Festival Fun

Yesterday, we went to the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival to support our friends and their band, Casanova Cowboys.  They did such a great job and drew in quite the crowd!  It was a perfect evening spent in a sweet little town nestled between farm land, and was topped off with some good old fashioned festival foods.  Had the line for the elephant ears not been fifty yards long, I would have enjoyed one of those for sure.  Mmmm...that still sounds good!

You?  Did you spend your afternoon??

My Grandpa's a Real Cowboy.

He's a cowboy hat wearin', family gatherin', story-tellin', guitar playin',
hard workin' sort of man.

And he can sing a mean, Tex Ritter, Blood on the Saddle.

When I was young, he taught me how to take his cowboy boots off,

and when I was in college, he took me on my first horseback ride up the Alpine Canyon.

In his younger years, and during World War II, he served in the Navy.  He later received his doctorate in History and taught at BYU Hawaii for 25 years.  He's always told me to further my education, and since I've received my bachelors in English, he's strongly encouraged me to get my Doctorate.  

  

He's an expert on Pearl Harbor and the Civilian Conservation Corps.  He's volunteered hundreds of hours of his time teaching drivers safety classes for 55+, and was on the local Red Cross board in his area.  

He loves westerns, collects Louis L'Amour novels, and currently, enjoys teaching school children to read.

Last year, for his eighty-fourth birthday, he went skydiving.

I can't say I know a man whose grabbed life by the horns

and enjoyed the ride as much as he.

It's only appropriate that a cowboy like him deserves

a 'whole mess of fun' for his 85th birthday, right?

Love a cowboy.

My Mom is throwing him a party.  Aren't her invites cute? 

We've had such fun collaborating for our western parties!

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Ours is yard work and the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival tomorrow to watch our friends' band play.

Looking forward to a picnic and music in the sunshine!

A Short Story

It went something like this:

...sigh

...want

...hmmm

create.

that simple.

and up in the shop.

now, i'm on the prowl.

i need some bold prints up in here.

images 1 & 2, 3

Slip N' Slide: Not Just For Kids

It's not every day Husband wakes up from a nap and says, "I'm going to build a slip n' slide."  Next thing you know you've got four of Husband's friends in your backyard, barreling down a soapy 100 ft. piece of plastic, having as much (or more) fun as my three and five year old.  I opted out of the slippery events, and instead, with future enjoyment in mind, captured the madness in photos. 

I believe these photos tell it all...shenanigans.

Seriously.  Never a dull moment around here.

Husband's 30th Western Birthday!

Husband's 30th birthday was a hit, and I'm so happy for the way that it turned out! 

I had many helping hands and I am sooooo grateful!

Invites via Chic Country Girl on Etsy

I added the insert on the right.

People need to know what's important...

My sis, Amber, made this CUTE banner!

And the party was the perfect excuse for my new hanging flower baskets,

and gorgeous hydrangeas.

There were denim tablecloths with bandannas for toppers,

and lanterns, antlers, mason jars and lasso adorning the table.

It rained off and on throughout the morning and afternoon,

so some of Husband's friends put up this makeshift tent.

Thanks for keeping it "rustic" guys and using tree trunks for poles!

Plywood silhouettes created by my brother-in-law.

See the resemblance?

He also made me these awesome wood cake stands...

I decided on red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

and choclate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. 

Two very good decisions!

The dessert table before the cake...

and balloons tied with twine.

Husband was a very happy and handsome cowboy.

And so was he.

There was ax throwing...

frog catching

and a surprise best friend who traveled all the way from Haiti!

There was golf,

plenty of cowboys

cowgirls,

even a baby cowgirl.

Then there was crazy Uncle Tim on the roof top, insisting he hold the pinata...

good thing he was wearing his hard hat...

there was candy for days...

and too many tootsie rolls eatin'.

There was a great bonfire in our new pit,

a s'more bar with whittled sticks found and made by my nephews,

live country music--

Rickey on the guitar,

impromtu sing-a-longs with the birthday boy,

and

plenty

of dancin'.

Collage by Melody

Husband you rock!  Thanks for being so wonderful.

I can't wait to see what your 30th year has in store!

P.S. Awesome BBQ and cake recipes coming up!