celebrations – Page 15 – Karla's Cottage

A weekend of fun, family, and friends

celebrations, friends, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 10, 2015

My friend Tami, throws the most fun craft days. The one last weekend was a holiday theme and she gifted us all with the supplies to make these Christmas themed boxes on candlesticks.

And it is always fascinating to see the varied way the projects go as everyone selects the components they want to use.

I went there with determination to get some work done and packed up a bunch of supplies to make banners to sell in the Boutique. But, when I saw the tempting display of goodies to glue onto a box top, and the creations the other ladies had going on, I had to join in. And I'm glad I did.

There is always time to make something to sell. But to slow down, enjoy a day with friends and craft a special piece to treasure as a memory of the day is much more meaningful. And every year when I unpack it, I'll think of the laughs and silliness we shared that day.

Like how Beth compared the angel hair to Donald Trump's head and we all called it that all day, making jokes about "adding some more trumps" to our trees, and other goofy plays on that theme.

Of course, I'll remember the day every time I try to button my jeans too.

Tami's home is decked out with holiday cheer from top to bottom.

And I am always touched to see a project from one of my classes in a friend's home.

The next day, I went with another group of friends on a holiday home tour, and while we saw some pretty things, none of the homes were nearly as festive or creative as Tami's was. But it is always fun to go with my buddies and check out the houses. We all liked this pink and dolly themed bedroom.

And I'd enjoy being invited to dinner in this jolly setting.

But this might have been my favorite part, understated whites and warm browns. Like a cuppa cocoa with marshmallows.

The weekend was a whirlwind of friendship and family. After spending both afternoons with buds, the evenings were full of birthday celebrations.

That was pretty exciting too. I'll share more pictures in my next post.

An evening at a grand masked ball

celebrations, family, parties, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 3, 2015

This was not just a Halloween party.

This was something on a whole different scale.

Like nothing I'd ever been to before. (and honestly, even if I it was possible to get invited to another masquerade, and that seems unlikely since this was such a once in a lifetime experience, I don't think it could come close to matching this wowzer of a party)

Because this one was planned by my sister-in-law, Terry, who is a hostess to beat all. (And who also designed, created, and stitched this fetching,Phoenix gown)

She and her husband are a fun loving, generous couple who understand the art of entertaining.

The party was held at La Caille, a fairy tale, dream come true. You enter through iron gates and drive up a long, winding path lined with twinkle lit trees, to arrive at a French inspired castle in the woods.

Even before you open the door to the grand entry way, you know you're somewhere wonderful.

I channeled my inner Sugarwings and pretended to be a princess as I glided up the stairs. (well, I think I might have kinda clod hopped up in my heels, since they were making some clunking noises as I tried unsuccessfully to walk up the steps semi gracefully in them). If my grand fairy had been there, she could have spent hours just daydreaming and playing make believe on this magnificent stairway.

It was easy to feel like royalty walking into the party. The guests were dressed to the hilt and you could feel the excitement.

Here is our host again, this time with Kate Winslet!!!!!

At least in my mind that is who this was.

I only knew the people there that were relatives, and everyone was masked, so I just guessed at identities of the rest of the guests. Plus, it was such a fancy party, I just assumed that all of those glamorous people that I didn't know were stars or queens or billionaire yachting types.

Yet, I didn't feel like a rube myself at all. Terry and Dale are such a lovable couple, they made everyone feel right at home, welcomed, and ready for fun even in the most luxurious of locations.

Although, somewhere toward the end of the night, I realized that one of my sheer, tulle slips had been wadded up under the top half of my dress all evening.

(What every gal wants when she is all dressed up is an extra layer of poofy padding around the waist, right?)

Sugarwings was excited about me getting to go to this event, and found this pretty, lace mask for me while shopping with her mommy. It was special to me that I had a gift from my girls to carry. I added a stick to it and some embellishments to go along with my black bird dress.

My husband, on the other hand, wore a 59 cent, plastic mask, since he isn't much of a costume type. Neither is his brother. But they both looked handsome toasting their sis for her extraordinary party.

There was a buffet set up with a lot of choices for dinner. Here is my plate of deliciousness.

We had an assortment of mini cheesecakes and other dainty treats for dessert too.

Plus glass pumpkins filled with Halloween candy, Godiva, and Ghirardelli chocolates on each table.

