Summer was "GRAND"

Summer came and went quickly this year which is why I'm forever behind on documenting the two short months the kiddos were out of school!

We were blessed to celebrate the kids' actual birthdays over a long weekend at The Grand Hotel. Nana and Papa and the Dillon cousins were also there to celebrate, and we made the most of the pools and the bay.

The slide at The Colony is their favorite!!!

 

Not the best family photo, but at least we are all in it:)

Aunt Coco and the boys...

Trying to get the cousins to cooperate.  Good luck!

Underwater fun with the GoPro...

 

When three boys are worn out, you know they've played hard!!

 

The Doc Is In

In a previous post, I alluded to the fact that Miss Frances was quite indecisive when it came to her birthday party this year. Of course, Frozen and every Disney princess in between were on her list! But ultimately Doc McStuffins won out, and I'm so glad she did! This was one of my favorite (and easiest) parties to plan.

 Here are a few snapshots of how it all came together.

I'm not an overly "crafty" person, but I thought I would give a burlap door hanger a try.  It's not perfect, but I thought it was a fun way to greet guests at the front door!

 

The dining table included a white table cloth, topped with a fun polka dotted wrapping paper used as a runner (And purchased at the Dollar Tree.  You can't get much cheaper than that!)  The Doc McStuffins plates and napkins and dark chocolate Hershey kisses were all purchased at Wally World.  The flowers were courtesy of my hydrangea bushes;)

 

 

 

I set up a small table in the sun room were we displayed all of the doctor tools! This is where I must say I scored at The Dollar Tree.  You wouldn't believe all of the supplies I was able to round up for less than $10--doctors masks, cotton balls, q-tips, play doctors kits (with atleast 8 play pieces per kit), small cups for holding "medicine" (aka Smarties), and large marshmallows (aka edible cotton balls:).

Perhaps the best Dollar Tree purchase were the syringe pens. The perfect accompaniment for the little books of boo boos. How is that for a win!!

The only thing I purchased elsewhere were a ton of Doc McStuffins bandaids!!!

Each child received a doctor's coat--a small t shirt cut up the middle-a book of boo boos and a pen. Up next, choose your stuffed toy and start doctoring.  This is what I loved most about this party. The kids had so much fun pretend playing! There were cotton balls and bandaid wrappers everywhere.  A true sign of lots of fun being had;)

The cake was from Flour Girls and boy was it yummy!!!

I don't have pictures of the food spread, but I was inspired by the idea of Doc McStuffins muffins and decided on a brunch theme.  There were mini muffins, pigs in a blanket, fruit salad and goldfish for the kiddos.  I also made a grits casserole, strawberry salsa and ham rolls for the grown ups!

Little Miss enjoying her food!

Matt sketched a quick skeleton to act as an x-ray for a party photo op! Too cute!

Is my baby really four?!?  How did this happen!  Frances, we had so much fun celebrating you! Our little Doc;)

Kathryn turns 8

Much to my surprise, Kathryn opted not to have a birthday party this year. So I offered to give her a special day where she could choose the things she would like to do.

 This was on her list:

pedicure

Texas Roadhouse

sleepover with her friend

Easy enough!!! She even scouted out her own cake at our local super market.

She ran errands with our neighbors the first half of the day, and with her out of the house, I just couldn't help but do a little decorating. She loves dolphins, and I had already picked up some plates and cups (complete with dolphins (and turtles in case Walker might use them too)), so I went with a beach theme.

 

 

Y'all know I love me a wrapping paper table runner.  This fun paper is from Target, topped off with some hydrangeas from the garden, some seashells and sand (aka brown sugar), it was the perfect place to gather for cake and ice cream.

 

But first up...the nail salon.  They were super excited!  This was Kathryn's first pedicure. Yippee!!!

 

 

 

 Because it was her birthday, they treated her to a very special paint job:)

 



Next up, Texas Roadhouse...

The kids love that the bring a saddle around to your table and get the entire restaurant to give the birthday girl a big "yee ha!"

 

 

Everyone wanted a turn on the saddle!

 



Back at home, the party was just getting started...

 

Kathryn's chocolate decadence cake...

Oh my!

Thankfully, all of this craziness was not an indication of the rest of the evening.  This was also Kathryn's first time to have a friend sleepover, and they were wonderful.  We let them sleep downstairs, so they wouldn't disturb the other two kiddos in the house, and Matt and I didn't hear a peep out of them! 

I can't believe my little girls is 8.  Kitty Kat, I pray 8 is a great year for you.  Love you lots!!!

Walker turns 8

By now, most of you know June is birthday month for all three of our kiddos! This always creates quite the dilemma about how to plan and schedule parties. Last year I had the grand idea to host three separate events. Let's just say Matt made me promise to never do that again:)

This year, we debated back and forth about how we could combine parties. For the longest time, we were going to host a party for the girls at a local ice cream shop. Then we tossed around a skating party for Walker and Kathryn. In the midst of the endless possibilities, one little voice of reason kept rising over all the chaos--- Walker requesting a turtle party at Cold Snap.

While the girls went all wishy washy on me (seriously Frances would bounce from princess to princess and every theme in between!), Walker stayed true to his wish. So by golly, he got his Cold Snap party Ninja Turtle Style!

He wanted so badly for all of his classmates to celebrate with him, so I threw all caution to the wind and planned a spur of the moment party (seriously I sent Matt to Target on Memorial Day to purchase fill in (I cringe) invitations, so I could have them for school on Tuesday for the party the following Monday) so we could make it happen before school let out!

Judging by this grin, I think he was pleased!

The fun goody bags were local party supply store bags, fancied up with some crepe paper and googly eyes (a la Ninja Turtles) and filled with several green items (Winterfresh gum and small Sprite can), several Ninja Turtle items (small Frisbees and stickers from The Dollar Tree), pizza flavored Pringle sticks (Ninja Turtles have to have their pizza), and topped off with some filler candy.  Super cheap and super easy!

This is Walker and his best classmate.  I love that they are all smiles!

 

It wouldn't be a boy party without a little wrestling...

 

 

 

and some funny faces! 

Little Sis in on the action...

P R E S E N T S ....  Walker's favorite part:)

The whole crew!

I loved how stress free this party was.  I love having birthday celebrations at our home, but it was so nice to show up and have everything already set up.  And then to have someone else do all of the cleaning up! So thankful we were able to celebrate WGB in such a special way!

July 4th, Alabama River Style

We celebrated July 4th on the river with Nana and Papa! The new jet ski (or sket ji as Frances called it:) and three seater tube made for a very adventuresome time in and on the water! Here are just a few snapshots from our holiday weekend...