Our Five Ring Circus: Parties
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Our Busy & Fun Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend 2017

Happy Tuesday, my friends! It's the last Tuesday of the school year, and my family is counting down the days until school's out for the Summer. (Only 4 days to go!) After our fun Memorial Day weekend that gave us a taste of the Summer fun to come, we are definitely ready for Summer Break!


The end of the school year is always bittersweet. I'm torn between wanting the days to rush by so I can enjoy a Summer at home with my kids and wanting to pause time because they are growing up far too quickly. It's hard to say goodbye to amazing teachers that made the year so great, and know that when the next school year begins, it's just one step closer to my kids graduating and leaving home for college. (HOLD ME.)

Power Wheels


Now that I've thoroughly depressed myself, it's time to move on to happier things! Like this weekend. Long weekends are always awesome, and we crammed a lot of activities into this Memorial Day weekend, along with a much needed day of rest!

On Friday, we kicked off the long weekend with a shopping trip with my mom. We picked up Lily from Kindergarten and set out to find the perfect bridal shower gift for my niece. We ended up stopping at two extra stores along the way!


We DID find the perfect gift(s), but a mermaid tail blanket, an insulated picnic basket, Converse high tops and an outfit for Liam, snorkeling gear for Lily and new silverware somehow came home with us, too. Oops.

The rest of the day was spent eating dinner with my parents, playing cards with my mom, playing basketball with Dylan, doing laundry, and snuggling my sweet boy.

Down syndrome Awareness

When we left my parent's house that evening, Dylan stayed there because he had plans to spend the entire weekend with my dad. The rest of us quickly fell into an exhausted sleep!

On Saturday morning, the girls and I woke up early to get ready for my niece's bridal shower. Next month, she will be marrying the man she has been with since high school. They stayed together all these years despite the hardships of raising a child together while going to college, starting careers and buying their first house. I am SO proud of them for sticking together!


Bridal Shower

Lexie and Lily were so excited to get dressed up and attend Michelle's bridal shower! The shower was beautiful and it was so much fun to spend the afternoon with family. The day was even more special because it was also Michelle's daughter Aubrey's 11th birthday!

Bridal Shower

Those of you who read my blog regularly will probably recognize Aubrey from my pictures. We love Aubrey dearly!  I became a great aunt to Aubrey when Dylan was just a baby. I was there when she was born, and I had the pleasure of watching her while my niece and her fiance went to school and worked. Lexie and Aubrey are best friends, and Aubrey will always hold an honorary spot in my little family! She is such a sweet girl!

Bridal Shower

We had such a special day celebrating two girls we love VERY much! We can't wait for Michelle and Ryan's wedding in Michigan next month!

Bridal Shower

After the shower, I dropped my mom off at her house, then headed home to a house full of people. Grant was home watching Liam and a crowd gathered while we were gone. My friend was there with her two month old great niece, so I got a much needed baby fix while we visited. My girls and Liam were in love with her! Fifth child, Grant?!? (HA!)

Unfortunately, I had been fighting off a nasty headache since just before the shower ended, and it ended up turning into a full blown migraine. Visiting was cut short, and I headed to bed after a quick game of cards with my friends.

On Sunday, most of our plans ended up getting changed. I was still battling a migraine, but managed to go outside for a few hours with the kids once it eased. 


The Lucky Few

Sledding

Trampoline

Down syndrome Awareness

Let Them Be Little

Let Them Be Little

The Lucky Few

I put Liam down for a nap, then Lily and I ran to the grocery store to get our weekly grocery shopping done. Shortly after we returned home, Dylan arrived home from a weekend of visiting my brother and his kids in Erie.

Dylan had pictures of my brother's new puppies and we are seriously considering taking one when they are ready. There are four really cute females and they all look different, so it's going to be a tough choice! We've been without a dog for 2+ years and we can't decide which breed we want to get. I prefer giant breeds, but my husband isn't a fan of the short lifespan, so we've been at a standstill. Prior to our last Great Dane passing away, I had never been without a dog in my entire life, and I'm really missing having one in my home. So, this might be a crazy move, but perhaps an adorable, free mutt is the way to go!

Lexie went home with my dad for a sleepover, and the rest of us had dinner and spent the night watching TV. It was nice to kick back and relax for once, instead of worrying about entertaining guests or rushing to get things done for the next day!

