California, Here We Come

Last week, Matt and I enjoyed a quick getaway to San Diego, CA. He had a conference to attend, and I was just along for the ride! Fortunately, most of his meetings were in the a.m. which left me just enough alone/downtime (EVERY momma's dream, right!?!) while also giving us plenty of time together to enjoy the city!

All vacations begin with a good book, and this one sure fit the bill! Have you read it yet? If you haven't, what are you waiting for!?!? It's the happy, fun-loving kind of read I've been searching for! I read it on the plane, in the room, by the pool, and successfully finished it up in less than three days. Consider this my stamp of approval!


Next on the list for any good vacation...good food! We found lots of it. Our favorite was Rama Thai. We haven't had Thai food since moving back to Mobile, and this version was as fresh and yummy as I've ever had it! We also hit up Nicky Rottens for a very large delicious burger and Lou & Mickey's on our last night for a steak dinner. Quite honestly, we could have been served cardboard, and we still would have been excited about the opportunity to eat adult food sans the kiddos!

We didn't venture beyond the Gaslamp Quarter simply because it was a convenient walk from the hotel. If we'd had a car, I would have liked to have tried the Captain Crunch pancakes at Cafe on Park or any of the pizzas at Alexander's on 30th. We'll save these for our next visit!!

Which leads me to my San Diego sales pitch...I really think this would be a great vacation spot for families with kids. Maybe not very small kids (if your like me, I'm not ready to fly cross country with two five year olds and a baby), but 5 years and up....perfect!!!

There's the San Diego Zoo, Legoland, and SeaWorld just to name a few. I look forward to taking our little crew back one day!

Matt and I took advantage of some of the local "to do's" by touring the USS Midway located in downtown San Diego just minutes from our hotel. Here we are on the deck...

Matt in the cockpit...

Me in the brig:)
Our hotel, Manchester Grand Hyatt, is located in the back right of this photo...

The next day, we took a cab to the famous San Diego Zoo. It did not disappoint!

Here are some of our favorite animals...





My absolute favorite...I could have just snuggled right up with these koala bears. They were so.cute. all cuddled up in the trees like that! Who knew we had a thing for bears? Just realized they make up more than half of these pictures!


Thank you Nana and Papa and Tula and Pops for keeping our little ones so Matt and I could get away. We had a fabulous time, and we couldn't have done it without your help!!!

The Final Birthday "Tail"

As promised, here's the final download from our week of birthdays....

bunny invitations from Sweet Bella (found on Etsy)

tissue pom poms, "how to" via Martha Stewart

felt banner, strips of felt threaded on white thread

you can buy one here

bunny ears from Target $ aisle

stretchable bunny bracelets from Oriental Trading

gummy bunny teeth from Oriental Trading

bunny cake via Pastry Shop, Mobile, AL

salads

Corn Salad
2-15 oz. cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup mayo
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red onions, chopped
1-10.5 oz bag coarsely chopped crushed chili-cheese corn chips

Mix first 5 ingredients and chill. Stir in corn chips just before serving.

Oriental Coleslaw
1-16 oz. bag coleslaw
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 pkg. Ramen noodles, crushed (discard flavor package*)
1/2 stick butter
1-6 oz. pkg. sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Brown crushed noodles in butter, add sunflower seeds and browned almonds and cook until hot.

Dressing:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 T soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar

Mix ingredients for dressing and heat 1 minute in microwave. Mix all salad ingredients together, add dressing, stir well and serve immediately.

*You can also mix the flavor packet in with the dressing, if you like more flavor!

Pink Fluff
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 12 oz. container cool whip
1 8 oz. container cottage cheese, small curd
1 small pkg. strawberry jello
1/2-1 cup pecans, roasted until browned and chopped, divided
1/2-1 cup coconut, toasted until browned, divided

Mix all ingredients, including half of pecans and coconut. Stir well and chill. Sprinkle remaining pecans and coconut on top of salad.

Pink Punch
2 cans frozen pink lemonade
1 container raspberry sherbert
1 liter Seven Up

Mix together and serve.

Splash and Slide Party Details

"Walker and Kathryn are turning five! Join us as we splash and slide!"

I used Simplicity Papers, found on Etsy, for the invitations. I was EXTREMELY pleased with the customer service as well as the finished product. There were about four other invitations from this company that I liked, but I ultimately chose this design. Imagine their names and the five highlighted in the color "pool" with "papaya" colored envelopes. They turned out really cute!

Simplicity Papers via Etsy

The menu had to be simple, mostly because I was preparing a spread for Frances' party the following day. So we went with every kids' favorite--nuggets from Chick Fil A.

