Life Lately

We did it. We made it to the end of the school year, and I am so grateful. This last week has been heavy. This entire month has been hard. I have a lot of thoughts right now, and I just don't want to dwell on them right now. While I don't want to forget the events of the past week, and the parents who lost their children, I just can't right now. I have posted on my Instagram, and right now, I just want to hold my babies tight, and my heart hurts for those who can't do the same. It's not fair. It's not easy, and God never told us that it would be fair or easy. I'm so thankful we have a final resting place with Him. 

Here's a little look at Life Lately. 

Adalyn managed to come down with the flu right after Megan's birthday party. She didn't have a fever on Sunday, so we sent her to school on Monday (they also had state tests that day.) Monday afternoon the school nurse called that Adalyn wasn't feeling well, but she didn't have a fever. I picked her up from the bus stop and she ran to my crying. My heart broke and I decided to take her to the doctor. She tested positive for flu and later had a fever. We oiled her up with thieves, frankincense, lavender, snifflease, and thieves chest rub, and gave her some vitamin D.

DJ was able to stay home with her on Tuesday. She was fine that day and went back to school on Wednesday. 

This year, I planted some tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell pepper. These are the first two tomatoes from our little garden. I'm hoping that if these plants do well, we can do raised garden beds next year. 

Megan had gymnastics, Gretchen went to a school activity, so just the three of us went out for some good old Texas BBQ. 

The girls had field day at school last Friday. DJ was able to go, and while I had a hair appointment and thought I wouldn't be able to go, it got rescheduled, so I was able to spend an hour at field day with these cuties. 

When we moved to Texas Megan was shy and didn't have a lot of friends; she's made good friends this year and we are so thankful that she's opened up and developed friendships. 

Once the girls came home from Field Day, we hit up the pool. 

We spent Friday relaxing pool side and it was fabulous. 

Saturday morning I was up early! Gretchen had spent the night at a school lock in and had to be picked up by 7. I brought her home, turned around and took Megan to gymnastics, and then went to have my hair appointment. Hello summer hair. 

After a trip to Target, I came home and baked sourdough blueberry muffins with Adalyn. 

That afternoon we took the paddleboard to the lake for some fun. 

I love paddle boarding.... but I may love it a little more without two tag alongs! Ha! 

Megan had a sleepover Saturday night and spent the entire Sunday at Kalahari. After church, just four of us went out for lunch. 

My side of the table. 

And DJ's side. 

Monday night, we tucked in our middle 10 year old for the last time. 

Her last night as a 10 year old! 

Freshly showered and ready to wake up 11! 

She told me to take the towel off my head! Ha! 

And a picture with dad too. 

We celebrated Megan's 11th birthday on Tuesday. DJ and I both picked her up from gymnastics and took her cookies to pass out to her gymnastics friends. Then, we took the birthday girl out for ice cream! 

The highlight of our month has been celebrating this sweet girl! 

Tie Dye Party Fun!

Over the weekend, we threw a birthday party that was to "dye" for! Megan decided to have a tie dye birthday party for her friends with a little sleepover afterwards! I love planning birthday parties, and while it's so much more work to have a party at home, I love the planning and decorating, and seeing everything come together. 

We opted for brightly colored balloons mixed together to give us a "tie dye" effect . 

I ordered this party set that included a tablecloth, paper cups, paper plates, and a few decorations to help throw the theme together. The party hat and cake decorations we had from Gretchen's 1st birthday, and I love that we saved them because we've been able to use several times over the years. 

I picked up a box of g-free macaroons from Costco and thought they gave a fun tie dye effect when all mixed together. The girls loved these! 

On our side board, I placed the cups, napkins, and plates, that came in the kit, and then a cake stand, Megan's knife set, and her 1st birthday party hat. 

I use these to hang the balloon banner. 

I threw these oils in the diffusers and the smell was fruity and fun! It was the perfect kids birthday party blend! (grab them here!)

And in the entry way, we used string lights, a little balloon set, our letter board, and the fabric banner I used for Megan's 1st birthday to add some texture and color. 

More balloons and banners for the present area. 

We did all of the tie dying outside! I used plastic table cloths from the Dollar Tree, and taped purple paper placemats on top to mark the spot for the girls. (I had these left over from Adalyn's baking birthday party last year!)

We used aluminum trays and lids for each of the girls to tie dye in, and then each girl was given a scrunchie and a shirt to tie dye. I found a 6 pack of white shirts here so they were super affordable. 

I also bought this kit of tie dye that came with rubber bands, gloves, dye, bottles, and instructions. All I had to do was fill the bottles with water and shake. 

With some instructions, the girls were able to tie off their own shirts; you can't really go wrong with tie dying!

Okay, full disclaimer. I don't think I realized how messy it would be! Some of the girls had dye on their clothes; so definitely have aprons on hand or be sure to tell them to wear clothes they don't mind messing up!

I had ziploc bags for all of the girls with their names written on them, and sent the shirts home after the party and told parents to wash them the next day. 

After we tie dyed shirts and scrunchies.... we made some tie dye paintings! 

I purchased paint from the Dollar Tree along with small canvases. I also bought a packet of straws and some paint brushes. 

