this has been quite the day in the planning! it gets harder and harder to plan events with each other since family life and parties consume all of our schedules. the day started with lunch at paesano’s, an italian restaurant with a simple but tastefully packed menu! we chose the following: salami and cheese sandwich, stromboli calzone, gorgonzola and fuji apples pizza and various salads - talk about full *burp*…hahaha dessert was a no brainer - chocolate torte…YUM!!!

we all headed to the spa for our treatments…massages and facials! talk about a relaxing day! we were also treated to a couple of surprises as our friends announced they were pregnant!

as if the day couldn’t fly any faster, we headed to a high school graduation party for my cousin’s daughter, rachel. after a jaw dropping entrance into their 3,800 sq ft house, we stayed a bit to munch on the usual flip grub and dessert then headed home to pack for our vacation, which was to begin the next day! talk about last minute everything!

we were invited to a baby shower for friends that have been trying to get pregnant for 12.5 years. they have been blessed with a baby girl - how do we know? they gave birth early and instead of a baby shower it was a welcome baby party! we are so excited for them and can see how proud they are! baby zoe is doing well and is slowly gaining weight - she sounds like a trooper and gains weight every day! we can’t wait to meet her! congrats leah and sandro!

the next party was for our dear friends mark and jennine’s son, aiden! he is a very cute 2 year old boy with the cutest smile! it was a disney themed party and boy did his mom do a great job! she had disney plates, cutouts with the kids names on it and disney inspired crafts as well! while the adults had cake, the kids had mickey shaped cookies from cookies by design…yum! tobey was so tired from the days activities, he fell asleep on the way home!

true matriarch of my mom’s side - my sole living grandparent…lola doning celebrated her 87th birthday! one of the strongest women that i know she continues to do what she does to support her family - i sometimes have to remind her that she needs to take care of herself first especially at this age, but yet she continues to put everyone else before her. we love you lola doning!

mother’s day weekend was full of activities! we visited edison, jenn and joshua and spent the afternoon with them on saturday helping out with some of the packing and cleaning. dad, mom and the aunties had done a ton of it so there wasn’t really too much by the time we got there. later that evening we headed over to visit with venus and the rest of ramel’s side. we ended up having dinner there and i swear i had EVERYTHING and then some…i was sooo full! we got home about midnight and you would think i would have gone straight to sleep but i couldn’t. i stayed up until about 2 or 3 am not really doing anything, i just couldn’t sleep.

we left for the south bay the next morning to meet up with my side for a mother’s day brunch. we tried the world gourmet buffet place in fremont. i’m so glad we were early because that place got packed quickly! the food was good, i had mostly seafood so i can’t really attest for the other stuff…hahaha. we hung out the rest of the afternoon at my parents house and then we all split our own ways..the girls to target and the guys to best buy…hahaha

my hubby and my son surprised me with the best gift….a 500GB portable drive..hahhaha…yea, i know i’m weird right? i was sooo happy to receive one because i’d been wanting one for all the pics and digital scrapbooking i’ve been doing. i can’t wait to transfer all my stuff on it!

that seemed to be the theme this weekend!

our first stop was at a baby shower at pasta pomodoro in san jose. it was held in their outdoor patio and with the beautiful weather complementing the location, it made for a very enjoyable lunch. yummy pastas all around and the big hit….strawberry lemonade served in these cute carafes. and what makes a co-ed baby shower even more interesting for guys attending? vodka mixed with strawberry lemonade served in these cute carafes…hahaha

our next stop was a 7th birthday party for myles in elk grove. it was at a community clubhouse and boy was there hecka grub! the kids were entertained by “nature’s critters”, a traveling entertainment unit that had the weirdest insects, snakes, etc…eeks! tobey, justin and sebastian all held a live snake too! aack!

we didnt stay long because we had to rush home to meet up with friends that were sleeping over that night. they arrived shortly after 1045pm and the kids were still up! they spent the night playing the wii until about 2am!

the next day we all headed to a 6th birthday party for nate. more reason to grub and chat with friends that we just saw the night before..hahaha

it was a crazy but exciting weekend celebrating how quickly these kids grow up and finding out that 2 of our friends are pregnant! congratulations!