A Masquerade Birthday Party

My daughter planned a 16th birthday masquerade party for my granddaughter this past Saturday
and we had so much fun! I went up on Thursday to help out with the preparations and stayed
until Sunday. She put a lot of time and effort into this and it was an all around hit!

Allysha has always been so photogenic and I took the opportunity to snap several pics of her. My
 daughter ordered our masks off of Amazon and purchased matching ones for Allysha, herself and
yours truly.

Mother and daughter ..."hey Mandi...I'm over here!!"  hehe

We threw Grandma Sandi in the mix for this photo. First off,  I had matching clothes to wear. I really did!!
A dark pink top with a short sleeved black sweater and black and rhinestone necklace, but in typical fashion
for ME,  I slopped balsamic vinegar on the pink top as we were preparing for the party, so I went into panic
 mode and changed my clothes. Totally forgot to put the necklace on and it just bums me that I had to
 do a quick change to this outfit...story of my life. Can't take me anywhere!  *SMILE*

Me and my girl Allysha...a beauty at 16, but then she has always been!

As most of you probably know, black does not photograph well ...at least not for me, but it could be
because I don't know what I am doing. ha!! I had to include the next few pictures anyway so you could
get a feel for the decor.

Masks and feathers...purple and black.

Even sparkly purple crows.

My daughter set up a photo booth inside the house and it was a hit!! We took all kinds
of photos with all kinds of masks and people really had fun with it.

While wearing my mask, I had to stumble around to see where I was going. Seriously!

I took it off about halfway through the party and put my glasses back on and it was
a whole new world! HAHA!

This was the mantle in her house filled with candles and a touch of feathers.
She had TWO parties that day. The first one was for family and friends from 12:30 -3:30
and the second one was just for Allysha and her friends. It started at 7 pm and went until
midnight. I was down for the count about 10 pm...so tired, but they survived without
me. lol.

All in all a wonderful day for a beautiful granddaughter. I am just wondering where all those
years went!! HOW did she get this old already? I pray every day that God will direct her
path and be her guide through life. She is a very smart girl...sometimes too smart. HA! She has
 had some issues to deal with in her life also, but God is working and He is GOOD!!

Blessings~

The book that started it all and the SURPRISE!

This is the book that started it all. When I saw this in the store, I came home and ordered one online
 {much cheaper that way} and the planning began.

Just a little heads up...these photos are all out of order. Blogger has been giving me fits
so it is what it is today.

After all the festivities grandpa made cotton candy and my youngest son made snow cones.
Like I said in an earlier post we sure sugared up the kids!! :)

At the end of the party we let the guys join us too!! Maybe they could have been elves ? lol

Did I tell you our neighbors stopped by the night before and asked us if we needed more tents?
They thought we were having a wedding! :)

Remember in an earlier post I told you we had a huge surprise right as the fairy party ended?? I
think some fairy flitting about must have told the ice cream man that there was a party on this road.

We could NOT believe it when we were sitting around outside, heard music and here comes
 the ice cream truck!! You have to understand we live in the boonies and we haven't seen one
 in years. It was such a perfect end to a fairy party and grandpa paid so that was even
 better. *smile*

Ainsley sure enjoyed her ice cream. We took her outfit off a little too late, but I
went in the house and ran it under water and thankfully it came right out in a jiffy.

Not the best photo with all the sun and shadows, but Keira loves her jewels. :)

Did I show this photo before? Oh my...I am thinking that I did. I am losing track of what I posed and what
I didn't. lol. 

The night BEFORE the party after I had it all set up and had to take it down because of an impending
storm.

If I knew how to edit myself out I would have , but I don't possess those skills. ha! I look like
I have been drug through a knothole backwards, but I did want you to see all the others. It
was hard work running around after all those fairies trying to get phots. At one point I told my
daughter-in-law that I couldn't keep up and she said, "I know we need wings too"...:)

FUN, FUN day that ended all too soon, but wonderful memories were made!!
{Check out my previous three posts if you haven't already} 

It's almost time...plus giveaway ends June 25

Time is counting down to the fairy party that I am having for my granddaughters.
It is getting closer and closer and it will be here before we know it!
Many ideas, planning and let's not forget $$$  {lol}  went into this so I hope it goes off without
 a hitch. I also hope that I haven't *oversold* it and that they are disappointed.
Most of all right now I hope the weather cooperates! We have been having sweltering hot
days {96 degrees} and that would not be good come fairy party time.

I made up a cute little poem to put on the invitations and sent them off to my sweeties...

...along with some fairy dust to sprinkle the night before.

A sneak peak of a banner I made just for the day.

I think we will have fun no matter what...kids don't expect everything to be perfect like us
adults do so I am sure I have nothing to worry about. The fairy clothes, shoes and wings
are just waiting for that special day!

If you haven't entered my giveaway for free stickers 
that you get to design yourself, please do so asap 
because it ends on June 25. Not very many are 
entered yet so your chances of winning are very 
good. You can click here to get to that post. 
Good luck!!

{I do want to add that I found the fairy silhouette image on google and credit goes to
 The Homeless Poet }

My Beautiful Niece LaShawn...Happy Graduation!

"What lies behind me and what lies before me are tiny matters compared to Who lives within me".

Have you ever seen a prettier face or smile? This is my beautiful niece LaShawn, my brothers oldest daughter. She graduated from high school today and I just can't believe she is all grown up! It seems like just yesterday that she was a tiny babe in arms and my how the years have flown. We wish nothing but the best for her in the future.

A little back story ...I graduated in 1977 from a small christian school that our church had started. As the years passed the school had fewer and fewer students and I think it was even closed for awhile.

Then a *NEW PASTOR* came to town a few years ago and things have never been the same at the church I grew up in. He is young, has a vision for young people and the church that I grew up in has really taken off and grown by leaps and bounds. They built a brand new school beside the church and today my neice was the *FIRST* graduate since it opened last fall. She was the only senior, but it was a monumental moment. The commencement address was given by a representative from the 58th district of Michigan . Pretty special graduation for a very special niece! LaShawn we love you so much and wish God's blessing on your life. You will always have a special place in my heart~

Aunt