Whew!!! What a Weekend!

We just finished up our whirlwind weekend of parties with Justin and Judy's engagement party on Saturday evening and Ethan's and Mia"s 3rd birthday party on Sunday morning.

To sum it all up...

The weekend was amazing and lots of wonderful memories were made.

The engagement party was a cocktail party and after some mixing and mingling we got down to the serious business of playing the Not so/Really Wed Game based on the old Newlywed Game from the 60s. Marc, who is a Disc Jockey/Entertainer owns a game show system that he entertains with at all types of functions. It is a blast. The Not so's won the game (Justin and Judy) and the whole thing was a hoot. We found out that Shannon and Alan's first date was at an MC Hammer concert (snort) and that the first thing that Mary would crave if she was stranded on a desert island would be a beer and not Neil as he thought. That Justin and Judy had their first lip lock before their first date and that Judy's parents were not far behind as their first smooch was on their first date.

L to R - Judy's folks, Mary and Neil, Shannon and Alan and the newly engaged Justin and Judy

Then we segued into dancing and we all had a blast. I was so proud of my son and his bride to be. They made sure that everyone at the party felt welcomed and made sure to spend time with one and all. I really enjoyed watching them with all of their friends; some have know them since elementary school. It sure is amazing to see your child and their friends mark this new stage of life.

The newly engaged couple, Justin and Judy

Mary and Neil


Dom and Heidi
Kira
Marc says Cheers!
Dancing
and more dancing (Judy's folks)
My mom enjoying herself
My pop as well
Me mingling with my in-laws to be


Bright and early, and I do mean very early, we were back to partying and this time for Prince Ethan and Princess Mia. That was the theme of their party. Their royal highness's had a blast at P*ump it Up, an indoor inflatable party venue. A huge thanks goes to my gal pal and partner in crime, Shannon (mom to Mia) who took the lead on the planning of this fiesta. This was the most wonderful place to hold a party. The birthday kiddos had a blast and so did everyone else including the parents.

We came home and napped the dynamic duo and when they awoke we had the lovely surprise of having Justin come home for his first visit. The DD were so happy to have him at home and we all watched as Ethan opened his gifts. Katie had one to open herself as well and she took the whole birthday present thing like a champ. I was a bit concerned as they are so close in age and rationality is usually not the order of the day when you are 3 years old and not the one getting oodles of presents. Katie did not look pleased that Ethan had like 15 gifts to open but she did not freak out ;)

Here are a few pics from the gift opening

We all sat down to dinner and lively conversation punctuated by DD chatter. This is not always conducive to easy discussion but somehow tonight it was much easier and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

I had such an overwhelming feeling of happiness and gratitude that we have the love of our three children and our family and good friends to enjoy it all with.

It was a weekend to remember and I am so glad that I can blog about it so that the memories can be more easily called upon in the future.