My baby girl turned 9!!!

So...this past week was full of activities, and most of them centered around Kendall's 9th birthday. We make a big deal out of birthdays around here, and I think it's safe to say that we all totally enjoy our special week! The week started off with the family all coming down for lunch, cake and ice cream last Saturday. These days are always a treat, since our family doesn't live in close proximity to us. Kendall received a few Disney gift cards and a lot of money for our upcoming trip to Disneyworld. She was THRILLED, as she wants to have some discretionary funds...and Barry and I were thrilled because now she can spend her own money at the park!
I tried a new cake recipe for the party... a lemon vanilla pound cake with a lemon glaze, and it was a hit! We also made homemade vanilla ice cream and a raspberry/cranberry sauce to go with it...DIVINE! Watch for it on Party in the Pantry, but here's a little sneaky peek...
Oh, I'm sorry...did I skip right ahead to dessert and forget to mention what I made for lunch? Silly me...I apologize. I made a huge batch of chicken and noodles in my new 7 quart dutch oven that Barry got me for Christmas. Oh, and PW's creamy mashed potatoes...they are so good! A spinach salad and whole grain rolls rounded out our tasty meal. I must admit that it was all amazing! I think I'll toot my own horn...toot TOOT!! :)

On Sunday, I hosted a Pampered Chef party here at the cabin. I made even more tasty goodies... loaded baked potato chowder, another spinach salad, lemon cheesecake cheeseball, and a warm "make your own brownie" bar. Mmmmmm!! I should probably mention that the 11 ladies there drained 5 bottles of wine as well...LOL! The weather was really crappy, and I think that contributed to the large number of guests that showed up. We really had a good time, and I am so glad I did it!!! Who says these parties aren't any fun???
Kendall's actual birthday was on Thursday, and we sure had a big day planned. Kendall requested peanut butter rice krispie treats as her birthday treat for her class, and she wore her cute birthday cake hat I got for her at IKEA. After school we came home, grabbed a snack, cleaned ourselves up a bit so we could head downtown to meet Barry and Aunt Jessie for dinner at Buca di Beppo. We had a splendid time, enjoying garlic cheese bread, salad, and proscuitto stuffed chicken. Oh, and don't think we left there without dessert! They brought Kendall her very own HUGE cupcake, and the rest of us shared a big piece of chocolate cake. YUM!After we were sufficiently stuffed, we headed over to Nationwide Arena for the kids' first Bluejackets game. I LOVE hockey, but we don't go much because of our busy schedules. Barry had scored us some club seats at work, so we had a great view of the game. The Bluejackets lost to the Kings, but hey...we had a great time. The kids absolutely loved it! And just for a little more excitement, I had arranged ahead of time for "Happy Birthday Kendall" to be put on the LED banner...she thought that was totally cool! Don't have a picture of that though...I was too busy enjoying the moment. Sorry! But sometimes you've just got to put the camera down, ya know what I mean?

Check back tomorrow for the final celebration of Kendall's birthday week...her bowling party! And yes, I am about "birthdayed out"... :)