I told the girls they could paint a picture, or they could squeeze paint on the canvas and use the straws to blow the paint for a tie dye effect. Again, totally underestimated how much paint the girls would use and the fact that the paint would blow on to their friends- so I made them all spread out! 

Make sure you have an area set up so the canvases can dry a bit! Our party was 3 hours, so most of the canvases had dried well enough to go home. 

We ordered Costco pizzas for dinner and had juice boxes. I also served a huge fruit tray with blackberries, blue berries, purple and green grapes, strawberries, raspberries, and orange slices. Just mix it all together for a tie-dye look. I made a fruit dip using a block of cream cheese, a jar of marshmallow fluff, a tspn of vanilla, and 2 drops of orange vitality essential oil. The girls stood and ate fruit for almost all of the party! I had to shoo them away so they'd have room for pizza and cake! 

After pizza, Megan opened presents. 

Squishmallows and craft activities were a big theme for the gifts! 

After presents it was cake time !

I found a cake design on Pinterest, and ordered through a local bakery. 

Alongside the cake, we served rainbow swirled ice cream, which I'm glad we had on hand because some of the girls had some dietary needs ;) 

By 7, most of the guests had left, but we let 3 of Megan's friends stay the night, and 2 of our neighbors stayed over and played until about 9! The girls said they went to bed around midnight and slept until 7 the next morning. I had pre-planned and bought doughnuts the day before for breakfast, and served the remaining fruit.

Her birthday party was a total success and so much fun!

 

Friday Faves

Happy Friday! This last week has been crazy for our family. And, it's not slowing down. While I usually enjoy my Friday's off, I'm working today to make up for the time I was out last week and earlier this week. This weekend is going to be busy too, because we have a kiddo celebrating her birthday on Saturday! I'm looking forward to some tie-dying sleepover fun! 

Today I'm linking up with Andrea & Erika for some Friday Favorites. 

First, not a favorite. Remember when we wrapped up our Spring Break vacation to drive to Oxford, Ms? We really went to say goodbye to DJ's brother in law. He has endlessly and tiredlessly fought cancer over the last 3 1/2 years, and we got word that he wasn't doing well, So we went to say goodbye. 

It was one of the hardest things we've had to do and we are so so thankful that we could see him one more time.  After our Thursday night flight home from Florida, we did 2 loads of laundry, repacked, and we were on the road by 4 am Friday to drive to Arkansas to be with family. 

Gretchen's 8th grade formal was Friday night and we had to make the decision to take her to Arkansas with us, or to let her go to the dance. This was something she was really looking forward to and we just couldn't ask her to miss it. Because my mom had been with the girls for the week, we extended her stay by two days so she could be with Gretchen and help her get ready for the dance. While I hated that we couldn't have the experience together, I realize there will be many many more, and because my mom lives so far away, she wouldn't have the experience with her granddaughter. So, while it was bittersweet for me, it was a special experience for my mom and daughter. 

She had a hair appointment at Ulta, and my mom sent me pics throughout. 

Since DJ and I weren't going to be there, we bought Gretchen a corsage to wear. We had picked out her dress early in April and it was perfect. At the time we debated long and formal, but we opted for short and simple yet elegant, and it was perfectly appropriate for a 14 year old. She also wore a necklace of mine that had blue stones, and she was stunning. 

She paired her dress with tennis shoes which was perfect for hitting up the dance floor. 

She said she was the only one that had a short twirly dress, and she loved it. 

While she was having the time of her life, these girls were enjoying their time together. Although we were in a hard situation, they loved playing together and were hopefully a bright spot in each other's day. 

Later that night, they had some princess dress up time. 

Adalyn asked to have her picture taken on Saturday morning. She was just so precious. 

After services and lunch on Saturday morning, we all opted to relax pool side. Megan decided to flip her way down the hall to the pool. 

Sweet cousins. 

Sweet daughter. 

I just can't get over this cutie. 

We ended Saturday night with dinner and an early bedtime. We were exhausted. 

Sunday morning we celebrated Mother's Day. 

We were able to celebrate with DJ's stepmom, mom, and sister with brunch in the hotel. 

All the mommas and kiddos. We were so glad to have this time with all of the family. Despite the sadness of the circumstances, our family all lives so far away so we cherish the time we do have together. 

Sunday afternoon we made the drive to my parent's house. My mom had flown home the day before, Gretchen was staying with our aunt that has moved to Austin, and I told DJ that we've never seen all of our mom's on Mother's day before! 

After dinner the girls played soccer with DJ. 

and they had a cousin sleepover. 

On Monday we drove back to Texas. We were all looking forward to being home. 

Tuesday night, Adalyn had her end of the year soccer party, and she received two awards! One for being a "busy bee" because she was always running all over the field, and the 2nd for being a "team captain" because she was always encouraging and helpful. So proud of this girl! 

Megan's new team practice leo came in today, and she loves how soft it is! She practices 22 hours a week, and will compete level 4i n August. She's also raising money for her booster club; you can click here to make a donation. 

And finally, be sure you're following me on IG to enter to win my May giveaway! This month I'm giving away a diffuser and a few essential oils for your home!