Here is Terry's son, the Mad Hatter showing off some goodies he got from the dessert table.

Throughout the night, there was dancing. My husband even danced to my Halloween favorite, The Monster Mash with me. And slow danced to Micheal Buble singing about what a marvelous night it was for a moon dance.

I agreed with Michael.

Terry was fairy godmother to many of the guests, creating their costumes as well as hers. She designed the pattern for this Tardis gown for her daughter-in-law from a photo found online.

And Holly out evil-queened Regina in this Once Upon a Time inspired gown. Oh my gosh, I wish you could see the deluxe details in this!!!!!!!!!!

Terry covered a luxe purple fabric with black lace to create the look. And the day before the bash, she was figuring out how to make a ruff stand up on the jacket. No looking at youtube videos, using a pattern, she just winged it and came up with an ideal plan.

We were asked to come in formal attire with a mask, costumes welcomed, but nothing gorey. I'm always thrilled to have a reason to be witchy, so when I found the black bird dress on clearance at the Victoria Trading Co. outlet store, I knew it was just what I wanted.

The shoes are from Goodwill and spray painted to be sparkly. Since I have Fred Flintstone feet and shoes are always too narrow, I'm pleased when I find pre-broken in ones to wear at the Goodwill. These low heels were comfy all night long.

I am thinking about cutting the dress off to become a sundress later on, since I don't have a lot of occasions to wear a long gown. Well, maybe I do, with Sugarwings and Dewdrop around, we LOVE excuses to dress up. I might keep it as is, just to play in.

Now, if I could just get my Handsome Husband to slip into that tuxedo more often…. yum

The party was amazing, and the best part? It was also a mini family reunion for us and we got to spend an evening with my mother-in-law, Joan as well as the whole next day hanging out with people we love.

I even got to meet a brand spanking new nephew when Terry's daughter and son-in-law brought their little ones over to the house. There was football to be played, Eric's specialty pizza, and a World Series game too.

And I got to see trick or treaters! I haven't had one at my home in 20 years (except family members) but at Terry's neighborhood, we had so many I felt at one point like I was being overwhelmed by the mob at the front door.

Very cute and a lot of fun to see, though.

It was a beautiful weekend topped off with family fun. My husband was in heaven with a chance to play football with nieces and nephews, I got to catch up on family gossip, eat lots of chocolate, and attend this formal ball.

I can't thank Terry and Dale enough for their hospitality.

I'll leave you with a few more photos from this venue and of the dreamy evening I spent there.

Happiest Birthday, Sugarwings!

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 29, 2015

August is full of fun around here. Sugarwings' birthday (with multiple parties), the Hippy Chick's birthday, our anniversary, plus trying to fit in a few more fun things before school starts up.

Sugarwings' mommy always throws a special bash for her girl. This year's theme was Mystery. The cupcakes each had something flavorful tucked inside and you didn't know which you were getting. I can highly praise over the ones with peanut butter cups hidden away in the center.

There was a question mark pinata filled with goodies too.

And the kids had a scavenger hunt, following a treasure map to find the hidden presents.

It was all pretty cute to watch.

Celebrating

celebrations, Dew Drop, dogs, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2015

It's been fun around here lately. Lot's of Summer's End celebrating, getting ready for Back To School, plus Sugarwing's birthday. The grand fairies made cupcakes and we loaded up the family and spent a day at the pool for one party for her.

And when we got home, I had bed time snacks set up party style for the littles, using the fancy wine goblets for sparkling juice, and yogurt parfaits served in pretty glasses, along with light up, spinning party favors.

(The spinners were on clearance for a dollar at Michaels, and the rest of the set up was just stuff from the cabinets. You don't have to spend a fortune at the party store to make a table look special for kids. They appreciate using the fancy dancy garage sale china and goblets.)

We made a trip to KC's Legoland, too. The girls had wanted to go for a long time, but I've never been tempted. The lines to get in are always practically around the block and never seem to move. Since it was a birthday, I figured I could stand putting up with a crowd, but I was happy to find that the place was near empty! Most kids were probably back in school, I guess. Anyway, we lucked out, and it was such a cute, little place.

Crown Center has so many fun things for kids. One is an ice skating rink. But in the summer, its just a slab floor, unless you have an imagination.

In the mind of these two, they were gliding across the ice, and I think they were getting lots of applause in those little heads, too, because there were plenty of curtsies.

