1st Day of 2nd Grade

One of my all time favorite writers is James Barrie. He was the author of Peter Pan. If you ever go searching through his writings and his quotes, you will find he wrote a lot about growing up, having hope in the unknown, relishing being young, and about childhood dreams in general. One of my favorite ones I found from the movie Finding Neverland, was this one:

"Young boys (or girls) should never be sent to bed, for when they wake up they are a day older."

Now whether or not Mr. Barrie himself actually uttered these words or it was a line written in the script for Johnny Depp to read (he played Barrie in the movie), is beside the point. It has great meaning for me and on days such as yesterday when you take your baby to school and you realize she in the 2nd grade, you sort of wonder, where the time has gone.

Sarah and her BFF

I am so grateful I have a child that loves school. I am sure there will come a day when she does not, but for now she is absolutely giddy with excitement. Even when we found out she only knew 3 boys in her hew class and no girls, she wasn't phased a bit. She is a very social girl and has never had a problem making new friends. She loves being around all her friends, she loves learning new things, she loves wearing new school clothes, and she seems to like her new teacher. As a mom, it makes me happy knowing that when I drop her off everyday, the place she spends the majority of her childhood, is a happy place for her.



She said yesterday, "Mom before you know it, I will be in the 3rd grade" and I responded with, "Before I know it you will be going off to college!" Sort of makes me not want to put her to bed tonight and just hold her close and try to keep her from growing up.

Mr. Barrie knew a thing or 2 about children and life and about how as humans it is a struggle to deal with the fact that things change and will never be the same. I feel I can relate to so much of what James Barrie wrote about and cared about. I encourage you to watch Peter Pan again (and this time, not through the eyes of a child.) I also encourage you to watch this movie:


Not only is Johnny Depp amazing as ever, but it is such a touching, beautiful movie. One of my favorites of all time!

Thoughts on Normandy

This Memorial Day I am thinking about our trip last June to Normandy. I am jumping ahead a little bit in my journal-ing of our vacation to bring you some photos of this spectacular place.

Never have I been so moved and humbled by a location before. The sites we visited were truly awe inspiring. To see first hand those beaches in which our brave soldiers fought so gallantly was amazing and eerie. To think how horrible those landings were and to see how far and long the beaches were at low tide and then the cliffs they had to climb once they reached the shore was unbelievable. World War II movies come close to capturing the horror, but it is all too much to take in when standing there thinking of what it must have been like. Rows and rows of brave dead men and you can't help but be moved and feel patriotic. I found this section of France particularly to be very welcoming to Americans. The French get a bad rep in the eyes of many Americans, but those in this region remember well, first hand or through stories, what the Americans did for them. There are just as many American flags flying in this region as French. I highly recommend any American tourist to travel to this location and spend a few days, if not a week or so, seeing all the sights. A special place to remember this Memorial Day weekend.

Iron Mike - a memorial just outside of St. Mere-Eglise

This is just one of the many bridges that our troops fought to keep control of. Amazing how small it is and yet how important. The paratroopers (from the story Band of Brothers) were the ones to land here.

The church in St. Mere-Eglise. If you look closely you can see the fake para-trooper hanging from the troop. This is a memorial to a solider for whom this actually happened to. He hung up there while fighting commenced all around him. After 2 hours he was cut down by the Germans and taken prisoner. He was later released to the Americans. You can read the story HERE.

Stained glass windows in the church with para-troopers surrounding the Virgin Mary.

The girls at the Airborne Museum in St. Mere-Elgise

The writing on the wall at the American cemetery in Normandy. Such powerful words.

This place was sad, beautiful, moving, haunting, and all around amazing. This was the American cemetery in Normandy. Just out past the graves you see the beaches of Omaha Beach. Go HERE to read more about this awe-inspiring place.

The memorial at Omaha Beach.

We went to go walk the beach and were greeted by hundreds of these little jellies. IF the war wasn't bad enough, to be greeted by a beach full of these babies would have just added to the struggle of the day.

Point du Hoc
This location lends itself to another story of valor and bravery. Read about it HERE.

Entrance to one of the artillery bunkers

Us next to one of the bomb craters.

Utah Beach in the morning low tide. Look how far it is to the water.

Utah Beach at sunset. Look how much farther still to the water... So scary to think about all those brave men so exposed for so long when getting off those boats. How brave they must have been.

