nanay is ninety!

it seems like not too long ago that we celebrated my gram's 75th birthday with a big ol' shindig, complete with song and dance routines by all the grandkids and lots of dancing and general merriment.  sometimes i miss those days of just being part of the family and enjoying spending time together.

this weekend, we gathered to honor nanay as she turned 90.  90!  that's amazing.  and i was asked to make some mini cupcakes to serve to the guest list of about 80.  since i'd turned down a request to organize a program of performances and such this time around, i was happy to be able to contribute to the party in some small way.  because i still (and probably will always) feel somewhat of the black sheep in the family with the events from about five years ago, i just didn't want to do anything that would draw any unnecessary attention my way.  how very unlike me, eh?  heh.

i decided to split up the 8 dozen cupcakes into two flavors - a chocolate cake with mocha cream cheese frosting (a flavor i've always associated with my gram), and a red velvet with a simple cream cheese frosting, as requested by my aunt.

yup, those blue nails belong to the bean, who was happy to help me decorate them with the sprinkles.

when we arrived at the party, the hub and the bean made their way through the crowd and found themselves a spot at a table that was occupied by my mom and stepdad, along with a couple of those family members with whom i wish never to have to associate again.  it seemed like everywhere i turned, there were more people i didn't want to see or acknowledge or even give a tight, forced smile to.  ugh.  luckily, i got a chance to catch up with some of my cousins that i rarely see outside of facebook anymore these days.  it was great to see them, and i started to relax a little.

i had to take this and send it to the old lady, who was stuck with a late shift at work and wasn't able to join the festivities.

my beloved cousin seven was there, down for a visit from the bay area, and introducing her boyfriend to everyone.

my other cousin 420 was there too, and he always makes me smile.  he will forever be one of my most favorite people in the world, no matter what.

four generations!

we managed to get this one too, before we lost the bean to the karaoke machine.

the hub disappeared for a long time, returning briefly to hear his daughter do some karaoke, and then we made our way outta there.  i'm glad that we went and got to celebrate with my gram, who was her normal quiet self.  if i know her, though, she loved every minute of that party.

at least, i hope so.