The summer of the NHRA

Summer is over and the kids have gone back to school.
What will we all remember from the summer of 2010?

The loud engines and the smell of nitro!

Parker and Turner are now true dragster fans!

And the faster, the better.
Did you know that they will start training young
drivers at the age of 8?

I guess I should tell you how it all started...
Shaun (my husband and incredible singer)
was asked to sing the National Anthem
at the National Finals.

Shaun did such an amazing job...they even asked him back!
We spent time in the Bandimere Suite
and got to know some of the
owners, and learned a whole lot about fast cars!

These are called the 'funny cars'...
they are my favorite to watch.
They keep the front raised until right
before the race because it creates too much heat for the drivers.

This is sitting in the box.

And posing with the cars.

Shaun standing at the starting line with the Bandimere Family.

Thanks to John Sr. and John Jr. (Sporty) Bandimere
for such a great summer.

Amazing Rainbow!

How amazing is this rainbow cake?! Having just recently attempted to make a tiered cake myself, I know what an incredible challenge all those layers can be, so I’m doubly impressed. What I still can’t wrap my brain around is that frosting! How did she manage to make it so darn smooth?! The colors are equally as impressive and bright – wowza! Now if only I could get a taste through the screen…

Get the recipe and full instructions on Whisk Kid here.

David Stark Designs

I saw this picture of a party and could not believe my eyes. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and I needed to know more. Event planner David Stark is well known for his amazing design work, so I'm thrilled to see that my very first encounter with his work is in his new book David Stark Design which chronicles some of his greatest projects over the last several years...

He is Risen!

We had a fabulous Easter weekend in Wichita!
Shaun sang his heart out 3 nights in a row at the
Living Pictures of Easter...(it was amazing)
And then we had a wonderful visit with Uncle Ernie
and Aunt Barbara!

This was an attempt to get an Easter Sunday
picture of the boys!

Parker was excited to receive a gift from
Kip and Cherie.

Turner loved his cars and animals from Kip and Cherie!

We loved visiting with Kip and Cherie!

This was the Easter cake that Aunt Barbara made...yummy!

These are the Easter cookies we enjoyed!

And...here is Shaun and Uncle Ernie!

Speaking of family resemblance,
someone came up to Uncle Ernie after the
production and told him they really enjoyed his solos!! LOL

I had to take a picture of the Easter Spread!

And, we loved the pork tenderloin!

These are a few more of Aunt Barbara's homemade cookies!

We always have a family puzzle to work on...this one
was just a little too tough!

Here we are looking for Easter eggs on the back 99 acres!

I was so happy to see the daffodils
in bloom!
What a wonderful weekend!
Thank you God for a vacation and sweet family!

The Indiana Jones Birthday Party!

I cannot believe that my son is SEVEN-YEARS-OLD!
I love planning parties, and this one was a blast!
Parker wanted an Indiana Jones Party...
so, we started with a classic lego invite.

The kids were divided into teams and then
had a timed Scavenger Hunt in the backyard.
Each team took off with their hats looking for
golden coins and the famous jewels!

This was the most delicious chocolate cake made by my
sweet sister-in-law Stephanie!!
She really went over the top and the
kids all went crazy!

Parker could not keep his hands off the cake!

The group photo with the
hats on!

All serious!

Loving the gigantic candles!

The kids loved their wax lips and mustaches!

And Turner had a great time carrying the whip
all afternoon!

Happy 7th Birthday Parker!

What type are you?

What Type Are You?
Spending seven years researching typefaces and personalities, twenty-three academics from Pentagram created What type are you?. A four question test that analyses your character and recommends what type is perfect for you.

I love Santa!

So we started our wonderful

Saturday with a trip to see

Santa at the Southlands!

The boys were so excited!!

And much happier than years past..

this is Turner's first picture with

Santa!!

Parker insisted on wearing the scarf that Santa

gave him last year, and

of course we had to bring our list!

Santa was so kind and read through

each and every request!

We even got to meet Mrs. Claus!!

What a treat!

And what a fun Saturday for

the McClellans.

Turner turns Three!

Happy 3rd Birthday Turner!!

I was so impressed when my sister-in-law Stephanie arrived at

our house with the most amazing Mickey Mouse cake!

Turner was so excited to wear his shin guards and kick the

soccer ball through the house.

He smiled all day and all night!

He even found a new "side smile"

he has been sporting!

Parker sang his solo of "Happy Birthday" to Turner!

Yippee!

Now...onto the next holiday!

My new goal is to try and get our Christmas Cards out

by the first week of December...(is that too much to ask? ..maybe)

But I have had so much fun with the

cards and stamps this year, and I wanted to share!

I have discovered the joy of creating my own stamps!

I have ordered sheets and sheets of them!

It really is the easiest thing to do...photostamps.com

You even get to pick your colors!

And for those of you who know me, you know a Christmas card is

not complete without a family label!

We each get to pick the hairstyle and color that we think represents us!

Thanks familylabels.com!

Happy Holidays...

now off to the shopping!!