It's Party Time!

We've had a really great last couple of weekends! Weekend before last, I threw a baby shower for my friend Sandra. It was the first party I've ever thrown, and it went really well! It's so cool that we have a house, so that I can host things like that! Sandra and I are both pretty new to our ward, so it was a great way for us to socialize and get to know some of the girls better. So that I could concentrate on playing hostess, Ryan took Jeremy off on a hike during the shower, but since Chloe has the right anatomy and is pretty endearing in a crowd, she got to stay with the girls.

Yes, we played cheesy baby shower games. I told the girls they were just going to have to keep playing my games until I ran out of prizes. And since we're still getting to know Sandra, I thought it would be fun to play a get-to-know-her game. I sent Sandra a questionnaire a few weeks ago, and not only did she have great, thorough answers, but she also sent me back a multiple choice version of it to give the girls a sporting chance. Here's something new I learned about Sandra; she's freakin' hilarious. All of her answers were so convincing. It was the hardest test I've taken in a while, and this is coming from a rocket scientist. Here are some examples of her work:

5. Are you a convert to the Church or a lifetime member?
a) Lifetime member. My family has been in the church for many generations.
b) Convert. I was almost 15 when I joined the Church. I was the 1st in my family.
c) Born in the Church, but both of my parents are converts.
d) Convert. I joined the church when I started attending BYU.

16. Where did you meet Mark?
a) In Mexico during his mission. He served in my parents ward.
b) In a biology class at BYU. We were study partners.
c) BYU Idaho, in a blind date, but were not each other’s dates.
d) BYU tutoring center. He was my calculus tutor.

26. What would be your dream job?
a) Directly helping people, flexible hours, lots of vacation, and awesome pay. Mark this one if you want to get it right.
b) Getting paid to sleep
c) Getting paid to eat

27. Name 1 thing not many people know about you:
a) I ran a marathon 4 years ago.
b) I can speak 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Tarahumaran (dialect spoken in Mexico)
c) I am allergic to penicillin and some metals

Pretty good, right? (Answers are B, C, A, C)

For the shower, I went with a brunch theme, so I made deviled eggs, bread pudding, and cheese biscuits all for the first time. I'm a self-taught cook; I didn't really cook growing up, but I am really enjoying learning new recipes to feed my family. It's the coolest thing when Jeremy scarfs down his food and gasps "more!" like he's out of breath or when Ryan does his nod-while-eating thing (which means he really, really likes it). Luckily, for the shower a bunch of girls asked if they could bring stuff, so I didn't have to make the rest of the menu I had planned! :-) It was all really yummy including this super tasty egg-sausage thing my buddy Megan made. I got the recipe, and I've totally looking for an excuse to make that now.

Oh yeah, my first party ever, and did I break out the camera? No. Sorry, Sandra, it would've been nice for you to have pictures of your baby shower. I'll get better at this hostess thing.

This last weekend was Ryan's 32nd birthday, and I've been working on it for months. I'm terrible at keeping secrets, so I usually just brainstorm for forever and make a decision as close to his birthday as possible so that I won't have too much time to give anything away. Unfortunately, that's meant lackluster bdays for Ryan the last couple of years. But maybe I just feel that way because birthdays were such a big deal in my family growing up that anything less than streamers, balloons, and 30 people seems like a dud. Well, I did my best to go all out this year.

First, I planned a big dinner at Red Lobster for us, the kids, the DeMasters, the Woodruffs, our old roommates, and....drumroll please...his parents, who surprised him by driving down from Visalia for the weekend! Yey! We had a yummy meal complete with good friends and awesome Carvel ice cream cake that RL let me store in their freezer. For his presents he got a new camera with GPS picture tagging and low top summer hiking shoes. He was stoked, in his ultra calm sort of way. Of course I forgot our camera, so the only pictures I have are from Sandra. Thank you so much, Sandra.

On Saturday after the first session of General Conference, we went and got a Thai couple's massage! (there is nothing wrong with giving myself presents, too) It was awesome. I loved it even though it was crazy: they crawl on your back, stretch your shoulders by pushing with their feet and pulling on your arms, and use their forearms way more than their hands. If anybody wants to know what to get me for MY birthday....

After the massage, we all (including the in-laws, who were such great sports) went to our friend Tracy's baby shower in Pasadena. It was in the courtyard of a dinner theater, so cute. There were lots of fun games, including a Price is Right game where you had to guess the price of three different baskets of stuff. Ryan won this fancy one with nothing in it he wanted, but this sweet lady who won an Easter basket of stuff asked if he wanted to trade. It was perfect, and now we have the fixin's for Jeremy's Easter basket. Perfect.

Well, to top off an already awesome day, Ryan's sister Kristal came in that evening on a train from San Diego. Zonda and I picked her up while the boys were at the Priesthood session, so that when they got home, Poof, his sister walks around the corner. Awesome.

Chinese food, a cheesy Redbox movie, and leftover ice cream cake capped off the celebration portion of the weekend. I had a blast, and I think Ryan did, too. I think. Now, I wouldn't change a thing about Ryan ... BUT if once a year he were to jump up and down like a 6 year old girl when he was happy, I would be ok with that.