On Monday, for the first time ever, we had our own little Memorial Day celebration at home. We didn't go anywhere ( the first time we hadn't left the house in weeks) and we didn't invite anyone over. We just spent the day together at home. It was a much needed relaxing family day!


We started our day by doing some yard work together. Grant and Dylan mowed,  Lexie and I cleaned up the toys in the yard and Lily and Liam picked up the clumps of grass.

Let Them Be Little

Let Them Be Little

The Lucky Few

After the yard work was done, it was time to play! It was such a beautiful day, so we spent most of it outdoors.

We broke out the new slip and slide for a few hours.

Slip and Slide

Slip and Slide

Slip and Slide

Dylan taught Liam how to slide on his belly, and Liam thought it was hilarious!

Slip and Slide

Slip and Slide

Lily did some "snorfeling" with her snorkeling set.

Snorkeling

Lexie and Liam played on the trampoline.

Trampoline

Trampoline

And our sweet Lily shucked all the corn!

Corn on the Cob

The only time we went inside all day was to eat our picnic dinner. The kids played the day away, and everyone was relaxed and content! It just felt like Summer already.

If this weekend was any indication of the what's ahead of us this Summer, it's going to be a great one!


Power Wheels

Memorial Day Weekend 2017

TUESDAY TALK


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Tuesday Talk


Tuesday Talk

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Sunday, January 1, 2017

Ringing in the New Year: Happy 2017!

Happy New Year! 


Happy New Year

I can hardly believe that it's already 2017! It's going to take some time to get used to writing that. The holiday season is coming to an end, but we all have one more day off to enjoy the holiday break before it's time to return to reality. (Do we have to?)

As I explained in my post yesterday, I had to take a step back from my frequency of posting in December. There was just so much going on and something had to give. I also ended up taking an unintentional blogging break for a week thanks to a severe allergic reaction landing Lexie in the ER and strep throat taking down 2 of my 4 kids. Although unexpected, it was nice to take a break and just focus on my family! But I'm refreshed and I'm glad to be back now, with a full editorial schedule for January!

This was the first year in almost a decade that we stayed home for New Year's Eve. A few of our family members and friends joined us for a casual, family-friendly New Year's Eve party! We really did keep it simple. Each family contributed food and drinks, and the only decorations we had were balloons, horns, party supplies from Netflix, and confetti poppers. It wasn't an over the top party, but everyone had a great time!

Netflix Stream Team
 Netflix Stream Team
Childhood

Our crowd wasn't nearly as big as it usually is, and we were definitely missing a few people, but we were able to ring in the New Year with some of our favorites! Every kid made it to midnight, so we all welcomed 2017 together, and within seconds, my floor was covered in confetti!

Happy New Year

The party continued after midnight! 


Netflix #streamteam
Friends

Liam proved to be a party animal!

Baby New Year

Baby New Year

The 5 year old girls, however, quickly grew tired! (I think they planned this so they could have a sleepover...it worked.)

Friendship
Friends

But even putting on pajamas didn't convince the youngest to go to bed!

The Lucky Few
Nothing Down About It

I captured him around 1:30 AM and made him say goodnight...

Motherhood

...but he was still going strong at 2 AM!

Nothing Down About It

As for the adults? We sat around the kitchen table playing Cards Against Humanity from 9 PM until 4 AM! Even more surprising? Alcohol was not a factor, and we still managed to have fun!

Our guests left at 4 AM. Dylan went home with our friends and I kept their daughter since she was asleep. By the time I got the house somewhat straightened up, it was 6 AM! It was a really late night, full of laughter, and so much fun. It was great to ring in the new year together!

Family

Today, the kids were kind, and slept in!  Charlie spent most of the day with us, and my niece, Aubrey, came over to play with Lexie. Dylan came home, and his friend came over, too. The house was full of kids, but I love it!

Childhood
The Lucky Few
Siblings

The girls eventually went home, our friends came over for a traditional sauerkraut dinner (not many of us actually ate the sauerkraut), and the evening ended with Lexie and Lily getting locked in their room, thanks to a broken doorknob. After nearly a half hour of attempting to free them, our friend managed to get the door open just as Grant was about to climb through their bedroom window. Obviously, 2017 is going to be as chaotic as 2016. Never a dull moment!

2016 was good to us. Here's to a happy, healthy,  prosperous 2017 full of love and fun!



The Lucky Few

Ringing in the New Year-2017

Happy New Year, my friends! How did you celebrate?

Let's Be Friends!