Wine & Chocolate Soiree VIII

Last night was our eighth annual Wine & Chocolate Party!  We skipped last year due to Wesley’s birth, and we were a few weeks past Valentine’s this year, but we pulled it off.  I can’t speak for everyone, but Dwayne and I had an excellent time and Kyla is pretty sure the grown-ups were just killing time while the real party was happening downstairs.  The girl who says “crowds make me tired” when we go out among strangers is quickly blossoming into quite the hostess in her own home.  Hmm, maybe she is more like me than I thought….

Thanks to my friend (and, coincidently, my sister-in-law) Julie who brought The Good Camera and recorded some of the highlights of the evening.

 

I love this shot.  Julie, unfortunately, is taking it, which is why she is the only sibling not it.  This is me & Wes, my brother Keith with his boy, Parker, and my brother Brian with his fiancée, Sandi. Although she lives in the Portland area, she attended SPU and actually knew some of the people at our party beforehand!

 

Rochelle was at her photogenic best, so she gets her own section.

And Marcie is her usually stunning self.

 

The food and fountain. 

 

The Ericksons arrive.

Deanna and Eric managed to leave 2/3s of their kids with grandparents.  See those smiles?!

 

Brian and Sandi were all smiles, too.

 

This may be the only picture I have of Julie, AKA Photographer.

 

Keith, Joel, and Dwayne take time out from talking tech to smile.

 

Joy reminds us why were are at this party…

 

Oh, and to talk to new and old friends.  And their babies are probably chatting it up, too.  (Ann and Joy are both due mid-summer.)

 

I get to hold a 3 month old little lump of Benjamin.  Finally, I got his name right!

 

Margaret got both herself and two young kids to the party on her own.  And on time (that is not a typical Shultz trait anymore than it is a Need trait).  Jeremy came a little later straight from work.  Thanks for making this evening work, M&S!  I can’t imagine having this party without you there!

 

There’s Jeremy! (And Eric.)

 

Wyatt & Eric find a lot to talk about. 

 

Elizabeth, Scott, and Sandi find a convenient location near the food.

 

That’s right, Keith.  There’s lots to try. 

 

Cheers to good friends and in-laws!

 

Sarah shows off lovely Anna.

 

Look at these lovely ladies—Ashlynn’s eyes are identical to her mommy’s.

 

Melissa, this is even a better picture of those beautiful blues.

 

Rachel and Karis tried to break into the kids’ party but were finally convinced that it was even more fun upstairs!  (Okay, I’m kidding a little, but it was so fun to have these friends here.)

 

I kind of like this angled shot of this dress I have worn almost every year.  It was a bridesmaid dress for Kristen’s wedding 6 or 7 years ago.  This is one bridesmaid dress that has gotten a full life!

 

As been alluded to, there was another party going on downstairs.  We had 2 babysitters and 18 kids (down from the original 25 RSVPs).  We only got a few shots of the kids—they’re quick (and absorbed in Kinnect).

 

This is my favorite shot, of course.  I’m running low on time, so I will just have to put in the pictures and hopefully caption them later.

 

 

 

Thanks, everyone, for coming!  And Wilcoxes, I hope your kids are well soon and that you never have to miss another one of these parties.  We missed you!  (And all the other families too sick or on vacation who couldn’t make it this year.)

Kid-to-Kid (Moms, PLEASE don’t read!)

[Contributed by Kyla Paige]

Hey, Kids!  

Are you

• tired of having your mom watch you all the time?
• want to have Daddy home early on a work day?
• miss Gramma and want her to come visit for a few days?
• want to drive to Seattle and eat at the Madison Street McDonalds?
• sit on your mom’s lap whenever you want because she’s not doing anything else?
  

Well, have I got a swell solution for you!  All you have to do is scratch your mother’s eyeball!  Yep, that’s it.  Simply look the other way and swipe your arm low and behind, catch her off-guard and lovingly give her something the specialists call a “corny abrasion”.  Or something like that.

For 36 hours, your mother will writhe in pain and be effectively blind and useless.  Sure, she can’t read you any stories, make you hot chocolate, start any videos for you or drive you someplace fun, but she also can’t catch you sneaking chocolate from her secret supply!  (Piper discovered this trick.  Probably before she was 2.)  Gramma and Daddy swoop in and take care of everything.  And just when you begin to tire of the new normal, suddenly your Mom will be able to see again. 

So kids, give it a try!  Just make sure you clear it on everyone’s schedule first. I, for one, made sure my mom would be recovered about 36 hours before her big party.  I done good!

Poor Wesley!

Imagine a girl named Kyla standing on Daddy’s leather chair, holding a standing Wesley against her, both of them facing the ottoman.  I remind her that Wesley moves around by himself so she didn’t need to do that.  She replies, “Oh, but we’re just jumping.”  Then before I could say anything, she takes a flying leap onto the ottoman with Wesley still in her arms.  She makes the distance, but because of Wesley’s weight, they land on their tummies, not their feet.  If you are picturing the scene, you know that 40 lb Kyla landed on 20 lb Wesley. 

That boy looked at me and grinned.  How did he not get royally trounced?

 

Go forward 2 hours.  Same grinning boy is toddling around upstairs and falls, smacking his head right on the edge of a stool.  It’s going to be a black eye.  It hurts and he cries for quite a while.  (It’s kind of hard to see with all the smoothie juice on his face.)

 

Go forward 12 hours.  Dwayne gets up and takes snotty-nosed Wesley into the shower with him.  While Dwayne has his eyes closed, Wesley somehow hits his head on the wall, right above yesterday’s injury. You can barely see his blackeye for his new cut.  Oh boy, my boy, I am sorry!

I swear my kids have to start off brilliant because the best we can hope for is that by the time they are school age, they will be down to normal intelligence.

Craft Time

Auntie Cheryl got Piper a kit of paper bag animal puppets.  It’s been a huge hit already!

Each animal has a bag, punch outs, and stickers to decorate.  It kept the three of us busy for a long time and made minimal mess, even with the glue stick.

Piper chose to make the frog.

 

 

And Kyla loved the cow!

 

Thanks, Cheryl!  These were a hit!