I have many more pictures from this area. This was just the tip of the iceberg. I was never a big World War II buff and certainly didn't know (and still don't know) all the stories, but there is so much to learn here about some many brave men. You can just be driving down the side of the road and see a monument to a hero that died doing something that helped his battalion or group get to where they needed to be. We hear so many times about specific main battles and main heroes, that we forget all the ones that go un-mentioned. This place memorializes them all. Well all they know about. Truly a patriotic place and one we as Americans can be very proud of.

My Top Ten: Royal Wedding

Although I did not end up staying up all night to watch the wedding, I did DVR it and watch it this morning. I LOVED it and was in near tears several times. Mostly because I was so happy for William and wished dearly for him that his beautiful mother could have been there to see it all. But also I was so happy and excited for Kate. I remember all to well what it was like to be a bride. Even me being a simple commoner having experienced nothing like what she did today, I could still feel that excitement and happiness that comes with being a bride and marrying your "prince"!

So what were my top ten favorite things about the wedding:

10. The location of the ceremony.

There is something so sacred and special about being married in a church, but to be married in a cathedral that has been standing for hundreds of years, it must be awe-inspiring. I have walked in many old cathedrals and basilicas in my travels and I cannot even imagine what it might be like to be married in one. If I could have my pick, I would pick St. Peter's in Rome. Breathtaking! I thought they had decorated Westminster beautifully and I love the layout of it. It was a wonderful backdrop.

9. The hats of the guests.

I have always loved the British tradition of wearing hats to weddings. There is something so formal about them and I love how fun all the designs are. There were several that were border-line weird, but for the most part, I loved looking at them all!

8. The wedding cakes.

Especially the fact that William had a groom's cake! How southern is that! People in CA don't even have groom's cake normally. I even loved that his cake was a recipe from a cake he used to eat as a child. How sweet. I thought they were both beautiful!

7. Prince Harry.

I love how cute these two brothers are together. He seemed to play the part of the perfect younger brother/best man. I saw him making jokes and just being a brother to William on many occasions. It has been so neat to watch these boys grow up. They both really take after their mother.

6. The carriage ride.

How royal is that. It is like something out of a fairytale. Sure you can arrange to exit in a horse and carriage after your own wedding, but when does anyone ever get to parade around the city with millions of people cheering them on and with hundreds of uniformed escorts. AMAZING. ROYAL.

5. The exit from Buckingham Palace.

How cute was that when William and Kate left on their own in such an amazing car. It even read Just Wed on the license plate. I could have done without the cheesy balloons and ribbons on it, but how wonderfully cute and surprising the whole thing was.

4. The formality.

I love all the royal protocol and all the proper-ness of the whole thing. How much time must they all spend learning how to be royal. How to act graciously, who to shake hands with and who to not, how to compose yourself and be proper all the time. It was amazing and refreshing to see. One thing I love about being from the south is all the etiquette and learning how to be and act, and it is so nice to see that there is still a proper way to be and the royals are experts at it.

3. Pippa's dress.

I almost half expected for Kate to be wearing something along the lines of Pippa's dress. How perfect is her petite frame and how wonderfully beautiful was her dress. It was fit perfectly and I loved that it was white. It complemented the whole bridal party I thought.

2. The coordination of the wedding.

I am not sure who the wedding planner(s) was/were, but my hats off to them. I am pretty sure it wasn't a Martha Stewart or a Colin Cowie, but they need to be equally recognized as if they were. How in the heck do you coordinate such a fete and have it come off without a hitch. As a planner myself I am in awe of how you seat all 2000 guests appropriately in a church where most will not have a view at all. How you get people from 3 different locations, to one location at perfect intervals and in the order they need to be. I am imagining people on radios going cue the brothers, cure the mother, cue the queen, cue Kate, etc....They all made it on time and in the correct order. Amazing. Prefect.

1. Kate's Dress.

My first reaction when I saw it was, that's it...that's what she chose? I have seen that dress before? Someone else has worn something almost identical before. It is so the opposite of what I pictured her in. Where is the modern day princess everyone was talking about? How safe of a pick. How boring of a pick. How not representative of a young bride. It looks like an older bride dress. So at first I was disappointed. So how did it make my #1?? It was perfect for the occasion. Had it been me, I would have picked the same thing. I would have said, "I want to look like Grace Kelly, like royalty. I want to be that traditional princess bride. I want a tiara, I want a ball gown, I want lace, I want to be exactly what I had always pictured a princess bride to be. In that sense, I LOVED it. She is so beautiful and it fit her perfect and it was just perfect for a royal wedding.