Of course, any activity is best if you have a skirt that can swirl around you.

They always have a good time playing by the fountains too.

I take that as an opportunity for photos. There is something about being near water that gives them both a pensive, thoughtful look.

And I'm always happy to have an excuse to take pics of my little pretties.

After Crown Center, they played with Honey in the gazebo.

Seriously, what could be more fun than digging in the rocks and playing in the water with a puppy while wearing a swirly dress? If I was a kid, that is where I'd be.

Farewell Seashell Fairies on Siesta Key Beach

celebrations, fairies, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2015

When I travel to beaches, I've made a tradition of collecting shells to form a fairy, then leaving it on the beach my last day as a thank you. I always wonder if a kid finds it and enjoys the treat, and smiles. We share so many smiles on the beach, I hope that I can leave some behind for others too.

But they are very special to me, and I spend the week looking for the right shell inspiration. This year, I was lucky to find this broken sand dollar that made an ideal skirt, a curved shell for a gown bodice, and wings that actually look like they came right off a dragonfly, not a broken shell.

The best finds weren't mine, Kai Kai found this curved, pasta like thing that made a lovely, bent arm to hold the heart shaped shell Miss Tree found in the same spot her daughter snared that tube/arm thing. I don't know for sure what it is, it is a cluster of little bits, and is a perfect little heart, practically complete with ventricles and such. That is, if like me, you know nothing about anatomy.

Creating farewell fairies was an even more special event for me this time, since the family joined in. My son made a Warrior Sprite.

Miss Tree formed a curly headed faye, that seems to be jumping for joy.

Kai Kai left the beach a fairy riding a galloping unicorn. You can almost see the movement.

That inspired Dewdrop to use shells as double unicorn horns for herself.

Her sand fairy was a big happy face. Which did a very good job of expressing how we all felt about Siesta Key Beach.

Here are a few more seashell fairies from other beaches:

Outer Banks
Maui
Missouri
Siesta Key, Daddy's Ashes Angel

A renewal of our vows on Siesta Key beach

celebrations, family, Travel, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2015

Over the years, I've told my husband it would be fun to throw a big party and renew our vows. I've also mentioned eloping to Vegas and getting remarried in an Elvis chapel. He always scoffs, even though he tends to be a pretty romantic guy, he wasn't interested. I'd kind of forgotten about the idea, then while in Sarasota, we watched a wedding on the beach at sunset, as we finished up dinner on our patio.

I was inspired to bring up the idea again.

And this time, he said yes, and accepted my proposal.

It probably didn't hurt that the little girls were so excited, and that we only had about 10 minutes to pull it all together before the sun went down. I threw a couple of sundresses on the two little beauties, the condo neighbors gave me a bundle of flowers wrapped in foil, I slipped one of the girls headbands over my wet hair and then put Sugarwings in charge of the rest.

At first she drew a pathway in the sand with a heart to stand in, but it led towards the real wedding party, and we didn't want to bother them. So, we found some tracks left by a wagon and followed those. She put some leaves and rosemary (from the plant we bought to cook with while there) into a sieve that we'd bought to play in the sand with and she walked ahead, as our flower girl. I grabbed the rosemary pot to carry as well as my flowers.

I handed my camera to our Hippie Chick, and people started finding jobs to do. Dewdrop was our ring bearer, and had a couple of colorful hair ties with flowers on them to use as rings (provided by our talented wedding planner, Sugarwings).

Adam was best man, and Ry Guy walked us down the wagon trail path.

Avanhi has a sultry, sweet voice, and sang my husband's favorite song, Aloha by Nahko Bear and Medicine for the People.

We were right in time for the sun to go down, and the beach had an orange glow. No one really had a plan, there was a lot of laughter and it was all very free spirited.

So much so, that I never once considered the actual vows….

So, I whispered something racy in his ear.

Then he went and had a BEAUTIFUL speech. Very lovable and sweet.

And Ryan had a thoughtful, loving statement to make too.

As well as Adam. What had started out as a fun, little lark had become a moving, and tender moment.

We were in Florida with our big family gathering to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in August, as well as Sugarwings' mommy's 30th birthday a few days later.

When we planned the trip, the vow renewal hadn't occurred to me. Which makes it even more special, although if I'd planned it, I think I'd have worn some makeup…. and thought up some vows.

