BaBy-Q!

Mel and Brad wanted a low key family style baby shower, so we went with a BaBy Q! I found some fun ideas on Pinterest and then went with what I thought would work best with my yard and the group we would have. I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like and (thanks to Mom being here to help out) it all came together beautifully! 

I think the whole thing ended up being based around this no sew fabric bunting that I made. It was so hard choosing the fabrics by myself but I was really happy with how it looked. We hung the bunting all around the fence. In the center of the fence Mom brought cute baby clothes to hang from clothespins. I ended up having enough fabric left over from the bunting to make squares for the tables, which really helped tie the whole yard together. I  had bought the flowers and ribbon and stuff for the centerpieces but I ended up putting Mom in charge of them and she totally made them cuter than I would have made them. Loved it!

I was able to borrow tables, chairs, and a canopy from my neighbors. It worked out that we had plenty of seating for everyone and the food was shaded (for most of the party anyway). There was a main food table on the patio under the canopy. There was a table for drinks. I did two large beverage dispensers with ice water and lemonade. Then one more table for chips. Ian moved our grill over to the side of the house out of the way, which was perfect. He was the grill master and did an awesome job cooking up about 60 burgers, a dozen hot dogs and a few portobello mushrooms. People were so helpful to contribute! The Wright's provided all of the meat and some delicious and cute sugar cookies. Other friends and family brought watermelon, chips, potato salad, pasta salad, and frog eye salad.

My neighbor, Mindy Thompson, made the cake. It was so yummy! Rich chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and an oreo filling. It turned out so cute too. We used it as the centerpiece of the table inside the house.

People gathered and visited and ate for the first hour or so. Mom passed out raffle tickets while everyone was eating. We did four raffle drawings throughout the shower. The prizes were In N Out gift cards. So fun (thanks Mom)!! It seemed a little fishy that Davin and Ian both won raffle prizes. I swear it wasn't rigged! We also did a fun Bottle Chug a Lug game. We did one round for the men and one round for the kids. Whoever drank the 2oz. of apple juice in their bottle first was the winner! Mel's friend, Aaron, won the men's contest, and our cousin, Abby, won the kids' round. The man prize was a Home Depot gift card and the kids' prize was a pail full of fun dollar store things like bubbles, glow sticks, etc. It was a super fun game!

We also passed out cards for people to write advice on for the parents to be. Then we put all the advice together in a book for Brad and Mel. After games Brad and Mel opened presents while the cake was served. They got a lot of cute things including Winnie the Pooh crib bedding, a baby carrier, cute clothes, a bath and some bath accessories, and more. I think they are getting excited for baby to get here!

After presents and cake people started to head out. It was such a beautiful day. Sunny, but not hot (high of 72) and breezy. I was worried about the wind but it ended up being just fine. I am so glad it was a success and Brad and Mel and baby felt loved and celebrated!

Mom Visit

My mom came for a quick weekend to be here for Mel and Brad's baby shower. We had a couple of days before the shower to prep and play too. The first night she was here we went out for girl's night. Since it was Mom's birthday just a couple of days before we took her out to celebrate! We went to Spaghetti Factory and made sure the waiter (and his trainee) knew we had a birthday in the house. It was such a fun, yummy dinner. We had a blast and Mom enjoyed getting sung to and blowing out her candle. After dinner we did some girl shopping at Ulta (which ended up being a fail for Mom). Perfect girl's night out!

Friday was our big "get ready for Mel's shower" day. We ran errands in the morning with all of the kids and they were really good. After errands Mom spent some time making these fun animal masks with the kids while I ran one more errand and picked up Kneader's for us for lunch. Mom got her hair done while the babies napped in the afternoon. It was good for me to have some quiet time.

That night after dinner Mom and I snuck out to run some more errands. It was easier without kids and we were done before it was too super late. After we got home we got in jammies and did the peel off face masques we bought at Ulta (round 2 which was much more successful). It was way fun. Reminded me of lots of sleepovers and the tube of green cucumber peel off masque we had for at least 10 years. Ha ha!

Saturday morning was a little hectic. I wanted to go to our neighborhood yard sale (once a year in the summer our HOA advertises a neighborhood yard sale and all the houses in our 'hood who want to participate put out their stuff and lots of people come to look), so Mom stayed home and showered and got ready while Ian and I and the kiddos walked around the neighborhood and checked out the yard sales. The kids each came home with something "new" and fun.

After yard sale-ing Mom, Talia, and I headed out for our last set of errands before the shower. We spoiled ourselves and hit the Loft outlet on our way home too. Wouldn't be a weekend with Mom without a little clothes shopping! I got a few cute new tees that I really needed.

By the time we got home and had lunch it was time to start decorating and cleaning and putting the house and yard together for Mel's shower! All the details and the big party coming right up!

Summer In Full Swing

Summer is in full swing at our house! I can't believe the first month of summer is already almost over. Sorry for the lack of blogging, but we have been busy playing! And when we aren't playing I'm breaking up toddler fights, reading books, eating frozen grapes or working out. 

