Fancy Nancy Fun

We celebrated our girl's birthday this past weekend with close friends and family. While we don't spend much on birthday gifts, we do try each year to organize a fun, family-friendly event. Many of the invitees were key in praying for our girl and I during her birth so it's well worth the effort to celebrate together.

The "soiree" (that's fancy for party) was based on Fancy Nancy's favorite things. We decorated with fuchsia, French and flowers. Boas and beads were plentiful. The young girls came dressed in their frilly outfits and the adults added "accessories" to their attire as they entered the bash.

The hors d'oeuvres and frilly toothpicks were plentiful (don't feel too bad for the guys who had to deal with the frills and dressing up..we had manly meatballs and little smokies to help balance out the tea sandwiches!). We even had a "parfait bar" in addition to pink sprinkled cupcakes for dessert.

The kids had fun in the "day spa" area, trying on lotions and pretending to put on makeup. They made fruit-loop/licorice bracelets and had fun swinging at the flower-shaped pinata.

The highlight of the party was when our friend Anna Marie came in dressed as "grown up Fancy Nancy". She read a Fancy Nancy story to the kids with "Frenchie" her (fake) poodle and did a great job entertaining us all.

The party was a success and most of all, our girl was blessed. Thank you to all who celebrated with us (in person or in prayer!).

(Sorry I didn't get better pics, my camera isn't working the greatest. Mr. Wagner, hint...hint...hint. Thanks to Wally Curtis for capturing some of the special moments above).

Happy Birthday Little Miss!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to our very favorite girl! My heart melts when I look at these pictures. To think that our tiny 2.5 lbs baby is now a beautiful, joy-filled young girl. One cannot help but know that God is truly good. Thank you Jesus, thank you.

Photos courtesy of Emy Lyn Photography

Turning the Big 0-4!

Our girl's big day is coming up and we are sure excited to celebrate with close friends and family! Hope those of you that are in the area and are able to make the celebration are ready to get fancy!

Just Around the Corner

Is it truly the first day of September already....seriously?! Where oh where has our dear Summer gone? I love the relaxing days and activities of the summer months but have to say, I am looking forward to Fall. It appears the change in season is just around the corner. The geese are already flying overhead and the mornings are getting cooler. Pumpkin patches, glowing golden days and college football, here we come!

P.S. Just for you Jack, Duck hunting is also a sport that starts in the Fall...let the games begin. Go Beavs!

Midwest Madness

We just returned from the Midwest where we were visiting Mr. Wagner's side of our family. We had a terrific time with Gr'pa and Gr'ma, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and are so blessed to have such a close extended family.

One of Mr. Wagner's favorite pastimes when visiting "home" is to work outside with his dad and brother. It's not all just hard labor since the guys get to take turns driving the tractors and four wheeler while working.

Speaking of tractors, the Little Miss and her cousins each took a turn teaching their Gr'pa how to drive. With all of those lessons I'm sure he'll get the hang of it one of these days!

Here are the infamous driving instructors. As you can see, Owen took the job most seriously. Speaking of Owen, my favorite quote of the trip was when I reminded the Little Miss that he is her cousin. She replied and said, "No he's not...he's just a BOY."

It's no wonder our girl is confused about having a boy as a cousin since the rest of her cousins are girls. The "girlie girls" had fun playing with their new Hello Kitty makeup kits. Here they are made up, just before entertaining us with the first of several fashion shows.

Last but definitely not least, the girls had a lot of fun learning to cook with their sweet Gr'ma. Here Gr'ma and the Little Miss are making cute "rag doll" salads. The girls also had fun making cookies together. Gr'ma faithfully played with the kiddos all week, from tea parties to dress-up to games and necklace making, there was much fun to be had!

We had a wonderful visit and had a tough time saying "good-bye". We are thankful for all of the memories we have to think about until the next time...So. Much. Fun!

Memories in the Making

Each year, shortly before our girl's birthday, "we" like to schedule family pictures (Interpretation: The we is really me. According to Mr. Wagner, getting professional pictures taken ranks right down there with painting, cleaning toilets and picking berries...several of his least favorite activities). My darling hubby kindly appeased me with the memory-making this year and was very patient with the whole process. Thank you Mr. Wagner!

For more samples of our family pics, check out this link. Thanks go out to Emily for again taking great photos of our family and for making the experience fun!

P.S. For the record, Mr. Wagner does take his fair turn cleaning our toilets. As for his love (or lack thereof) of painting? We just paid a college student to paint the Little Miss' room so it's now finished and was well worth the extra bucks! More pics to come of that once we finish decorating.

Still Growing!

Some of you may be wondering if our yard is still thriving and well. We are proud to say that indeed it is! Our family has truly enjoyed our backyard this summer and we are loving the beautiful flowers, green grass and our little garden.

We have had some "lessons learned" in the process. I know I'll be planting fewer marigolds next year. I like them because they are hardy and last a long time but they sure can take over! My favorite flower of the summer has been the Shasta Daisies...so simple and yet lovely.

This is my favorite flowerpot, love how the red zinnia spread (that was just one plant) and contrasts with the deep purple petunias.

Our garden has been faithfully producing this summer too. We eat a lot of broccoli in the Wagner household so I thought I'd give them a try this year. Who knew the plants would grow so grand! I've been blanching what we don't eat right away and freezing it (we tested it and it is so much better than store-bought frozen broccoli).

We planted two tomato plants of differing types, both of which have a lot of tomatoes on them yet have not ripened (we planted them a bit late in the season but I'm guessing they should ripen in the next couple of weeks). We've also enjoyed fresh zucchini (I knew even we would be successful with that!) and have carrots that are still growing. We're sure enjoying this new gardening adventure!