But I don't think that there is anyway on earth that months of planning could've created a better moment.

It's not what you spend, what you say, what the whole thing looks like.

It's the love that goes into it.

And we had that.

And of course, a fantastic wedding planner never hurts either.

A nice beach walker offered to take a photo of all of us together.

I'll leave you with a few more photos of our perfectly, imperfect ceremony. And here are the lyrics to the song we all love.

A Fused Glass party

celebrations, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2015

Before Birdsong 5 got to rockin, and then I flew away to Florida for a family trip, I pre-wrote a few blog posts to pop up while I was otherwise occupied. This is a story from earlier in the year, and I've also got some pics of pre-Birdsong coming up too.

My friend, Shanna, is an accomplished stained glass artist. She also does mosaic, and fused glass. And best of all, she is a kind hearted, generous soul who likes to open up her studio to her friends. We have an ongoing group studio day for mosaics, and even though I gave up working with glass years ago, I still join in and bring something else to work on so I can hang out and chat with friends.

But,when she hosted two birthday parties with fused glass projects, I just had to participate and try my hand at them.

Here are a couple of my results, I love the diacrylic glass, and all the sparkles it has in it. But I'm not very good at making these, it takes some practice. I discovered that it is very much like glazes in ceramic, the kiln firing changes your creation quite a bit and it's kind of a gamble when you are putting it together, unless you know how the heat will affect the end result.

Basically, you layer bits of glass, holding it in place with small drops of glue, then pop them in a kiln. Here they are pre-firing.

Shan provided a huge selection of glass for us to work with.

My other friends have higher levels of glass skills than I do, and could cut the glass as needed. I used the pieces as is. Everyone got nice jewelry from the night- after the pieces were fired, we glued bails to the backs and turned them into pendants or earrings.

Mosaic Day is on Thursdays, not every week, but quite often.

There are always a wide variety of projects going on. Diane asked me to sketch an iris for her to fill in with cut pieces of glass. I'm okay with a marker, but when it comes to glass, I decided to let the experts play with that…

See what I mean? Shan is quite the expert, I love her work!

She has a beautiful home, with lots of windows to display her stained glass.

And for her dog, Oscar to peek out of. Ozzie is one of my grand dogs from Twinkle's last litter. I'm always happy to see him when I visit, he is one of the sweetest of all the pups that came from our home. It could be Shanna's influence, she is a sweetheart too.

She is always generous, and is over the top talented.

This is the fused glass pendant she created. The necklace was her birthday gift to me. Nice, huh? Thanks, Shanna!!

Whitworth Ranch Retreat

celebrations, Food and Drink, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 8, 2015

What can I say about my visit to the Whitworth Ranch Retreat??? Oh my, where to start? What a pretty place. Comfy, great food, hospitable, and fun. Stacy Seely is owner and chef of the retreat on an acreage in Scurry, Texas and she threw a party for my FABULOUS buddy, Karen Hillman.

But this wasn't just a party. It was an extended weekend BASH. With a bevy of beauties all dressed up like visitors to Downton Abby.

Stacy not only decorated to the hilt to make photo ops for us, she hosted one little party after another. Each elaborate, gourmet meal had its own decor and all featured British foods to keep with the Downton gowns we wore.

Her food was as delicious as it was pretty, and I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the fancy meals against the backdrop of the Texas landscape.

We were surrounded by a few hundred acres that were home to herds of cattle.

The interior is nicely shabby chic-ed. This was our attic room, with four little Snow White and the 7 Dwarves' beds.

Sissy called them Goldilocks beds.

I think there were 4 or 5 rooms of 4 sets of beds, each with a different cottage style. And spacious bathrooms, with big, fluffy towels. I liked our attic room best because it was pinkalicious.

And because I got to share it with these guys! Regina, Sissy, and Guncle Randy. I brought them each a set of fake teeth to go along with my gappy smile. And we put them in our mouths, composed ourselves, and calmly called a person upstairs, telling them we wanted to show them something. When our guest got up to the top of the stairs, we gave them each a wide grin, then rolled on the floor laughing. We pulled this prank over and over, til we had a room full of people rolling around with us.

Some meals were served in the main house, while some were poolside. Continental breakfasts were available in either building, and were self serve, with plenty of fresh fruit and home made pastries.

The main house was the original, Whitworth family home.

This addition is fairly new, and is where I stayed.

