A Baby Shower, UP, and Downtown GR

The typical 4th of July, right?

Okay, maybe not the baby shower part.

But my cute-as-can-be prego cousin Chrystin has a hot shot lawyer job in NYC and no other weekend worked out for her to come home for her shower.


Seriously - no pregnant face, no pregnant butt. Just a darling basketball in front. I can only hope to be that cute when I'm in that spot someday.

This is her with her sister, Erin. Erin can't wait to be an aunt.

We set up all the special party stuff outside.

The diaper cake.


The fruit salad in a baby carriage-shaped watermelon.

The amazingly delicious and darling real cake. The special punch. The mimosas.


I mean, if you're going to have a baby shower on the 4th, you should at least have it at a cottage on a lake, right? Right.

But then it started to rain.

Not daunted in the slightest, the entire party just moved right on inside the cottage. The presents were plentiful, the food was excellent, and everyone had a really nice time. It was great to celebrate Chrystin (who is extremely dear to me) and anticipate her new arrival.

Oh, and I was in charge of cutting the cake.

After the shower we met up with our dear friends, Montoya, Aiydan, and Aiyannah. But what do you do with 5 adults, 1 kid, and 1 baby on a coldish, rainy-ish 4th? You go to the movies. We saw UP in 3D and it did not disappoint. Go see it - it is heartwarming, hilarious, and simply innovative. I mean, who thinks up this stuff?

On that note, anyone who enjoys the sheer ingenuity and creativity the folks at Pixar tend to abound in will enjoy this (found on the latest "Clint's Best of the Web."

Lastly, we did the all-American thing and headed downtown for the fireworks show.

If you're a Grand Rapids resident there is only one place to go for such a thing: The Blue Bridge.


We had a blast. (Sorry, bad pun.)