Lake night with the Booths

Summer has been busy for us so far and time just gets away from me! I can't believe how sparse my blogging has been. I think it is mainly because we are outside all the time and in water a lot and I just don't take as many pictures. I do have a few things planned over the next couple weeks though. All in all, I just love summer and I love that time and schedules just go out the window.

This weekend was one exception where I took lots of pictures and I am so glad I did. We went out of town on Saturday night to the lakehouse and the Booths met us there for a one night sleepover! It was a great landing point for our trip to Tyler the next day for Kristen's twins birthday party. It broke up the drive for both of us and it only took like 45 minutes on Sunday to get there. Saturday afternoon Bob and Ben had a late tee time and so just the girls hung out at the house...and it was plenty of entertainment.

Kinley and Ella were too cute together. They wanted to do exactly what the other was doing all the time and it was so cute to see. Kinley is definitely a small groups kind of person. She thrives in small groups of people where she knows everyone. She can get kinda shy and clingy in big groups but, one on one she just loves. Maybe her love language is quality time. We will have to see if she is always like this or if its just a phase....but, I digress. The lakehouse was a very fun getaway for all the girls!

We dug in the sand.....

We made and painted some really cool jewelry that Allison brought.....

The biggest hit was the outdoor shower....

Mid-shower, all that water flowing helped Ella realize she needed to go potty. So, she decided to go like a puppy in the grass....love this pic!

Let's get all clean

We had a dance party.....

McKenna was an ANGEL the entire time and just hung out in the pack in play during the dance party.

We took a bath...

Then about 11:00 we started Princess and the Frog. What precious angels.

We had SO much fun at the lake with the Booths! We can't wait to hang out again soon!

Kinley's ready to be a big sister

Just wanted to post a quick baby update for baby Ty. I am 25 weeks and feeling every bit of it. (please ignore my gross no makeup, hair pulled back look)

This time around I will be a big ol preggo during the middle of summer....and I already feel empathy for those who have done that before. I am excited that Ty will have a September birthday and be an older boy in his grade...but, I will always make him thank me for carrying him through the heat of the summer...haha! It is definitely not the best summer for a beach vacation...but, in 7 days we are going anyway...so I better just be prepared and leave all expectations of cuteness back in Texas!

I really think Kinley will love being a big sister. She is absolutely obsessed with her babydolls right now. She takes them everywhere. She takes them for a walk in the stroller, in her high chair to eat, to bed for a nap...everywhere. She is also super cute with other babies we are around. Here are some pics of her and Ella with sweet angel baby McKenna a couple weeks ago. It was hilarious...everything McKenna did, Kinley wanted to copy. If McKenna was laying on her back...Kinley wanted to lay on her back. If McKenna was laying on her tummy playing with toys for tummy time...Kinley wanted to be right with her. You would think we tried to pose these pics of the girls all together but we didn't. They just started all laying down and laughing together and hugging on each other.

I also got a really cute video from Jen while I was in Boston of Kinley playing with baby Jack. She emailed me with a subject of "Kinley is ready to be a big sister." She just can't kiss him enough. So cute. I hope she is like this with her baby brother...and no other boys :-)

Ben's Fiesta Theme Graduation Party

Last night was Ben's graduation party! We have waited a long time to celebrate this occasion and it was well worth the wait. I am so, so proud of him and his dedication to finishing. It was a great night of celebration, preceded by a lot of time getting ready this past week. As always, I had lots of help and the preparation was just so much fun for me.

Pretty much all of the decorations I put together for the party were paper. This was a great option because it was super afforable! I can buy packages of tissue paper and rolls of crepe paper for $1 a piece. That was fantastic. I could make everything in advance but, because it was all paper and very delicate in the outdoors nothing could be decorated until the day of the party! Luckily, I had my sweet mom and this sweet angel there to help!

A couple of weeks ago, Mendy and I started on the crepe paper ruffled streamers that I saw on MADE. I knew as soon as I saw that tutorial that they HAD to be done for Ben's party and put it in my inspiration post and everything. They turned out fantastic and were so quick and easy. I salvaged all that I could of them when I took them down so that maybe they can be re-used for another party!

