Chocolate fun!

A pretty great weekend and we're only halfway through!

We started out by wrapping up Gracie's birthday week at Schakolad for a chocolate  party with her friends.   Giggling girls, a chocolate fountain, decorating candy boxes,  making and eating chocolates, dancing around the store to Taylor Swift and snapping pictures with some Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed props...what more could you ask for when you're a 9 year old girl? 

G really has found a great group of girlfriends in her class this year.   Although a few of the gals in this crew are from years prior (BFF Alex was not able to come on Friday....the only bummer of the evening.), most of them are friends from her 3rd grade class.  Such a sweet, smart and funny group!  And so proud of the redhead for requesting that her guests not bring any gifts for her, but if they wanted to give something to bring a dog toy to donate to Snooty Giggles Dog Rescue.  We have a big tub of toys to deliver next week!

Safe to say, a great, CHOCOLATE-Y time was had by all!

Once the sugar rush wore off this morning, we enjoyed a beautiful, sunny Saturday.   While Bassam went to do rounds at the hospital, the kids and I ran over to a big arts and craft show at Centennial Park downtown.  We met up with B for lunch and then he and Matt went for a golf lesson and to play a round. Meanwhile, Gracie's pal, Anna, came over to play.  I'm not entirely sure what they were doing, but they were outside for almost 3 1/2 hours before I had to take Anna home.   Then, while Gracie and I made a quick stop at the mall for a new pair of Converse for her, it seems that Bassam and the majority of our neighbors moved the Brown's trampoline to our yard.  

It's the end of an era.  And apparently the actual move was highly entertaining.

Gracie has called it "her trampoline" for years . . . and quite frankly, we've enjoyed having it in someone else's yard.   However, with the Brown's youngest almost a sophomore in high school, they were ready to get rid of it.   So now it seems that it really is "our trampoline."   Yes, it's ugly and we'll definitely have a big old dead patch of grass underneath it, but I can't argue with the fact that it will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment, which is especially important with summer right around the corner!  And since the price was right (Warren wouldn't let us pay for it---so Bassam will buy the next keg!), it's really a win-win situation!

 Knock on wood.