Let's Bake Up Some Fun!

Adalyn turned 8 earlier this month, but we were on vacation so she patiently waited for her friend party! She really wanted a baking party and to have it at a local bake shop, but we opted to have it at home with all the restrictions in place, and that way we weren't limited on guests. 

We hoped on Amazon and ordered a few things we would need, and then picked up the rest from the Dollar Tree & Michaels. 

We found plates that were perfect for our theme, along with a banner. I already had one banner, so we layered the two together, and then we made a balloon banner using some balloons I already had and some we picked up from the store. We used a pink tablecloth from the Dollar Tree for the table. I absolutely love using these, because when the party is over, we just gather all the trash in it, roll it up, and throw it all away! I added a "sprinkle" banner that we had, and we used purple paper placemats rather than plates for the kids to decorate their cookies. Again, these were easy to pick up and toss once the kids were finished decorating, and replace with fresh ones when it was time for cake. 

We picked up a few pre-made icing pouches from Michaels, and ordered lots of sprinkles. Adalyn is also candy obsessed so we used giant smarties, gummy nerds, and nerds as well. I also found these sprinkles that are dye free, gluten free, and vegan for any kids with dietary needs. 

We used our sideboard for the cake area, which turned out perfect. She found a cute paper birthday cake at the dollar tree that she wanted. She also picked out a candy-chocolate ice cream cake, so it was in the freezer ;) 

I asked Adalyn if she wanted to decorate cupcakes or cookies and she opted for sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies. We used this recipe for our sugar cookies. 

Our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from our kitchenaid cookbook. 

Our 8 year old was ready to party! 

She was all decked out in her unicorn apron and matching chef hat. 

Megan took this picture of us, and in hindsight, we shouldn't have been behind the table! Ha! 

A quick picture with daddy. 

One with Megan, 

and one with mommy before the party started! 

Adalyn requested a punch with ice cream. We combined strawberry lemonade, ginger ale, and rainbow sorbet to make her birthday punch! 

Once the guests arrived we started decorating cookies. 

Lots of busy hands decorating cookies! 

They all turned out so cute and unique!

Taking a break from decorating for a little selfie! 

Once all of the cookies were decorated, Adalyn opened her birthday presents. 

She was spoiled with lots of goodies from her friends! 

And then it was time for birthday cake! Adalyn is always very specific about the type of cake she wants for her birthday. This year, she knew she wanted an ice cream cake with chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream. We scrolled through the options and once she saw one with candy on it, she jumped at it! 

8 little candles for our birthday girl

and one birthday wish. 

We had so much fun celebrating Adalyn this month! She always gets lots of celebrations since we typically travel on her birthday. Her party might be one of my favorites we've done! We love baking together so she helped me make the cookies, and she picked out all of the colors herself. 

We also opted to have the party later in the afternoon, but before dinner so there wasn't a need for food or snacks, since they had cookies and cake! 

All of the guests were able to take home their decorated cookies in boxes, and they each took home a spatula and a few cookie cutters. 

Our Epic Camping Trip: Ouray, Co

On our 3rd day of our trip, after a delicious breakfast, we drove to the "Switzerland of America," Ouray, Colorado. 

How adorable is this town?

Before we go there, we had to drive the million dollar highway and it was terrifying. There are 's' turns and complete sideways U turns, and straight drop offs with zero guardrails. If you fall off the road, you're not surviving. I prayed the entire drive. Obviously, we made it. All three times. 

On this day, we hung out with my parents and niece. Everyone else in our group rented jeeps and drove the dirt roads of the mountains. They said it was pretty terrifying too, because it was often one lane, and you'd have a jeep driving toward you on one lane, when there's a drop off. Jeeps would have to go in reverse, move out of the way for others to pass. Plus, the roads were rough. No thank you. 

Ouray is just adorable. 

About 2 blocks off the main road is a waterfall. In hindsight, we should've finished our shopping, jumped back in the car and drove up the hill. Instead, we walked a very steep hill and then had a small walk to the bottom of the falls. There were some other hikes off the trail so you could go further in or even up closer to the top, but my parents were waiting on us in the village so we opted out of doing that. 

Megan, DJ, and Gretchen attempted to walk up further, but then got stuck (because they were climbing the difficult way) and didn't make it. In fact, Gretchen almost came tumbling down the mountain and thankfully, DJ caught her. 

We were the smart ones that opted not to attempt a bigger climb. 

We walked back in to town, meet up with my parents, grabbed lunch, and walked a few more stops. 

