of the developers of Cloud2Mail. 
Perry and Gina also helped to set up the tables when they were delivered. I LOVE my family. The musicians were so fun. I love live music so much better than a D.J. They fit perfectly in the Ramada. Keira was our photographer....her pictures will be so much nicer than mine, with my old camera LOL!
Simona loves black and white and picked this cake. We had a perfect evening except for that the caterer forgot some of the food.....they very kindly refunded us some money.
Here Harry Potter (Kale) opening his present from Grandpa and Grandma Poulsen. Legos Harry Potter set with Hagrid's Hut and Giant Spider....just what he asked for....HOW DID WE KNOW??????????
Here is the teacher for the Transfiguration Class (Hannah.) The kids loved acting out an animal for the others to guess. The party was held at Grandma Brinton's house.
Potions class...Keira was the teacher (that's my famous purple wig.) Each child had a notebook for class that was "stamped" at the end of class. These are all of Kale's school mates and Eli, of course.
Grandma Gigi pauses from photography to pose with Harry. We have an electrician here today fixing the pool light and putting in new fixtures outside for Will's reception next Saturday. Let the count-down begin......
Sonia hosts BUNKO just once a year....the kids come over to have a "sleep-over" at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We decided, for the first time, to make a Haunted House of Gingerbread.
I found a recipe to make molding chocolate. The kids AMAZED me with their artistry especially in making these realistic-looking pumpkins and cute ghosts, Frankenstein head and a bat. Lara contributed the candy-corn cookies on the side of the house. Ryder and Kendra came over too.
Our version of "Children of the Corn." BTW ....I have not seen that movie...just heard ALL ABOUT IT. Happy Halloween everyone.
Had a FABULOUS New York week-end. Main purpose: Attend Kristina and Kellen's wedding in the Manhattan Temple.
Kristina is a singer-dancer on the New York stage. She actually started a dancing club in Cardiff to off-set her education expenses. I played for her to sing at church and elsewhere. I also accompanied her dance recitals at the University of Cardiff. Good times! Here is our table...Kristina is a "detail" person. Every table was labeled as a part of New York...we were Central Park.
She designed this "faux" ceiling to hide the basketball scoreboard, etc... She had one friend with a sewing machine who sewed the seams and then they wired the fabric to the walls. I love purple too!
Here is the radiant bride. She finished her Doctorate in Bio Chemistry while we were there. Her husband is working on his Doctorate in Math. She asked us to be her "other" parents after we helped her through some rough times over there. She will fly in to Phoenix Sky Harbor...just to say "hello and I LOVE YOU." She regularly commutes between Cali and NY. Kristina is a professor at NYU and Columbia. She is one of the most humble, kind, loving, generous, thoughtful people I know. You would never know she is so talented and smart....you won't ever hear it from HER. People flew in from around the world to be with her that day...we felt honored to be there too.
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Here's the marriage license for my Great grandfather Elihu Vinson and his wife, Melvina Elizabeth Tippet. These are my father's maternal grandparents.
Melvina and Elihu Vinson. My dad used to tell me stories of how he spent his summers with his Grandmother down in Missouri. She took him every Sunday to the Baptist church. He said she made the most wonderful breakfasts. Fried chicken and biscuits and the "works." She had been playing a game with some children when she was a child and was carrying a stick. She fell down and the stick poked her eye out. She married Elihu when she was 16 and her mother gave her signed permission, as is stated on the license. I am told he was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. I will have to research that. I am so surprised every time I find a picture that SOMEONE else has posted on Ancestry. This picture I found in a Jones family group.