The first day of Summer kicked off with Monday jobs. During the school year we do them on Saturday, but during the summer we don't bother until Monday. Everyone was so good about doing jobs and didn't fuss or anything. The kids all played happily in the basement after jobs. The boys got invited to a friends' house after lunch, which was perfect because I had a quiet house while the babies napped. When they woke up I picked up the boys and took everyone over to the Alpine splash park. We played for a couple of hours then grabbed pizza on the way home. It was a pretty awesome first day of summer. Wish every day was like that.

Later that first week I braved the new Museum of Natural Curiosity by myself with the kids. I knew they wanted to do the water room and the Noah's ark fountain so we went in our bathing suits. It was crazy crowded still but the kids had fun. I kept the babies in the baby area while the boys did their own thing in whatever section we were in. Beckett and Talia both played in the water table. And the fountain was a hit. It was hard getting everyone to leave, but nap time is sacred during the summer so I had to get them home in time for naps. :)

We also watch some TV in the morning and kick around the house playing with toys and occasionally playing (banging) on the piano.

I also LOVE my backyard. I love that it's fenced. We get decent shade in the afternoon. And it's plenty big to run around in. The kids love filling up the water table and splashing and filling up their squirters. Sometimes I even put a little sprinkler on the end of the hose and let them run in it. They love it. And I get to chill in the shade with my book while they get wet and wear themselves out for bed time. Summer is the best.

Tee Ball

Davin started tee ball the last week of school. He is loving it and having so much fun. His friends, Cole and Ella, are on his team and another friend from his Kindergarten class is on his team too. His coach is really nice and he's doing great. He has practice and games on Tuesdays and Saturdays through the end of June. So far the weather has been pretty nice for watching his games too. 

Mel and Brad were able to come watch him play on Saturday after the camp out. They are so awesome to always come and support our kids in their activities! Mel took some really cute videos of Davin playing. It's fun for Davin to try something new too!

Last Day of School/Camping

Friday was the last day of school. They boys only had to go for about an hour and a half. It was a weird schedule though. Davin had to go on the early bird bus at 7:20am and got home a little before 10am. Weston left on his regular bus at 8:50am and got home at about 11am. The boys gave their teachers this cute teacher thank you I printed out and a gift card. I thought Weston's was pretty cute. He's so smart. I don't even know what he's talking about in the "I'm glad my teacher taught me" section! I felt kind of lame because I didn't have any big, fun thing planned for when they got home. They had lunch and then played with friends. 

Ian came home early and we packed up for the ward campout. We went last year but I only stayed for a few hours and then drove home with Talia and Beckett. This year we decided to all stay the night. It was the first time I had spent the night camping in ten years (since we were first married). Every other time there has been a campout I either haven't gone at all or left early because I didn't want to try to sleep in a tent with a baby.

Anyway, we got up to the camp site at about 5:30. We picked up McDonald's on the way and ate in the car, so we didn't have to worry about bringing/cooking food when we got there. Ian set up our new family tent while I chased Beckett around and kept him out of trouble. The big kids immediately found friends and things to run around and do. There were only a few other families there at 5:30 and I was worried it was going to be kind of a flop, but it started to fill up a little later and there ended up being a great turn out.

Everyone just visited and chatted and ate. We hung out around the fire and the kids played soccer and parachute and kickball. The ward planned a fun balloon popping game, but my kids did NOT like getting their balloons popped last year so they didn't really participate. Talia guarded her blue balloon very seriously so no one would come close to her and pop it. Beckett loved popping his balloons on purpose and went through a few.

There were several dogs running around, including a giant great dane. I thought it was hilarious when Beckett went up and stared him down. After the stare down the great dane layed down and let Beckett pet him. It was really cute. Talia was not a fan of the dogs running around. They made her nervous.

After it got dark we made some smores and got out glowsticks. I had a nice time chatting with friends and Beckett didn't fall in the fire so it was a success. Most people left when it got dark, but about 10 families stayed the night. Around 10pm Ian and I put all the kids to bed in the tent. Beckett cried for a little bit before falling asleep, but not too bad.

Ian and I stayed up way late playing games and chatting around the fire. The stars were gorgeous that night too. I was so tired, but I didn't sleep hardly at all. When we got in the tent Beckett woke up crying. I checked on him and he didn't have any blankets on him. Poor thing! It was pretty chilly. I spent the whole rest of the night trying not to move and being cold and having to pee. I finally fell asleep though for a couple of hours before Beckett woke up again. It was lighter out by then but still really early. I pulled Beckett in bed with me and scratched his head until he drifted back off. We both dozed for another hour until Talia and the boys woke up at 6:30ish.

The ward provided breakfast. Then we mostly just packed up and headed home. It was a fun time and I'm glad we all stayed, but man, camping is a LOT of work. We got home and I had three loads of laundry to do and lots of dirty children to bathe. And we weren't even gone 24 hours! Also we didn't have to bring any food or mean of cooking and the back of the van was all the way full.  Hmmm. We'll see if we can manage a 2 night camping trip sometime this summer.