After lunch, we headed to Box Canyon Falls. 

We did pay a $5.00 entry fee per adult (the kids were a little less), but it's a short little walk with spectacular falls. Box Canyon was bigger than the first one we went to. 

Once you walk in, there's an iron railing , and it's pretty narrow. You also have to duck your head some. Adalyn was actually pretty terrified once you walked further in. I'm pretty sure she was thinking the railing was going to give out and she'd fall in. 

There's about 50 stairs that you go down to get to the bottom. 

At the bottom, there's a little inlet, that I'm sure gets filled with water at some point in the year. 

She was a little happier crawling around down here. 

Once we finished the bottom, Adalyn and my parents stayed back, and the rest of us climbed to the top. 

It was pretty cool to have a different view point. 

The girls at the top! 

Alright, I have to make a confession. I was totally along for the ride on this entire trip. I didn't do any planning because I really didn't want to. I trusted my brother and parents since they knew the area and planned, so I was really happy going along for the ride. 

That being said, there's a few things in Ouray I wish we would have known about and had time to do. 

Further past the downtown area is a Hot Springs Pool. It would have been amazing to spend the afternoon there. 

There's also a perimeter trail that goes around the entire town, which would have been so fun to hike. But, it's also a 6 mile loop, so it would've taken a long time! 

By the time we finished at Box Canyon, the weather was starting to turn and we opted to head back over the terrifying stretch of highway to our camp. My brother cooked us all dinner, and it rained for a bit too, so we rested inside the campers. 

After dinner, the girls were outside playing while we were all chatting in my parents camper. We looked out the window and saw........

the girls had used rocks to spell out "We're Bored" except they had some spelling problems and spelled out "were broad" instead! Ha! We let them warm up, get in pj's, and they all headed over to my brother's camper for a movie night and sleepover! 

 

YL Lately

We are still using and loving our products from Young Living over here. 

I have friends ask me for product recommendations, because they're realizing that the products they thought were safe and clean, actually aren't. I am always more than willing to share with you products that I love that we've found that work for our family. Some of them are from Young Living, and sometimes, some aren't, but I want you to know I'll always be honest and transparent with you! I have an entire facebook group dedicated to sharing about ingredients you want to look out for, as well as some of my favorite Amazon finds! I share lots over there, so if that's something that interests you, you can click here to join. 

Here are some Young Living products I've been loving lately! 

In June, Young Living released a kitchen and bath scrub. I usually DIY this one with baking soda and thieves cleaner, but I was super excited to order this product because sometimes I'm too lazy to DIY which means my shower doesn't get cleaned as often as it should. Also, I hate cleaning my shower. I absolutely loved how this work and how quick and easy it was to use. I also scrubbed our toilet with it! Unfortunately, it was a limited time product and Young Living is gauging interest in the product, but from what I've heard when talking to other members, it's a resounding "YES!" that we love this product! 

The fruit & veggie wash is a product that we've loved and used for years! If you're only washing your produce with water, let me tell you a secret, you're not getting your produce clean enough. This is a game changer and it helps your produce stay fresh for a longer period of time. I add 1-2 capfuls in my sink off water and produce, let them sit, rinse, cut, and immediately store. 

I also tried out the new charcoal face mask and I'm in love. First of all, I didn't realize how many pores I had, but this product let them all come through! I could really tell that it was helping to cleanse my skin and I could feel it working right away. A little bit goes a long way, and it was easy to remove. I'll definitely be ordering this product and gifting it to friends and family! 

Speaking of skin care.... I use oils on my face every night. So many of our oils are good for many uses and skin is one of them! Tea Tree is an antimocrobial, so if you have breakouts, this is a great product to use on them! Copaiba firms and tightens, and Frankincense acts more of a toner creating an even skin tone. Manuka is an oil that I added to my skin routine just a few weeks ago. Manuka is similar to tea tree and is naturally moisturizing. I add a drop of each of these, apply all over, and follow up with a guasha stone.  I figured that as I'm creeping closer to 40, I need to up my skincare game. 

Okay, now for some fun news!

For the 5 years that we've been using Young Living, you've always had to purchase a starter kit to unlock a discount. Well, now, you don't need to!!! You can simply click here, create an account, and make a purchase!!! If you want to receive a discount, add 100 PV (or $100.00) to your account, OR, add one product to the Subscribe to Save option and have your products auto shipped every 1, 2, or 3 months! It's seriously so easy to grab just one product now any time you want! Also, when you use my link, I'll send you a few samples of my favorite products that I'm loving!