Family + Pizza: Part Two

This week, we had the 2nd Annual combined Esther & Debi Hawaiian Pizza Birthday Dinner.  + pulled pork sandwiches (Debi really wanted those, so she brought them, too.)

To add to the fun, the girls requested that everyone dress Fancy Nancy style.  And if you don’t know who that is, I am so sorry for you.  Adorable stories.  Scrumptious illustrations.  Really.

Nancy would say that wearing posh accessories really does make dinner taste better.  Would you agree?

 

Family + Pizza: Part One

On Sunday, the Avis’s came over for Family Home Evening (or FHE).  Our church encourages families (usually immediate families, but extended families, or even groups of friends when family isn’t near also work) to gather once a week for family learning and fun.  You can learn more about FHE here and here.

Traditionally on Monday nights, we hold ours on the first Sunday of each month because its easier for our merged schedules.

This time, they came over a little early so we could have dinner before.  Homemade pizzas!  The best!!  I made the dough (which is what inspired the dinner last month when Heidi was saying she wants a pizza dough recipe), and they brought all the yummy toppings. 

The kids had fun, and got messy (they didn’t make mistakes, though (sorry, Magic School Bus quote) but you can’t really make mistakes when making your own pizza, right?) adding the toppings to their individual rounds of dough like masterpieces.

(Insert collage here.  Okay, I just have to say that you are going to be seeing a lot of these collages.  I have been admiring them all over the web, and couldn’t figure out how to get any of my photo editing programs to do it for me.  I even tried making my own, but YIKES!  Getting the sizes and spacing right was just too much!  Happily, I found the program I needed.  And in case any of you are looking for the answer to photo mosaics as well, I’ll save you some time:  Picasa.)

 John showed Tom how to grill the pizza on the BBQ (thanks, John, we’ll be doing this a lot more often!) and I’m sure we made our neighbors jealous with the savory scent.  Just look at those pizzas & I dare you to try to keep your mouth from watering.  Too late! Ha!

We took advantage of the tables still set up on the patio from Esther’s birthday.

 

Oh, WOW!  That was good pizza!  I know, you’re all jealous.  But that’s okay.  Give me a call and come over sometime and we’ll show you all the tricks to a perfect grilled pizza.  Just bring the toppings.

Wonderland

A week ago Saturday, our little Essie turned six.

She requested an Alice birthday, and I did my best to create Wonderland.

 

For months before, I scavenged thrift stores for various teacups & teapots.  My sister, Miriam, piped “eat me” on cookies for hours.  I looked up topsy turvy cakes online (and was quite pleased with how it turned out!).  Paper lanterns and friends completed the setting.

 

After tipping teacups, out came the plastic bag aprons and the red paint!  Earlier that week, I’d painted the rose bushes on 15ft of butcher paper.  What a lot of green poster paint it took!  White silk roses were collected from the Dollar Tree and cardboard boxes for reinforcement from Walmart at 11o’clock at night.

The little artists worked (some meticulously, others haphazardly), to fix the cards’ mistake.

That’s enough!  Off with their heads!

 

Cake, presents, croquet & party favors and Ta Da!  A fabulous party!

Most of the photos are courtesy of my sister, Debi.

Post-Edit:

I forgot that I had wanted to include this pic, of the wonderful twilight dinner we enjoyed with some family that stayed after the party (Didn’t John & Tom take wonderful advantange of the party strings by adding the lights?):