Hospital

I am back! For those who don't know, I just spent two weeks in Salt Lake City with my 10 year old daughter who had major surgery at the Shriner's Hospital. Although we are in a full body cast, it is good to be home and good to be back in blogging business. Stay tuned for more regular updates...

What Does the Way You Entertain Say About You?

With the popularity of quizzes on Facebook, (with subjects ranging from What 80s Movie Are You? to What Color is Your Personality?) we decided it would be fun to create a little quiz of our own.

LetsPartyMagazine.com teamed up with Kimberly Pearson of Redesign Home Interiors to explore What Your Host Style Says About YOU! Are you a foodie that's obsessed with the party menu? Or do you just lay out the chips and pretzels and focus on interacting with your guests?


Click here to find out what your Host Style says about you!

Geocaching

The weather is starting to cool down and the kids are excited to play outdoors again! I can't wait to try and locate one of the several geocaches hidden around Phoenix with my family.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, 'geocaching' is basically a high-tech treasure hunt. All you need is a handheld GPS device and a set of coordinates, and you're ready to go. What a great idea for a party or team-building event!

Go to LetsPartyMagazine.com to read more!

Beer Tasting

Kimber Stonehouse, manager of Sportsman's Fine Wines on Camelback in Phoenix, contributed a fabulous article on Hosting a Beer Tasting. From selecting your brews to pairing foods, she's covered all the bases!

If you'd like to try some out of the orndinary beers, Check out this article from The Washington Post:

To Go Upscale, Put a Cork in It

"While wine has been slouching in the direction of Joe Sixpack (think of Two Buck Chuck and boxed varieties), beer has been putting on airs, trying to move beyond its associations with toga parties and weekend softball games..." read more from the Washington Post.

AZ Public Pools & Splash Pads for Continued Summer Fun

Boy, oh boy, is it hot!!!According to many AZ cities, however, the summer swimming season is oficially drawing to a close. With most public swimming facilities closing their doors by August 9 (many closed July 26!), that's leaving a lot families without a fun way to cool off.

Never fear! Go to LetsPartyMagazine.com to track down swimming facilities, splash pads, and spraygrounds that will continue to stay open through the triple digit weather - and some even as late as October! Go to the Just for Kids section, or simply click here for a Valleywide listing of Pools and Splash Pads in AZ!
Hudson Park Splash Pad, Tempe, Arizona.

"I'm Ready 'fur' My Closeup!" Notes from the Puppy Party Photo Shoot...

Our photo shoot with Oh My Dog! Boutique & Spa was a success. The puppies couldn't have been cuter or more cooperative - with the help of some fabulous outfits and treats, of course! I brought my daughter, Kyera, to 'assist' with the shoot, along with our family's latest star, a 4.5 pound Yorkie-Shih Tzu named Kyambria.

Here we are getting ready for the shoot; Oh my Dog! has so many adoreable outfits it was hard to choose. Jackie, the shop's owner, arranged a lineup of leggy models for the shoot (ha ha, couldn't help myself), whose mommies did an outstanding job with hair and wardrobe.

The 'edibles' shots were clearly some of Kyambria's favorites. Yes, that is cake on her face - an organic dog cake! Stay tuned for the upcoming article on Puppy Party do's, don'ts, and how-to's, and more pics on LetsPartyMagazine.com.

Bug Bites

My father and "new mommy" were visiting from Missouri over the holiday. We took the kids to the fireworks and the mosquito's were so BAD that two of my kids ended up at urgent care for bites all over their face. They look like they have a horrible disease. Learned that some kids just get bad bug bites and others don't. You would think that I would know this after having 45 of them, but apparently I learn something new each day.