It holds the craft room, as well as two guest rooms, a large sitting area, a kitchen and two baths. We wanted to be here, so we could craft till all hours of the night, and we sure made use of it. I was up till after 1 each night, cutting and gluing. And maybe sipping a tiny bit of wine and snacking on some of the best cookies I've ever had in my life.

I'm not the only one who thought so, although I did my share of emptying out the cookie jar!

And see what I mean about the beauty of the decor?

Stacy went all out.

No detail was left untouched. For High Tea, we were served these specialty teas from Highclere Manor.

With tea sandwiches, fresh baked scones, and clotted cream. I'm very surprised I was able to control myself around that clotted cream. It took all of my will power to not lick the jar clean and risk getting the container stuck on my nose while trying to get to the bottom.

There is nothing as good as one of Stacy's home made scones topped with clotted cream.

Unless maybe it is her chocolate pudding made from a recipe handed down through 7 generations…

Or the champagne jello…

Or the fish and chips with Mushy Peas…

I'd never heard of mushy peas, and now they are my favorite food.

I'll leave you with some pictures of the prettiness. And soon, I'll post about about the crafts. With a craft room like that, I couldn't get in enough arty time. I was enticed to go in there and work whenever I got a free moment.

I really hope to go back. Preferably around Canton time or McKinney flea market days.. Stacy asked me if I want to teach sometime, I wonder if anyone would like to join me?

(photo by Karen)

She only charges $230 per person to stay there (classes, if offered, are not included in that fee), and that is from Thursday at 10am til Sunday at 3pm, with continental breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners included. (Plus whatever classes are being offered at the time, or else you can just treat it as a B&B and rent it for a vacation, not come during classes)

The cost kinda blew me away. I kept asking her again, in case I got it wrong, and then finally wrote it down just to be sure. Really?? Only $230 a person for the whole time, not for each day? And those meals are included? The food has to be much more simple than what we had, right??? NOPE. Elaborate, home cooked, gourmet meals done fresh, with any theme you'd like. Stacy has a culinary degree and knows her way around a kitchen. She says she can cook any style food that is requested. Italian, TX BBQ, or pure British bliss like we had.

I just go this message about a Mother's Day special, if you have free time in May, you should make plans to go! What a deal and what a friendly, welcoming place!!

Mother's Day Special, Treat your Mom, Sister, Daughter or Best Friend to a weekend away of fun, relaxation, crafting, sewing and great food!

I have 2 weekends available in May that I am offering at a discount in appreciation to all the Mom's out there!

These weekends are Thursday 10:00 AM to Sunday at 3:00 PM

May 14-17 and May 28-31

Cost is $185.50 and includes lodging and all meals.

Upcoming Retreat with Shanna Noel with Illustrated Faith is coming to Whitworth Ranch Retreat on Thursday October 22 to Sunday October 25th. This fun weekend will be packed full of devotionals, journal techniques and more. Deposit is $200.00 to reserve your spot. More details to follow. You can follow Shanna on Pinterest and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/shanna.noel.5?fref=ts

https://www.pinterest.com/shannanoel/

A simple, easy, enjoyable Easter (its kind of late to post about it though)

celebrations, family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / April 24, 2015

We had a laid back Easter, pretty simple and lots of fun. With time for crafting and egg decorating in the afternoon, which is alway a plus for me. Walmart sells these plastic eggs that are great to embellish and also take paint well. They can be cut open to create an interior scene too. I poked two holes in the top to feed a wire through, and dangled a butterfly on, then made a glittered, moss nest with genuine pearl eggs. It is mounted on a tiny tart tin and has vintage millinery covering up the holes on top.

Since Dewdrop was away, Sugarwings was our only small child for the annual egg hunt on the Fairy Berry Trail.

But she had a little help from a friend.

When I got a new convection oven a few weeks back, I was so excited to try it out, I baked a turkey, and stuck some in the freezer, which was great to have waiting and ready to go for the holiday. I might do that more often. I made noodles with most of the frozen turkey, and saved some of it to make gluten free noodles for Sugarwings. Since we have vegetarians at our table, I also made noodles with Swanson organic vegetable broth. I've found that by adding poultry seasonings to that brand of broth, I get a nice, traditional flavor that works well with noodles. Other brands haven't done as well for me.

