Camp Max

Max turned SIX in September, and it was time to party! He went on a camping trip with his dad and some other father/sons/daughters from church for Father's Day, and from then on he has been pretty obsessed with any and everything to do with camping. So...a camping party was a natural and simple choice for a fun weeknight party at home.

I turned to Pinterest, my imagination, the garage, and my Christmas decorations to put together a party I thought the kids would enjoy, and I think it worked. One little guy went home and told his mom it was awesome because he got to drink pond water and fish bait, so I call that success. Sometimes it's something really simple that makes a big impact, and these days I'm all about simple. Don't get me wrong...I love a good theme. But I like it even more when it comes with a cheap price tag and comes together  quickly!

Most importantly, Max had an absolute blast running around the backyard with his friends, and ultimately that's what matters. Here's to Max's sixth year! He is such a funny, inquisitive, studious, sometimes serious and sometimes all fun and games kind of little guy. He loves investigations, science, camping, journals, collecting things, playing with the neighborhood kids, and learning how to read. I love this age when their personalities start to shine. I can't wait to see what SEVEN brings!

 

 

Favorite Things Party 2015

This is my third year throwing a Favorite Things Party for my friends, and every year it's so much fun! (For last year go here, and for the first year here). Favorite Things Parties have been around for several years now, but the basic premise is to choose one favorite thing at a certain dollar amount (ours is $5), bring a certain number of them (we bring 4), and then we all share what we brought and draw the names of four people who get to take our item home. Just as a sidetone, we have found that drawing the names before we get started works out better!

Anyhow, like I said...it's nothing new, but I like to take pictures every year so I remember it. I keep it super simple. Less stress equals more fun!

Saturday Sprinkle

We spent a good portion of July in Texas, but we did return long enough for me to help with a few showers. One of my neighbors and good friends, Katie, is having her second little boy soon, so another friend and I had a sprinkle at my house for her!

Things did not exactly go smoothly the day before said sprinkle. Ben decided it would be a fabulous idea to hang from the chandelier (quite literally), and he broke the ring holding it up. I may have panicked a bit when I saw the chandelier hanging by a thread (or cord), but luckily I have a super handy husband. A trip to the store and a couple hours later, we had a new and improved light in place.

We got the kids in bed, I set up, and it was pushing midnight by the time I went to get ready for bed. And that's when the toilet started to overflow. We realized quickly that this was not a little problem, and it set off a chain of events that kept us up the majority of the night. Once again, Mike came to the rescue. He waited until a decent hour (6 a.m. to be exact) and then using his superior Googled plumbing advice, made a snake out of a cut up water hose and found the clog in the line outside. To say I was excited that I could take a shower and that shower guests weren't going to be forced to use a neighbors restroom is an understatement!

Drama aside, it ended up being an excellent day to celebrate and love on Katie. My main thrill in life is having a party to plan, and I was happy with how it all turned out. Simple but cute. My mantra. Except that cute usually means "covered in cereal bar pieces and melted crayons" these days. Nothing like toddler chic.

Katie with her mother-in-law and mother