I also got inspired to make some festive paper lanterns after I saw this post. Martha Stewart...she is good. These look like they take forever to make but, I was surprised at how fast they seemed to go. I ended up making 5 total and it was just enough for the back porch.

My last project for the party was to make table decorations. For every fiesta-theme party that I saw, there were paper flowers and I just loved them. I ended up using this tutorial on MADE (yet again) for simple wedding flowers but, I used tissue paper instead of napkins. They ended up being kind of a mix of tissue paper poms and the simple wedding flowers. I loved the colors and I had some great help from my sweet D group busting these out the night before the party. I used them in my painted vases (that I have gotten SO much use out of) and wrapped some strips of fabric around the vases.

The only other decor I had to have was some Papel Picado. I did not know that is what it was called but, it is that Mexican flag bunting that has the picture cut outs in it that was on the graduation invitation. I ordered it from the Amols website where they had all things fiesta for only $3.99. It was super cute and so worth it!

Overall, the party decor was super colorful and a lot of fun. And, the Harrison's backyard was a PERFECT setting for a fiesta theme party. It is so beautifully landscaped and colorful. It was great.

I mean, how perfect are these Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville Chairs and the Parrot windsock in the background.

Ben had the time of his life with so many fun people that could come and celebrate with us. He felt overwhelmed with gratitude from all the people that came. He had friends from work, lifelong friends, neighbors, and family all show up to celebrate. It was a great time!

We catered Papasito's and it was delicious! Seriously...so good.

Kinley LOVED having some of her friends there too. There were not many kids but, we staked out a table kind of out of the way by the pool, Kinley's swing, and the grass. They played and played and had so much fun together.

I had some koozies made on TotallyKoozies.com as a party favor for all the guests and they were a big hit...and very useful at the party.

I also had a little candy guessing game going on that night for the guests. Whoever could guess closest to the number of pieces of candy in the jar would win a bottle of tequila. I seriously CANNOT get over this....my cousin, Cary, is married to Chris and he totally Goodwill-Hunting-ed it and did this insane calculation with volume and double-variable equations and stuff on a napkin and came up with the EXACT number of pieces of candy. This was no guess...it was totally calculated and genius. I couldn't believe it. I am still talking about it today...total nerd in me coming out. Their sweet baby boy on the way will be a total genius.

This is Chris explaining to some guys how his equations worked. They were so, so impressed.

Kinley was such a trooper and stayed up super late so that Ben and I could stay with the guests. She found lots of ways to entertain herself and had plenty of people to play with. She loved playing with Aunt Jan by the pool and walking around with Pops. Also, she really couldn't be seen much without a lollipop in her hand.

Later in the night Ben had a few people toast him under the cabana. It was a great tribute. Not sure what these faces are....but, they are cute brothers.

We had so much fun at the party and are so thankful for everyone that came. I can't say enough how proud of Ben I am. I love you honey!

Happy Memorial Day

We just got from a fantastic Memorial Day celebration at the lakehouse...and if you can believe it...I did not get my camera out one time. I must have been on a subconcious picture overload after my Boston trip. But, it was so great to hang out with family. Mendy's brother Ryder came and Ben's cousins the Pucketts. Their whole family was in town from St. Louis for a Memorial Day vaca in Texas....who wouldn't right!? Cheryl's sister, Suzanne, her husband, Jim, who Kinley calls Jimmy or Jim-Bo and their 4 girls, Gina and triplets Laura, Jessica, and Rebecca. The girls are just the most beautiful, sweet and fun girls ever. It is always so fun to see them and spend time with them. They all played with Kinley so much and made such an effort to get to know her. That is the key to this mom's heart. We don't see them very much and since we did Christmas with them this past year...we are not scheduled for Christmas with them until 2012. So, they were joking that Ty will already be almost a year and a half before they meet him if we don't come visit....craziness! We will have to make that happen.

Anyway, the weekend was relaxing and so fun and these are the only pics I got on my phone. Kinley was supporting freedom of dress in her own little Elton John look-alike outfit.


I hope you guys had a fantastic Memorial Day and got to relax with some family and celebrate such a wonderful holiday that commemorates all who fight and serve our country. I am so thankful for all sorts of freedoms that we have (even if it is crazy clothes).