Our family has a tradition of eating egg noodles over mashed potatoes at holidays, something that started with my mom.

While it might sound complicated to make three different kinds of noodles for one family, it really wasn't a big deal. And I prepped those along with fruit salad, green bean casserole, and roasted veggies the day before, so all I had to do was pop pans into the oven, warm up the noodles, make mashed potatoes and bread on Easter Sunday. I was happy with myself for getting so much done the day before so that I could relax and enjoy my day with the family.

We had plenty of time to sneak out and go to a movie, "Home". And if you've seen it, you'd know how perfect a choice it was for Easter, those "booves" changed colors with their emotions and the little aliens reminded me of Easter eggs.

Lots of crafting got done by part of our group, while others worked in the garden, and our dinner cooked away pretty much on its own.

I am going to remember how much I enjoyed this day as I get ready for Birdsong. It is entirely possible to have a delicious meal mostly made up ahead of time, so that I don't have to spend as much time in the kitchen, and I can have fun being with people I enjoy.

Birdsong is so special to me, but I often run around so busy, I don't get to hang out the way I really want to. Well NOT this year!! I'm doing some serious planning ahead.

Arabella Cinderella Day

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / April 6, 2015

Around here, it doesn't take much to turn a simple trip to the movie theater into a big event.

The Hippie Chick and I had been impatiently waiting for the new Cinderella movie.

(the theater had big screens for previews in the lobby, how nice!)

When I saw these dresses from the Cinderella collection on sale at Kohls (plus 30% off with my coupon) I almost bought them, but fought the urge. (I'm very, very cheap).

But, on another trip to Kohls to snap up more the 70-80% off clearance items while taking another 30% off with my coupon and filling up my cart with school clothes for next year, I couldn't be strong enough to say no to these dresses a second time.

I figured I'd saved enough on the other stuff to make up for the splurge on these little confections. (That little white jacket Dewdrop is wearing was on sale for under $2. That beats Goodwill prices! )

Since Sugarwings and her mommy weren't able to join Dewdrop and I at the Fairy Tale village when we went a few weeks ago, we decided to make a day of it and bring them back with us to see Crown Center, the fairy tale land, Kaleidoscope, and the new movie.

The make believe village was a bit more crowded than when were were here on a weekday, this was a Saturday during spring break, and the whole place was packed.

Sugarwings was a tad overwhelmed, but I kept telling her that we had plenty of time, and weren't rushing through it. We had a three hours to hang out, and I was happy to stick around.

So, we played a while, and then took breaks to ride the escalators up and down a bit, or go sit and color in the Crayola store.

We also took snack breaks, and walked around.

And spent a half hour session at Kaleidoscope. I'd hoped to go to two sessions, but it was pretty busy. We were lucky that my son was there early to get us passes for this session. It's free, but can fill up. Going early to reserve a spot on busy days is a good idea.

We get plenty of craft time at home, but not in surroundings like this. I probably like the place as much as the grand fairies do.

Dewdrop's name is Mayara, I call her Ara, and that has sometimes morphed into Arabella Cinderella. We decided to name the day after her. Everyone needs a day of their own sometime, don't they? We also made this day her going away party for her big trip out East.

She was a bit young for the movie though. The only parts she was really into were the ones with magic or mice. Sugarwings, her mom and I loved every second of it. My husband decided to stay home and watch the KU game instead (I have to admit, it was a play off, and he is pretty into that stuff, I certainly understood- March happens), so my son used his movie ticket at the last minute and came along to help keep the little one entertained when the parts she didn't care for came on.

I had a feeling, that I would need back up so I wouldn't have to miss any of the show.

As part of the special day, we went to a theater in KC where you have recliners to lounge in, and a great menu to order from. They have a wine bar upstairs and if you request it, you can order a full dinner from that menu, not just movie theater food. And you pick your seat in advance, so we chose back row by the door, and brought an iPad, (on mute with the lights turned down) for our Arabella Cinderella to play with after she was done eating.

It was a long day for her with no nap, and lots of activity. The big day was a lot for our other princess too, so there were some moments far from perfection. But, that is part of doing things with kids, and you have to know when it is time to go look at the fountains, or twirl in the lobby, and get away from the hustle bustle for a bit.

Over all it was a very special day out. And I love having these photos to look at while I'm impatiently waiting for tiny Arabella Cinderella to return to Kansas from her time with her mommy out east.