Celebrating the Queen's Birthday

Each June marks the official celebration of the Queen's birthday with the traditional military ceremony called Trooping the Colour. Not one to miss a chance to see the royals when they are so close by, I lined up early along with several thousand others on the Mall in the shadow of the Palace to watch the royal family make their way to the Horse Guard Parade for the ceremony.

I made friends with the people around me, which always makes the waiting time go faster, and you meet some fascinating people that way. This little fella' was too cute not to include his photo.

He probably knows, like the rest of us, that  Queen Elizabeth's real birthday was April 21, when she turned 86 years old.

Before long, the soldiers, foot guards and the 

musicians began to parade by

in exact precision.

Prince Charles's wife, the Duchess of Cornwall; Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were the first royals to come by.

Prince Harry is too cute, not to show the view of his face too.

The Mirror

Prince William, Prince Charles, and the Duke of Kent were horseback in their military uniforms.

They were followed by Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice along with their father, Prince Andrew.

The queen's musicians alerted us that she was the next to follow. All in all, 240 horses, 290 musicians,

and 1600 soldiers participated in the time honored ceremony.

The queen was expected to ride in an open carriage, but a Buckingham Palace spokesman said due to the  "unpredictable nature of the weather,"

the Queen and Prince Philip were to ride in a coach, the same one that they used on their wedding day on November 20, 1947.

It was Prince Philip's first outing since his Jubilee illness that hospitalized him. The Queen was radiant in the same buttercup yellow dress that she had first worn at the Royal Wedding last year. Looks like Kate isn't the only one recycling some of her dresses!

Pacific Coast News

The day ended with the family posing on the balcony once again for the traditional waves and the flypast by the Royal Air Force.

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth!

And many more!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

It's hard to believe, but the Little Prince is turning 1 year old this week.

Ever since God blessed us with this little charmer, he has entertained us and kept us smiling, so it was time to throw him a party.

His mommy and daddy threw a great baseball themed party yesterday for his family and friends.

Now should this Gigi bring back a gift from England for this little chap?

I looked at the big black cabbies that he could take for a spin, but decided it was too big for the suitcase.

Would he like a British post office box to mail Gigi some letters when she is away in London?

Maybe he should add to his Royal Wedding Happyland collection with this year's suggestion: athletes for some London 2012 play.

Hmmm...even some "paralympians" who are ready to carry the torch for their country.

How about the Queen and her Corgi with a Happy Jubilee cake?

No, sister Jordan has a couple of queens already.

Instead, how about some British attire picked up along the way shopping the high streets of London?

Time for his first cake--his own little baseball cake which gave him his first official "sugar rush," and provided some hilarious entertainment for his family and friends, 

who also loved watching him open his gifts!

His buddy Emerson was there to throw a few balls,

along with sweetheart Brelyn who tried to show the boys a few "girly" tricks or two.

Group shot, all seated, but never all looking at the same time!

Oops, strike one,

and then strike two!

But Jackson did not strike out this day--no sir, he struck it lucky to have so many friends and family to love!

Happy Birthday Little Prince!

We adore you!

Happy Birthday Jordan

Today is Jordan's fourth birthday, and we celebrated in style on Sunday afternoon with a big princess party.

In preparation for the princesses and princes to come, royal clothing was hung with care,

the tiaras and royal jewels shined and polished,

all sorts of delicious sweets and treats were prepared

in anticipation of one little girl turning 4.

The princess and her court were quite excited to pose for the paparazzi.

There was time for a spot of tea,

and even a couple of little princes thought it was cool to stop for tea-time.

In between sword fights, that is!

This little prince and this little princess have taken quite a fancy to each other over the last year, and Princess Jordan has claimed him for her own. She anticipates their wedding day quite often and dreams of how it will unfold.

In addition to friends, there were so many members of our family who accepted with delight their invitation to attend the royal occasion, even Kiss-Kiss and Jason who skyped with the guest of honor all the way from London.

And we can't leave out The Little Prince, brother Jackson, who thinks parties are so much fun!

There was a lot of lovin' going on,

and many well wishes from friends so dear.

The highlight of the party was the arrival of Princess Heather who charmed the birthday girl

and read one of her favorite stories to the adoring crowd.

She was the "rock star" of the day!

We are eternally grateful to God for gracing us with a princess so fair, so loving, so full of joy, who has turned our world upside down since her arrival. 

Happy Birthday, Jordan!