Royal Wedding Fever

I have got it bad! I remember Diana's wedding 30 years ago very well! I remember watching it on TV and just being mesmerized! I think it was at that moment I became in love with weddings. Her wedding was the stuff dreams were made of. I must say, all the excitement and those feelings are coming back now for the wedding of her son. I am almost seriously contemplating staying up all night to watch this thing! The coverage begins at 1am PST. Am I crazy??

I cannot wait to see Catherine in her dress. I mean really, that is all I really care about. What crown will she wear is maybe something I am looking forward to. Maybe! All this hype made me bring out my old Diana doll my aunt gave me the year she was married. It is a little old and yellowed, but I love it. It is priceless to me.

I still have all my old Diana books too. I used to gaze at these pondering my life as a princess one day when I was a little girl. I wonder if my girls will do the same about Kate? Probably not as they don't seem to be as into it all, ....yet.


Somewhere I have the post card my babysitter sent me that actually went to London to be a part of the Diana and Charles festivities. She also brought me back a viewfinder with images from the wedding on it. I made scrapbook upon scrapbook of magazine cutouts of Diana when I was growing up. I just loved her. It was such a sad day the day I heard the news about her passing. The world lost a wonderful lady that day. I have hopes that Kate will be just as much a beautiful princess and wonderful role model as Diana was. I feel like a proud mom and am so happy that William seems to have chosen well!

Cannot wait for the big day that starts tonight!!

I've been featured!

I was just checking my blog roll and noticed that one of my favorite websites Design Dazzle did a post on Snow White parties. I started reading it and low and behold, my Snow White party for Lauren was mentioned! Go HERE to read the post and check out her awesome blog!

Who's the Fairest of them all....

SNOW WHITE!

I am in Snow White La-La Land right now. That is going to be the theme for Lauren's 3rd birthday party next month and I am a party planning fool right now. So far I have found super adorable things..such as the invites! Check them out!


I also found these cute graphics to use on all my party planning goods. I am basing my whole color scheme and decor around this.

I have also found cute, cute things to give away as party favors. There is tons more stuff out there with apples on it than there is Snow White. She is one of the princesses who is currently not getting the props she deserves. Why is it always Cinderella??

FYI...Beauty and the Beast comes out next month... you can reserve your copy at The Disney Store!

My Little Artist

One of Sarah's favorite activities is art. Of all of them that she does, art is the one I hope she stays with the longest and would even secretly love for her to make a career out of it. I think Sarah has the talent and the love for it, so we will see. We have been very blessed that in our own backyard is a wonderful little art studio where she takes classes and camps. You may remember THIS POST from last year's Paris themed camp! I LOVE Studio Art House in Southlake. Sarah's teacher, Sarah, is so nice and I think Sarah loves that they share the same first name!

Last week they had a little art gallery showing. This what Sarah painted for the show.

Title: Flutterfly

She did it all herself and I only helped her brainstorm a title!


Here is Sarah with her teacher, Miss Sarah!

This semester they have been learning about several different artists. I would like to share some of her work with you that has been inspired by two wonderful artists she has been learning about; Frida Kahlo and Joan Miro.

First is Frida Kahlo, artist from Mexico: You can go to her website HERE! These are the 2 paintings that inspired Sarah to draw this one. They were learning about the painting where Frida was thinking/pondering something (death).

I think you can tell by the title of Sarah's painting what she was thinking about!

Title: I Can't Wait Until My Loose Tooth Falls Out

Second is Joan Miro, artist from Spain: You can go to his website HERE! Here are the two paintings that Sarah's class was inspired by. They learned about painting/drawing using lines and shapes.

Title: Nature

Title: Woman and Dog in the Sun

Here are Sarah's creations that were inspired by Joan Miro.

Titles: Circles in the Grass & Eye World

Title: Tower of Shapes

Here a couple of other pieces of artwork she has created lately. Two of my favorites!

Title: I Like Pink Poodles in Paris

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