"P" Party

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic is from our "professional" photo session this past weekend. I just thought it was a pretty good shot of Josh and Katie. "Look! No rabbit ears!"

The Gallery Pics are from some of the activities we participated in this past weekend (of course). Bowling, photo session and the movies. You've seen pics like these a thousand times on the blog. What can I say? A Simple Life can also be A Pretty Predictable Life, too!

JULY SPECIAL GUEST HINTS - It's that time again. On Thursday, I'll be revealing our Special Guest for the month of July. Here are three hints to help with the guessing process.

1. She is the wife of one and mother of two.

2. She loves to work logic and sudoku puzzles.

3. She is the oldest of five children, AND there is an 18 year-age span between her and the youngest.

Let the guessing begin!

Weekend Review

The weekend went very much according to plan. We bowled with friends Friday night... and I think we all paid for it Saturday morning! Bowling is a very strenuous sport, isn't it? I think the main goal is not to throw your shoulder out of socket as opposed to knocking down a few silly pins at the end of YOUR lane. (And maybe a secondary goal is actually keeping the ball in your very own lane!) But various painful joints aside, it was a lot of fun. I broke 100 each time which was my own personal little goal. Well, either that or the perfect game. I think I'll ask the orthopedic surgeon today what the chances are of that ever happening.

Saturday was a good day. Roxie spent the day with her cousin, Monica, and we had a heated text conversation about a newborn bunny she and Monica found (and rescued from a dog) in the forest behind Monica's house. (In the South, we always say "woods," but I thought it would be fun to say "forest." Actually, it was a little awkward.)

The thought of raising a tiny, newborn rabbit and feeding it with an eyedropper every 45 minutes for several weeks does sound like fun to most 13 year-old girls. However, as every 48 year-old mother remembers, those middle-of-the-night feedings get old VERY fast. Needless to say, I won that little battle. (Plus, she and Monica decided it was too much work during the day (much less all night), so they returned the bunny to the place they first found it making sure the dog did not follow them.

On the way home with me after her "Wonderful Weekend," two cardinals flew in front of my moving van. One was too low, but it was fast and I didn't hit it. (I guess you can tell where this story is going?) However, the second one dipped for some reason as it flew in front of the van. It did shoot upward, and while I didn't see it hit the windshield, I knew part of it did from the sound it made.

I warned Roxie, "Don't look back! Don't look back!" But she did. The little cardinal made a nose dive into the woods (not forest) beside the road. I'm hoping it was just stunned and needed some down time to recuperate, but I'm pretty sure it was a little more serious than that. Roxie's only words... "You didn't even try!" (I don't really think that is fair. I mean, the birds attacked MY van. I wasn't swerving all over the place trying to hit woodland creatures.) It was NOT a good way to end a Saturday.

The rest of the Faulkner Five had different plans for Saturday. Austin had to work at the Chick, and Mike and Josh went out for barbecue and bowling. (That's right. Mikie is the man! He bowled two nights in a row! His knee is huge right now!)

After church on Sunday, the kids and I went to a local portrait studio to have pictures made for my Mom's upcoming birthday. Bev met us there.

I told our photographer guy we just wanted pictures of the six kids together because we were there for a specific gift, but he insisted on doing every combination possible. Over a hundred pictures later, we picked ONE very good photo of ALL six of the grandchildren. Just ONE.

In between pics, I was busy snapping away in the lobby. The kids were in picture-taking mode anyway (plus, they were all clean and coiffed at the same time), so I figured why not. I'm probably the only one who didn't know this rule, but it's against Portrait Studio Law to take pictures in the lobby. And since we only bought the one pose, they had two reasons NOT to be happy with me!

DISCLAIMER - Even though we only bought the one pose, our photographer guy did take excellent pictures, and we are very pleased with the end results. And I'm very sorry I broke a Portrait Studio Law. Really. I am.

Later Sunday evening, Mikie took me to the movies to see Toy Story 3. Loved it! I could see it again! You don't have to be a kid to appreciate such a good, good movie!

"P" Party

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I was getting together with my cousins for an annual event. The first time my cousins (and their daughters) came together in the summer, we had a Wedding Party with punch, wedding food and a great wedding movie on the deck (Father of the Bride).

Last year, my cousin hosted and we swam in her pool, ate and played party games.

This year will be very similar, but I've added a couple of activities to keep with the theme. (I MUST have a theme.) We're having a "P" Party, and it goes something like this...

1. Pool
2. Pepperoni Pizza at the Pool
3. Pajamas
4. Pictionary
5. Popcorn
6. The Pacifier, Princess Diaries, The Pink Panther, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Parent Trap, etc.

You get the idea. Of course, we'll wait until we come home before changing into our PJs, but everything (absolutely everything) begins with the letter "P." While the moms will head home after awhile, the younger cousins will spend the night watching their choice of "P" movies.

This is an easy, easy party to plan for your family or friends. Here are two more examples.

1. Backyard Burgers
2. Bowling
3. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
4. Boggle
5. Bibleman: Conquering the Wrath of Rage, Batman

This "B" Party is geared more toward the guys in your family.

1. Shopping
2. Stix, Subway
3. Swimming
4. Spend the Night
5. Shrek, Spy Kids, Stuart Little

Remember, pick the main activity (swimming, shopping, bowling, go-carts), add food, a movie and a game to the mix which begin with the same letter. After you have the first four activities/food planned, you can add more as ideas come to you... and they will come!

Have a great Monday. Tuesday will be the last day for Homemade Ice Cream recipes on A Simple Life (for a few months), so check it out. I have one word for you... CHOCOLATE!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda