Bonnie's John Deere bridal shower

Last Sunday Bonnie had her second (and final) baby shower. We are very fortunate to be able to spend time with our extended family on a regular basis. Four of our great aunts made it to the shower, as well as first and second cousins from both the Aakre (Grandma) and Thoe (Grandpa) side.

My aunts hosted the shower and they went all out with a John Deere theme. My cousin Clay collected John Deere tractors growing up, so Kari hauled them down from the attic for some adorable centerpieces!

Lindsay and Miranda grew marigolds in green and yellow tins for centerpieces that doubled as prizes. They also helped their mom put together the diaper cake and John Deere overalls for the bear!

I was so impressed with the treats they whipped up! They had Rice Krispie "straw bales" and cow cookies on a "pasture" of dyed shredded coconut. They also made adorable personal cheesecakes.

We played two games. First we had to write names for each letter in John Deere and we received a point for each name that matched Bonnie's list. She made the game tough with names like Napoleon and Holden... We also cut twine we thought would fit around her belly. Most of us were way off- especially Michelle; as you can see, two or three people could wrap in her twine.

It was a great shower for a farm girl! I can't believe that little future farmer is about to meet us!!!!

"He's a Keeper!" Fishing Themed Baby Shower

Last weekend I hosted a baby shower for my sister Bonnie with two of her best friends, Amber and Joanie.

Thanks to a little help from pinterest, and the imagination of Amber and Joanie, we were able to incorporate some cute fishing themed ideas into the event.

Fishing cupcakes and dirt cups, yummy!

Goldfish snacks!

We tried to put swedish fish into blue jello, but it's tough to find the exact moment to put the fish in when the jello is firm enough that the fish won't sink, but not firm enough that the top will still be smooth. If I were to do it again, I'd just make the jello and put a ducky on top!

Caprese skewers: mozarella balls, grape tomatoes, basil leaves drizzled in balsamic glaze.

The sperm and the uterus...

Pin the sperm on the uterus!

Mix and match to determine what the baby will look like!

Fish the pacifier out of the pool game!

The hostesses!

The two best friends, due dates only a few months apart!

Kangapouching

It's been an exciting week around the Imes household. Before we brought the new puppy home we made a trip to PetSmart and, well... as you can see, things got a little out of hand. 

We have also read three different puppy training books, one of which stressed the importance of three types of toys: chew toys, stimulation toys (brain-teasers etc) and comfort toys. Consequently, we spent about thirty minutes evaluating the various plush comfort toys and debating the pros and cons of the various squeakers and textures of the various stuffed-animals available before we finally settled on the giraffe blanket we refer to as Jambo.

Loki and Jambo the Giraffe are good buds already!
                                              

Recently, Drew and I were discussing the words Shakespeare introduced to the English syntax. It’s amazing how many words and phrases that we use every day were actually something dreamed up by the playwright, such as the word “eyeball” and the phrase “dead as a doornail”. Naturally, this motivated us to try to come up with our own words. Since most of our time is now spend doting on Loki, the winner was “kangapouch” as in, “Amanda was kangapouching Loki all weekend”. ™ 

Me kangapouching Loki at Split Rock Lighthouse with the Alaskan nieces. 

So anyway, we spend most of our time these days staring at Loki and praising him for doing things like pooping outside or going up stairs unescorted. Yes, the joys of a pet owner are boundless.

KANGAPOUCHING!