December was a month filled with huge celebrations in our family. We had our son's wedding early in the month and then one week later Derek celebrated his 50th birthday. That was followed by our annual Christmas gatherings with family and friends and then on Christmas day at midnight, Derek and I headed out to Europe for a two week adventure. (I'll share about our travel adventure in my next post)

Since returning home I"ve been a little under the weather with a bad cold and ear infection but today I finally feel strong enough to get back to blogging and share with you a look back at one of our recent celebrations.

Today I want to tell you a little about Derek's 50th Birthday.

Let's me start with this precious moment from 5 years ago. Raymee (our best friends daughter) and Derek were born on the same day so they are official birthday buddies forever. They've been celebrating together for many years now but on this particular outing Raymee looked at Derek and said, "Today I am the birthday princess and you are the birthday Queen". We all just smiled and laughed. It was precious.

This year the two of them planned an outing at a local restaurant called Mac 24/7 in Waikiki. If you've never been there I highly recommend it. Its a fun place to celebrate and if you like pancakes, you won't be disappointed.

When the birthday girl arrived and saw Derek, she ran up to him and gave him a great big hug! After all they are best friends and if you don't believe me she has a school project with his picture on it to prove it.

Raymee loves mermaids so when I saw the Myths and Magic Suite from our new Occasions Catalog I knew I wanted to use it to create a birthday card for her. I bought the entire suite but I didn't even need to stamp a single mermaid because the mermaids on the Specialty Designer Paper are so stinkin' cute!!

Myths and Magic Specialty Birthday Card - www.stampedwithaloha.com

Each of the mermaid tail has glitter on it that has been embossed into the paper. So this paper really sparkles and shimmers when you move it. I LOVE this mermaid print and know I will use it often to make projects for my mermaid loving friends.

Since I had this beautiful paper out, I decided to use it to make a card for Derek as well. The great thing about this paper packet is that it has great options for masculine cards too.

I chose the knight fighting a dragon sheet for Derek's card. The dragon on this paper has texture and sparkle, it is so adorable and perfect for my knight in shining armor who truly is one of a kind.

Myths and Magic Birthday Card - www.stampedwithaloha.com

For the inside of Derek's card I folded back a corner to create a simple corner fold pop up section.

The little corner pop up provided the perfect spot for me to add a knight in shining armor and the number 50 to celebrate my knight's milestone birthday.

Derek usually writes the cards in our family. So it was sweet to see Raymee smile when she read aloud the birthday message from us that Derek had written to her.

Raymee's birthday card - www.stampedwithaloha.com

Derek laughed when reading his card because he's been in denial about needing glasses. The subject came up as he struggled to read his card without using his cell phone for added light.

Derek's Birthday - www.stampedwithaloha.com

That made for the perfect segue to him opening his gag gift from me.

Of course he said they hurt his eyes so he's back to using his cell phone light once again.

I love traditions, it has been especially fun to see Derek and Raymee celebrate together over the years. I hope that with each passing year Raymee will grow to know even more how much she means to her beste Uncle Derek and all of our family. We feel so blessed to have this tradition, one that we hope will go on for many years to come.

One that this year was shared by a special little mermaid and a knight in shining armor.

The Mermaid and The Knight

Stamped With Aloha

The Mermaid and The Knight

Adventures in Europe (Italy)

Stamped With Aloha