A Fourth of July Birthday Boy!

This year we reduced our guest list so Jack could invite 4 of his closest friends to share in the Ring of Fire party  and help celebrate his 8th Birthday. We also had our very first sleepover at our house!

I always love having fresh flowers on the table for the kids parties. I found this great Ball jar at our local flea market for $5 and could not pass it up.

I thought the white hydrangeas would go perfectly for our Fourth of July theme.

We made a special red, white and blue drink for the kiddos.

Here is a look at the outside of the fireworks cake.

This was the inside.

We sent off the sky lanterns again.

Watched fireworks from the dock.

Gave away treat bags.

There were sparklers!

Snappers!

And Ring Pops.

 On the 4th we did a little tubing.

We had some very happy boys.

 Rocky even enjoyed his first boat ride!.

Jen

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A Father's Day Tribute!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dad's out there. Here are just a few things I find inspiring about my dad.....

My dad leads by example.

He has a great work ethic, hardly ever took a sick day from work and he was passionate about his job.

He is a loving husband.

A family man.

 He is always there for those special moments in my life.

Loves his grandchildren and spends quality time with them.

He always finds fun things to do!

Here his granddaughter's made a surprise visit from Florida!

He is a talented wood carver.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Even though I can't see you today, just know you will always have my heart.

Love,

Jen

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Happy Easter!

This past week our house has been a whirlwind of activity trying to get ready for Easter!

The kits were purchased.

Eggs were dyed.

Easter Baskets were brought out.

I received the Easter basket on the left for my baby shower when I was pregnant with Jack. It was one of the best and most memorable gifts I received. I love that they are hand painted and each have a personality of their own.

Luke really likes his brown bunny! I think he is my favorite too.

We made these cupcakes for our Easter celebration on Saturday.

The kids really enjoyed getting in on the icing and decorating.

I transported them in our muffin tin to the party but Bakerella has a really cute way to package them.

 Finally, the Easter Bunny arrived!

We get a lot of morning sun and Luke's melted rabbit is proof of that.

 He now has a great new home in our refrigerator!

These two items were big hits in the boys Easter baskets this year. As a family we are huge Harry Potter fans. One note: most of these jelly beans end up being spit out but the kids really did like the adventure of tasting them. Can you believe they have soap and earwax jelly beans??

Happy Easter!

Jen

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Leprechaun Mischief!

The Irish heritage in me decided to have some fun on St. Patrick's Day! A little Leprechaun created some mischief in our house during the night and even left a few gifts.

Here is the mischief outside of the boys bedroom door...

he filled their shoes with candy and hid them around the house...

and left these little hats filled with gold, I mean Rolos.

The boys had some Lucky Charms and green milk for breakfast.

Image via Pinterest

We have a party to go to this evening and we will be bringing a fruit rainbow.

Image via Pinterest

No St. Pat's day is complete without Corned beef and cabbage.

I really want to try this horseradish gravy

Corned beef soup sounds like a good way to use leftovers.

Lastly, dessert!

I frosted some brownies and used some festive sprinkles I found at our grocery store!

Hope you have a lucky sort of day!

Jen

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Heart Themed Food!

I have always enjoyed getting creative on Valentine's Day. Whether it is making festive food or interesting Valentine's Day cards.  Now that we have children we like to incorporate them into the fun too. Here are a few things from Valentine's past:

 Marshmallow hearts.

The boys really liked this one!

 Caesar salad with heart croutons.  

This one by Martha Stewart is similar.

 I made my husband this card for our Anniversary but it works equally as well for Valentine's Day!

You can find the how to here.

Brownie mix baked in our ramekins with powdered sugar on top.

 "Bath Bombs" from skip to my lou for Jack's Pre-School teachers.

Two years ago we made heart Valentine's.

This year I am planning some dessert fondue!

I will be trying The Cookies and Cream Marshmallow Dream from this cookbook!

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Jen

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