OK finally...the picture problem is fixed. So...this weekend I went with my mom and sister to the twin cities area for Kara's 30th birthday party. The party was sandwiched between alot of shopping. It was great.
My aunt reserved a room/suite type of thing at an extended stay hotel. We had some hors d'oeuvres in the room and watched a slideshow. In this photo you can see that Kara is wearing a sweet happy birthday crown. It was a surprise from her sister-in-law, Lindsay. They are both elementary teachers and it is what the younger kids yet on their birthday where Lindsay teaches! It was also accompanied by a birthday certificate. I remember how much fun those novelties were as a child. I liked how at Sunday School you got to drop pennies into a bank (5 if you were 5, 6, if you were 6, etc.) while everyone sang. When I was in Kindergarten in Wyoming the birthday kid got to sit on this huge block playhouse thing and the other kids would ask them questions while everyone ate the birthday treat they brought. If you can recall that far back (Oh, about 21 years!) fruit rollups used to be just a plain sheet. Around my birthday they started making fruit rollups with punch out shapes and I brought them for my treat. All of my classmates were so busy peeling apart the rollups that they forgot to ask me questions. I didn't notice because I was doing the same! The teacher gave us a few extra minutes so I could answer some questions! Anyway...back to the 2000s'...
My sister and I were trying to think of a clever gag gift . When we found out my grandparents would not be attending Andrea thought of the perfect idea! For anyone to understand this I'm going to have to give some background information. Do you know what Hummels are? Hummel figurines? They are collectible figurines that portray little children doing idyllic, old-fashioned things. They wear old fashioned European clothes. They cost between $100 and $200 for a little figurine about 4 inches tall. My grandma is a collector of these items and has been for years. When she started having grandchildren she decided she would give us a Hummel for our birthday every 5 years. So we got one when we were born, five, ten, fifteen, and twenty.
Imagine being a 10 year old or 15 year old and getting a figurine for a present. Imagine being a boy and getting that (my brother and cousin Greg have them as well). As a grown woman I appreciate the thought that went into my grandma's choices. Since my birthday is in April, mine usually had a spring theme. There was one called "Spring Dance" that had portrayed two girls dancing in flowers. Another one had two girls petting bunny rabbits. And she always gave us a "fun" present like she would any other year when we had a Hummel year. Since I know she gave them with loving intentions they have value to me and I don't think I will ever part with mine (although I'm not sure where they will fit into my future homes. All of my Hummels are on a shelf in our dining area at the farm and they really don't match the style of my house now. They are really something that belongs in a china cabinet or something.
So, Andrea mentioned that she thought it would be funny to give Kara a Hummel (I guess I should say she thought it would be funny to give her something LIKE a Hummel but alot cheaper). We decided to go to a dollar store and buy a figurine and forge the Hummel logo on it. We also labeled a box and gave it a name. The two figurines they had were a woman holding a pot or a woman holding a dog. Since Kara has a dog we picked that one and named it "30 year old girl with dog". Haha. When we were kids we were always advised to preserve the box the Hummel came in (I don't understand all of that collectible nonsense!) so we wrote instructions about not tearing or ruining on the box right on the front!
It was a hit, of course! Although now we started something and I'm afraid we haven't seen the end of this "Hummel"! Unfortunately, I am the next one to turn 30. I can hardly wait!
This is the figurine we bought. I really don't know who would seriously buy something like this to actually decorate their house...it is the cheapest looking thing I ever saw!
These are real Hummels (By the way, my grandmother loves this set and all of us kids have it.) Although not my style, they are visibly of higher quality that that other cheap piece of crap!
When I was searching for information on Hummels I learned that they are based on the paintings of a German nun from the region of Bavaria name Maria Innocentia Hummel. They have been produced since 1935. I also learned that in 2009 the company who has been making them for years decided to cut the Hummel line due to decreasing demand. But...the line was saved when another company decided to buy the necessary equipment and take over production! (Dang...if they were not being made the value might go up!)
I was curious and looked up the value of Hummels online. I almost spit out my drink all over my computer when I saw the price of $22,000! HOLY CRAP! Forget the sentimental memories of my grandmother's thoughtfulness! I was ready to pack those things up and send them off to the Wells Fargo Student Loan processing center and do a dance of joy as the UPS truck drove away! Then I looked closer and saw that that was the going rate for a very rare and old 32 inch tall figurine. 32 inches tall?? That's like the size of a child! So...on the shelf they will stay for now. This nun must have been quite the artist because there are alot of Hummels...this is a link to a value chart I found online...and "30 Year Old Girl With Dog" is not on it...
Anyway, Kara opened her gifts and then we watched a slide show of her life. It was funny. I especially liked the old Halloween costume pictures from the 1980's. That was some scary stuff! Then we went out to dinner and stuffed ourselves. Then we returned to the suite to eat cake.
. I made the girls pose for a picture. My cousins Laura and Kara are on the right, Andrea is in the black shirt, and the one on the end is Kara's cousin Virginia
The cake! Well, one of several cakes.
There were several puppies at the party. I think I have previously mentioned Rosie, Murphy and Izzy. I took this funny picture of my cousin's husband, Kevin, holding Murphy and Izzy...I think it's funny because the dogs look huge but they are actually pretty tiny.
It was a fun weekend. My shopping was a bit out of control but I don't have any regrets about anything I bought yet. My sister bought a cheap sweater at the outlet mall adn when she tried it on in the hotel room a button fell off! That was pretty funny.
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