Vanessa's big 3-0!

Yesterday I hit a huge milestone you could say! I'm choosing to embrace this next decade of 30's! The morning started with cards and presents that Brandon had set up on the table before he left for work. So the kids and I got to have a fun little celebration as they opened my gifts from themselves! Then we got donuts for breakfast of course! To continue celebrating my day I used a gift card from Brandon that he gave me at Christmas for the spa at our gym. It's ranked one of the top spas in KC! I got an express pedi, facial, and an hour massage! It was amazing!!! Then he had arranged for a sitter and we went to dinner at McCormick's and Schmick's on the Plaza. We ate so well! We shared the calamari, I had a cup of the world's best clam chowder, we both had caesar salads. I had the chef's recommendation for a fish dish, and Brandon had steak of course! The menu even printed Happy Birthday on the top with the date for me and they brought out their famous chocolate bag dessert on the house! Well, the mini version at least! It was amazing and I could hardly walk out of there. After that Brandon told me that he had ordered a few cupcakes for us to pick up back in Olathe to eat for dessert. When we got there though, I was completely surprised and a little scared when my friends and family jumped up from behind the counter and yelled "SURPRISE"! I was extremely shocked because I was totally scoping out what kind of cupcake I was going to get! I felt so loved to be surrounded by so many special people on a special day! Thanks everyone for playing a part!

Coalvines Pizza Club

Our pizza club met at Coalvines this weekend. They had a small but delicious menu of pizza. It was great catching up with friends and we even got a private tour of the basement where Brandon did some recent stone work. It looked amazing of course, and would be such a cool private party area!

Bella's Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

I think I was just as excited about Bella's party as she was! I couldn't wait to use this theme as a party for her! When her guests arrived them came in and found their name cards. At each place setting there was a place mat to color with princess crayons and tea party stickers. After all of the guests arrived there was a sudden knock on the door! Who could it be??? It was Alice!!! The kids were so excited and mesmerized by her. She came to play games and bring them on an adventure to find the keys to unlock a treasure chest! They passed the test and were amazed at the treasure! The kids each got face paint and hair glitter, then got to pick three treasures out of the chest. There was a special gift for Bella. She got a magic wand, a princess crown, and eye shadow! This girl could not be more excited! After Alice left, we enjoyed a lunch of PB&J cut in the shapes of tea cups and tea pots, sparkly popcorn (popcorn, trix, and edible glitter), cheese cubes and pretzels, and fruit. Of course there were plenty of sweets to go around! We had ring pops, candy necklaces, gumballs, cake, and cookies! Aunt Val made amazing tea cup and tea pot cookies as favors and they went fast! Thanks Aunt Val!





























































After the party Bella got to open a few family gifts. Sophie gave Bella a personalized tea party princess CD, an Olivia tea party book, and an adorable Rapunzel hair clip. The girls plan on wearing their matching hair clips when Gigi takes them to the Rapunzel puppet show this spring. Uncle Kev gave her the book Go Dog Go, which is her favorite because of another puppet show we had gone to! She was so excited I couldn't get her to take a good picture with Uncle Kev and the book. The big surprise from Papa and Gigi was a new Pinkalicious bike! Complete with a helmet, bell, front pack for toys, and a baby doll carrier on the back! She is set! She and Sophie were so dramatic and had to push with all their might to get it out of the dining room and on the hardwood floor! She has been riding nonstop! Seriously, she even came down after she had already gone to bed and "had to" ride it over next to the stairs so it would be ready in the morning! And that was the very first thing she did when she woke up the next day, around and around the kitchen island she goes!







Thank you everyone for coming and making Bella and us feel so loved and celebrated! It was a great day!