Large Chicken Nugget Party Tray via Chick Fil A

We upped the fun value with these twirly cheese puffs....

Cheetos Twisted Puffs

And rounded out the menu with a fruit salad of strawberries, pineapple and grapes along with a strawberry cheese ring and crackers (mostly as an appetizer for the adults).

I was planning to do cupcakes for this party, and the bakery suggested arranging them in a five. I thought it was the perfect gender neutral solution for this party!

Cupcake Cake from Pollman's Bakery
Mobile, AL

We chose the water slide because in order to have a party outside in Mobile in the summer, you HAVE TO HAVE water!!!! Best part was we were able to keep the slide for 5 days because of the holiday. We pulled it out again for Frances' party and even used it for our Fourth of July festivities! Now that's a deal!

Water Slide from Jumps A Lot
Mobile, AL

I saw this fun decorative idea and just had to give it a try. The surprising part about it is that Walker blew up pretty much all the balloons. He would blow up the balloons, Kathryn would "organize" them and I would string them along. It was a lot easier than I anticipated, and I was very pleased with how it turned out!

Your only seeing one banner here. There were two that I hung from either side of the gate. It was a great backdrop for the cake table!

Balloon Banner, idea via Design Mom

Of course, we had to have some party favors! These fish sunglasses fit the bill!

Sunglasses, Oriental Trading

While the parents fixed the kids' plates, we kept the kids entertained coloring these fun party hats!

Color Your Own Party Hat, Oriental Trading

Loved these party favor/loot bags!

Favor Bags, Hey Yo Yo via Etsy

As for party favors, I knew I wanted to set up a candy bar, so when I saw this little display, perfect for a "pool" party, my juices started flowing. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the set up at our party nor did I have the time to make signs "explaining" the candy selections, but this picture will give you an idea.

Inspiration for Candy Bar via Candy and Cake

I chose sour straws (aka pool noodles), Swedish fish, gummy octopus, M & M's (really no relationship here, just thought I should include some chocolate:), and gummy life savers. The party favor bags were used to corral the candy!

Additional party information/sources:

Polka dot table cloths: Walmart (on sale!!!)
Plates, Bermuda Blue: Target
Napkins (Cupcake and "We Do Fun Here"): Target
Dot candles: Walmart
Candy: Walmart, Target & Sam's
Kathryn's swimsuit: Garnet Hill

A Hip Hoppin' Good Time

"Hop on over for lunch and some fun. Our little bunny is turning one!"

Thus began Frances' bunny-themed first birthday! In lieu of a traditional birthday party hat, Frances opted for some gussied-up bunny ears! She actually enjoyed wearing them.

You may recall that Easter is one of my favorite holidays, so it wasn't hard to round up some party decor for this middle of the summer soiree. Aunt Mak scouted out these adorable rabbit topiaries at Pier One back in April. Thankfully, I had already chosen the party theme at that point, so I stocked up while they were on sale. Flowers were courtesy of Tula's front flower beds.


I couldn't resist adding some cabbages and carrots to the decorative mix!


I saw this adorable felt banner on Etsy and decided I would make one for myself. Very easy and so cute!

Some bunny ears for the guests...

The menu consisted of salads, lots and lots of salads--chicken salad, pasta salad, corn salad, Oriental coleslaw, fruit salad and pink fluff! There was also pork tenderloin with jezebel sauce and yummy party punch!

And the cake, oh, the cake! I was very pleased with how it turned out!

Tissue pom poms and a string of photos from each of Miss Frances' 12 months.



I think Miss Frances enjoyed her cake too!!! She was digging in before her brother and sister could help her blow out her candle:)



Hoping to have a post with all the details and how to's along with some recipes!

Let The Parties Begin

Three birthdays and two birthday parties later, it suffices to say we have had one party-throwing, candle-blowing, cake-eating week!!!

Kathryn and Walker were so blessed to have family and friends on hand for their "Splash and Slide" party! See Walker running to get back in line and Kathryn sliding down. The kids couldn't get enough of it!!

The birthday girl

The birthday boy

I just adore this picture. They were soaking up every second of their friends singing "Happy Birthday" to them. They had been waiting for this party, and this moment, for a while!

After all the chicken nuggets, fruit and cheese curls were devoured and the last guest had left, Nana and Papa took Walker and Kathryn to stay with them at the Battle House. Kathryn, aka Rapunzel, LOVED the ballrooms there. Walker also liked staying at the hotel, and it allowed me to get ready for party number two on Saturday!!