Rewind

Before all of the birthday and graduation festivities began last weekend, we all headed downtown for brunch at the Peabody. The little ones hadn't visited the ducks in well over a year! We missed their parade into the fountain, but we still had fun watching them splash around.

Aunt Mak and Uncle Brad in between visits to the yummy buffet!

Pops and Tula in front of the fountain...

And the best part of all....Aunt Mak was able to capture a picture of my four! The first family picture we've taken since last October! Kathryn was doing everything but cooperating, but Aunt Mak was fast and captured her actually smiling just in time for a great picture!

Lunch Date

Today, we are in the 'Ham, and we were lucky enough to enjoy lunch with this little guy! Hill and Walker were fast friends talking about Lightning McQueen and Spider Man.

We couldn't keep our hands off of Little Rett. He is so cute and, according to his mom, quite a mess! We stopped off to play in the fountains...

And then we visited the neighborhood candy/ice cream shop for what else--candy and ice cream!!

Cars, Princesses and Graduation

This weekend, we celebrated Walker and Kathryn's upcoming birthday. Family was in town for Matt's graduation, so it provided the perfect opportunity to honor my sweet little boy and girl!

A family affair normally doesn't require invites, but I just couldn't resist. It's hard to find invitations that incorporate cars and princesses, but these cute little cards from Hobby Lobby along with some 3D stickers did the trick quite nicely!

Once the invitations went out, all we had to do was await the arrival of one VIP--Very Important Princess!! Cousin Mimi came into town all the way from Washington, D. C.

Nana and Papa brought the blow up castle, perfect for princesses (and their brother!!).

And I found this fun car pinata at Target for $3! It was a huge hit!

Here's Walker sporting his Lightning McQueen shirt!

Look what Kathryn found!

Even after all the candy had fallen out, the kids still had fun taking turns hitting the pinata!

Enjoying more of the yummy candy!

Finally, dinner was served...

For the princess, chocolate covered mice, a nod to Cinderella's crafty little friends. And a vase filled with a rose (Beauty and the Beast) and jasmine (Alladin).

I loved the way these cute little graham cracker stop lights turned out!

And we can't forget the pasta salad made with Cars pasta!

Fun frozen strawberry treats in Little Mermaid cupcake holders...

And then it was present time!!! (Kathryn made a quick change into princess attire!)

A favorite gift, Woody from Toy Story.

And of course we had to have two cakes!

I love myself a theme, but I have to say a commercialized theme like this one is not my preference. But the kids LOVED it, right down to the last Ariel and Lightning McQueen. It was worth it, just to see them so excited!! And the best news is, we still have two more weeks of celebrating before they actually turn three!!

As if anything could top such an extravagant affair, the real reason for all of the family gathering this past weekend was Matt's graduation. Five years have come and gone. Wow!!

I am so proud of Matt and all of the hard work he has put into the last five years. He works hard during the day only to come home and study hard at night. The Lord has been faithful to him and carried him and our family during the long hours and tough schedules. It is so hard to believe it is all coming to an end! It's such a blessing to see the Lord bringing to fruition all that Matt has worked so hard for.

Here are the eight graduates in Matt's class...

The graduation is a small family affair. Each year, at the end of the ceremony, one of the doctors gives an "award" to the child who misbehaves the most. It sounds embarassing, but it really is a fun "honor" to receive! Well, with my two and Cousin Mimi spread out in the very front of the room right next to the speaker's podium, there wasn't much guessing who was going to receive the award.

All three of them were presented awards (aka toys) for their "performance." I have to admit, I was very proud!

Gobbles

Yesterday, the kiddos and I went to the Dollar Tree to hunt for party supplies. I told them they could each get a surprise. They were both drawn to these, as they have seen other little boys and girls wearing them at the pool.

What are "these"? You guessed it, gobbles! Or at least that is what Kathryn called them. They help her see under the pool as she further explained! Those must be some pretty powerful gobbles!

Peachy Keen

Expert fruit pickers, Walker, Kathryn and Grace reunited today to pick peaches. The rain fortunately held off and a great day of peach-picking (and eating) was had by all!

I was hoping to try a new chocolate pie recipe for our company coming in town this weekend, but I think we'll replace the pie with a yummy peach cobbler!!

My peach cobbler recipe is very easy...

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 cup self rising flour

1 cup sugar (+ additional 1-2 T for peaches)

1/2 stick butter**

peaches (peeled and sliced)

cinnamon

Directions:

Peel and slice peaches. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 1-2 T of sugar. Let stand several minutes. Melt butter in a 9x13 baking dish. Add peaches to the melted butter stirring to coat. In a separate bowl, mix together milk, sugar and flour. Pour flour mixture over peaches, spreading to cover entire dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Serve warm with ice cream!!

**I looked up some other recipes just like this one, and those recipes called for one stick of butter. If you LOVE butter, then go ahead and indulge!!

You May Not Want to Eat the Blue Ones

Sunday mornings have officially become Cini Mini Sundays! The kids love these yummy treats, and they are so simple to make that I can't help but crank some out before church each week.

Since, these have been a staple around here for at least a month or more, I decided to mix it up a bit this week. Instead of the plain white icing, I divided the icing into two bowls and added a drop of red food coloring to one and a drop of blue food coloring to the other. The kids LOVED it!

Kathryn very quickly informed me that she couldn't eat the blue ones because they hurt her stomach! Did I mention that pink is her favorite color???

You'll have to give these yummies a try (you can find the recipe here). They are a hit at our house, and I'm sure they'll be a hit for you too!

Let the Birthdays Begin!

June is filled with birthday fun. Not just at our home, but for lots of Kathryn and Walker's friends too! This Saturday, Spice kicked off the birthday season with a party at Little Gym.

Kathryn helping with the parachute.

I wish we had one of these big jumping pads at our house! I love anything that wears a child out:) And this works like magic!

Everyone dined on these yummy Mickey and Minnie Mouse cupcakes (I didn't get any pictures of Minnie, but how cute are these!).

Kathryn was thrilled that she got a Minnie cupcake, but as soon as she ate the Minnie Mouse off the top, she was headed back for more.

Walker wanted the entire cupcake, Mickey and all! He was also enjoying sittng by his good friend, Eli. They haven't seen each other since school let out two weeks ago.

Happy Birthday, Spice! Thank you for letting us celebrate with you!!