Julie had promised the kids they could do water balloons and we were running out of time so tonight was finally the night! Of course it took longer to fill up the balloons then it did for the fight, but the kids had a blast.
They wanted to do more balloons but we convinced them that playing in the water wind be more fun!
Three happy kids tonight doing sparklers and watching the neighbor’s bigger (but still small) fireworks.
And some of the super cool pics I got with my waterproof camera on the Fireworks settings—these were just simple fireworks we did in the street. I was amazed at how cool they looked!
Every so often Tom will join us…
A neighbor’s dog…
And a neighbor.
After watching the forecasts and worrying about the weather all week (the forecast varied from thunderstorms to 60% chance of rain to light rain all day)…we decided to go ahead with the party and it ended up absolutely perfect!! It was overcast at the start and gradually got sunnier and warmer throughout the party—enough so that I had Tom grab my suit when he went back to get the cake!
We had 60 guests (kids and adults!!) and the pool was probably the busiest it will be all season (aside from the days they have cookouts with free food or night swims with free ice cream). But it all went smoothly, everyone had a blast, and there was plenty of pizza and cake for multiple helpings (once I started cutting the serves 48 cake and realized my small pieces were still not small enough to get me close to 60 pieces, I started halving those…and then ended up having half the cake left so kids got seconds and thirds).
The gaggle of dads. They didn’t move from this spot the whole time. 😂
Us moms:
;
The kids were fairly patient about opening gifts once we got home…and they LOVED everything. They got Bop It (thank heavens I found the volume control!) and Owen picked up on it right away, Katie dug right into the glitter glue and construction paper, Owen picked out his favorite baseball cards from a new pack, Katie put together her Disney Lego, we’ve been shot multiple times by Owen’s new nerf gun, and both kids were OVER THE MOON about all the gift cards and getting to go shopping once we move! They both said it was a great birthday!
Since Owen was getting to go on a special trip to a baseball game, I had to make Katie’s night spent at home fun, too—of course she was a bit bummed that she didn’t get to go on the trip, but I assured her she wouldn’t love the baseball game.
Part 1: The playground with friends and a treat from the ice cream truck!
Part 2: Night swim with ice cream… And staying up past her bedtime!!
The kids have been bugging us and bugging us and bugging us about getting ice cream from the ice cream man ever since he started coming around this spring. We promised them we’d do it once before we moved—but the timing would have to be right since he usually comes to the playground after school and that is right before dinner. So today we were at Julie’s and she was going to get something for Kayleigh and offered to get something for Katie… Well I couldn’t very well have Katie telling Owen she got something so I texted Tom and had him send Owen out. They were thrilled.
We have been trying to coach her over the top for two months now… She will get to the top and just stay there, then claim she’s too scared. Today she finally did it!! And then did it again and again like it was nothing!
So, I just had my first in-home party (my business launch!)…and while I thought it was a total hot mess, they told me everything was fine and they had fun. (There were only six ladies and they are all good friends so I could be honest with them and ask for their honest opinions.) I dislike selling and feel like I stink at it so really just felt like I was pretty much out of control the whole time and consequently I felt totally off my game and I felt like I looked like an idiot (I know we are always hardest on ourselves). But they all seemed happy and bought stuff so it’s all good. And I know it will get easier with practice…
We didn’t take any official selfies but I did snap a few quick shots so I could remember who bought what (I was still figuring out how to use my credit card system!)
I was hosting an online Facebook party for this cool new lipstick and had included people from all times of my life…and the consultant was posting fun games for them to earn raffle entries. This one she did was so sweet and the responses made me happy cry. 🙂 I’m posting it so I can look back on it when I’m having a bad day.
Swinging with one of her best friends (our neighbor), Kayleigh.
Pre-dinner selfie.
Pre-dinner family selfie.
We loved that the three of them all crammed together on one side even though they didn’t need to. The boys were at the other table. 🙂
And I forgot to take a pic of the food (Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes, Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad, and KFC’s Cole Slaw) and our group!
Knocking on our neighbor’s door like a big girl.
It’s been so nice that we decided we had to have at least one day of driveway drinking while waiting for the bus. 🙂
This has come about over the last few days. She gets braver each time.
The usual view: Katie swinging and Kayleigh being pushed.
Our two Pokemon: Squirtle and Pikachu!
Our yard and porch! This was the first year we’ve left the lights on and just left treats out for kids to grab. I kind of miss carving a pumpkin, but honestly it’s a lot of work and I don’t miss the stress about needing to get it done. Plus, I have this light-up pumpkin that I can use.
Starting at our neighbor’s house…
We weren’t planning on going with them, but she was ready when we got to their house, so we all went together!
Maddie, a neighbor friend.
Then, on another street, we ran into more friends, so our group grew!
Trick or treating hours were from 6:30-8 and we used every last minute! We were walking back into our yard at 8:00!
The kids got entirely too much candy…and were super excited!
Our neighborhood has a decent fall festival so I took the kids down today while Tom continued working on the new landscaping!
Katie’s first time bobbing for apples. Or, more accurately, attempting to grab a stem with her teeth. 🙂
The costume contest! Our friend Kayleigh won!
We were at the neighbor’s house and they have lots of little pumpkins so Katie created her own pumpkin store.
Last day of our summer weather + driveway drinking while kids play = CHEERS!
We went to Flight with a neighbor. We were literally the only four people there for most of our hour. It was awesome.
We went to visit friends down the street and Katie had to wear one of her generic princess costumes.
And then her friend had new costumes, so of course she had to try them on!
Kudos to Julie for not freaking out and remembering to take a picture. 🙂
After a summer hiatus, we had a back-to-school/Tom’s birthday Saturday Night Dinner!
Waiting for guests to arrive:
Putting together the new picnic table at the last minute:
Our guests!
Putting away the table:
Putting the kids to bed:
We often end up at the pool at the same time as our neighbors which is great because the girls like playing together. Today the dad came up with this new fun thing where he lifts them up (while they’re sitting on the floatie together) and then carries them around and splashes them down. Needless to say he had to do that for about an hour. 🙂
After the insanely hot weather lately, the pool is FINALLY at a temperature in which I will actually get in and stay in for a bit—85°! And maybe because it was almost 100° and the sun was blazing hot and a quick dip only kept me cooled off for maybe 10 minutes. So I got in the pool and floated around with the kids.
Does anyone else think she looks like Izzy here? That’s all I can see.
New friends (a 1st grade teacher I think I mentioned earlier in the summer).
Our neighbors and new friends, Kayleigh and her mom Julie (Julie was our house/cat sitter while we were on vacation).
Then I let Katie have her turn with the camera (since she didn’t get a turn the last time). She actually did pretty well overall, getting more usable ones than I’d predicted.
She did get her finger in quite a few. 🙂
I watched a neighbor’s kid while she had an appointment. The girls had a blast.
Katie found a costume right away and wore it most of the afternoon.
We came back to our house to eat lunch.
It took about two hours for them to reach their limits (and mine LOL) before I turned the TV on. 🙂
