new nothings: 2014

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

4th of july 2014

We had a very relaxed 4th. Spent some time at the pool. Took naps! BBQ'd some hotdogs. And then we decided to brave the crowds and check out the fireworks up the street. Since we'd never been there before and weren't sure if the show would be any good, rather than get tied up in major traffic at the actual venue, we sat across the street in the grocery store parking lot. I've never sat in a parking lot, on the small grass area next to the cart return, to watch fireworks before. There is a first time for everything though. The show was awesome and surprisingly very loud. Finn had to sit in the car with Jason for about half of it. Good thing we didn't park far away....

Next year we might try the fireworks downtown again. And we can re-introduce the kids to another first, the smell of marijuana. Oh Austin.

Thankful for the low key, non pot smelling, first time 4th we had this year!

The big kids jumping in together

Finn, jumping in, doing his own thang

"CANNONBALL!" Liam

Finn feeling braver

My version of wearing red, white and blue

Dinner

Parking lot fireworks!

mother's day 2014

"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy."

Times 4. They're all my squishy's.

Mother's Day flowers, my favorite, peonies

easter 2014

Easter was the day after Finn's birthday this year. So it was a busy weekend! My parents were down from Dallas and it was a treat to get to worship with them at church that morning and then have brunch here. Here are some snapshots from Easter Sunday. (Please excuse the 2 or 3 of just me. I hate how I look in most photographs, but the ones Jason took that day made me feel really pretty. So I posted them for future "I feel ugly" days.)

Time to eat!

Ummm, they never get candy. This was like the.best.thing.ever if you can't tell by their expressions.

Homemade cherry and apple, cream cheese, strudel/coffee cake deliciousness!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

happy birthday finn

Because you know, finally posting in August about your sons April birthday is what the cool people do. Or the forgetful ones...

Finn turned 3 on April 19th, not to be confused with tax day, April 15th which is the date I gave the dr.'s receptionist when I tried to make an appointment for him last week (where IS my brain these days?) and we threw him a Hungry Caterpillar party!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was actually one of Liam's favorite books for a long time, so it was read over and over and over and Finn grew to love it as well. And as cutsie caterpillars are more appropriate for 3 year olds than 7 year olds, I decided to run with this theme now.

Since Pinterest is FULL of ideas for this type of party, I didn't have to look far for inspiration and thanks to my friend Leslie, I didn't have to spend a ton on decor either. She had already thrown her little girl a hungry caterpillar party and graciously loaned me some supplies ('pillars are popular.)

All great parties need cake, so I broke out the food coloring (the only time I use it is for birthdays) and I made a green ombre cake with my new mini Wilton pans.

Here is the finished, iced cake and the birthday boy.

Again, a huge thank you to Leslie for the awesome food labels and the paper lanterns.

I like to drive parents nuts and do a craft at my parties. But I refrained from paint ('cause that drives ME nuts) and stuck to glue this year. I decided to have the kids put together their very own hungry caterpillars. I made an example for them all to follow, cut out the pieces, stashed them in individual baggies beforehand and then all they had to do was assemble. I wish I had remembered to get a shot of the finished caterpillars, because no two were alike, they all had their own special twist.