Blake's Dallas Cowboys/Bowling Birthday

I had known since Layla's birthday in April that Blake wanted a football themed party. He also happened to decide he wanted to have it at the bowling alley. Yay for not much to have to decorate, right? But I knew I didnt want bowling themed invitations. So I started browsing Etsy (my first place to look for invitations if I'm not making them!), and was very excited when I found these awesome invites by Magic Design USA. They were perfect!



You can't have a party without the goody bags!



I found these boxes at Walmart, $1.50 for 8. The Cowboys images also came from Etsy, this time from Stellar Trends Digital.

For the goodies, I made these delicious chocolate football pops.

And we also had Silly Bandz, football pencils, bouncy footballs, several types of blue candy and blue & silver beads. I also had the leftover tubs of beads on the table and the kids really seemed to enjoy them.

You don't get a lot of space at the bowling alley, but we did get this long table. Which of course I had to decorate! I whipped up the bunting the day of the party, so it isnt perfect.

Here is the cake! Pretty ambitious I must say. I'm not sure why I deciced to try the most complicated cake yet at the party with the most people! But everyone seemed to like it. This was my first time EVER using fondant! I used the Duff brand from Michaels and I like it. For the letters, I printed a Cowboys logo and used it as a pattern. The kids LOVED eating the fondant balls.

The helmet is made of rice krispy treats & covered in fondant. Mike made the facemask out of wire. This thing is definitely far from perfect!

Thankfully I found a Cowboys balloon on Ebay.

The kids all thought the candle I found was really cool. Of course, I didnt notice that it said OUTDOOR use only until we got there! We lit it anyway and did our best to fan the smoke, lol! (In case you can't tell, it's a 9).

I didn't get many good pictures of the kids. There was so much going on and it was kind of dark in there. Opening presents was kind of chaotic.

Here's Miss Morgan herself, drinking something she shouldnt!

And finally, here is almost the entire herd, I think we were missing two!

Whew! No more parties until March!

Linked to:

The Party Ideas Challenge at The CSI Project

Show & Share Day at Just a Girl

Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now

Last Year in the Single Digits

Somehow, 9 years have passed since this little big guy came into this world. He started out big (9 lbs, 14 oz!) and hasnt slowed down. He comes up almost to my chin! He is stubbon & headstrong, but also very sweet & silly. He loves football (Go Cowboys!), Silly Bandz, Legos, video games & snacking!

Nothing like a winning game (check out the scoreboard! And Blake is #27.) against your cousin...

and an awesome party full of football players...

to make your birthday weekend extra fun! Today we are celebrating with ribs cooked in the smoker. I will share the party details soon.

Happy Birthday Blake!!

Easy Finger Paint Art

I'm finally starting to be in a crafty mood again, so hopefully I will have more things to share soon! It's funny how one little project can totally get you motivated again. But first, I wanted to share a little project the kids & I did over the summer.

I didnt get any pictures of the process, but it was easy. All we needed was some wrapped canvases, acrylic paint & stickers. Just decide on your design, saying or quote, and apply the stickers to the canvas.

(Layla's)

(Blake's)

(Mine)

Then choose your paint colors (Blake used 2, Layla used 3 & I used 4) and start smearing! We didn't use any brushes, just fingers! And the kids helped with mine. Super easy, and I think they turned out really cute!

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted a craft! Feels good to be crafty again. Good thing I guess, because Blake's birthday is this weekend, and I am participating in a Halloween Banner swap over at Monkeybox. Thankfully, Blake's party is going to be at the bowling alley, so I don't have too much to do, but I am making chocolate football pops, a bunting and the cake.

Have a good one!

Linked to

Made By Little Hands Monday at delicateCONSTRUCTION

Make it 4 Monday at Cottage Instincts

Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime

Sunday Showcase at Under the Table & Dreaming

Look What I Made Day at Creations By Kara

Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Designs

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Show & Share Day at Just a Girl

Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now

Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest

Look at Me! at It's Fun to Craft

Get Your Craft On Thursday at Life as Lori

Typography Challenge at The CSI Project

The End of Pumpkin Season

Unfortunatly, our pumpkin growing season has come to an end. (These little guys have been sitting in this window since early summer!). Blame the stupid squash vine borers. I can deal with aphids & squash bugs, but apparently, I am no match for borers. They have destroyed almost everything.

This is almost the extent of our harvest. There are maybe 5-6 pumpkins still growing in the field.

We got a few Jack Be Littles.

And quite a few Lil Pump-k-mons.

And a few big guys. Jack O Lantern & Cinderella. I'm hoping these guys make it. They were picked a little early, in order to try & save them from the borers, so I am really hoping they dont spoil.

The biggest, our Cinderella.

I guess I can see now why there arent really any real pumpkin patches in Florida. They grew fine, but those darn bugs. I guess we probably should have started with a smaller area, instead of trying to go so big the first time. And more research and bug prevention in the beginning probably would have helped, too. At least it was a learning experience, right?

Oh, and I would like to say thank you to Missy at So You Think You're Crafty & Photo Jewelry Making. I won a $25 gift card from a giveaway! Thank you!!

Salt Springs

This past Saturday, we had a family reunion, for the first time in YEARS. They used to happen pretty regularly, but it's been awhile. It was held in a tiny little town, about 30 miles outside of Ocala, called Salt Springs. It's a few miles from the Marion/Putnam county line and is in the Ocala National Forest. I grew up going swimming at the springs, and we lived here when I was a teenager. We used to spend EVERY day of the summer at the springs. This is pretty much your view the whole 30 miles from Ocala, with the exception of one small town in between called Scrambletown.



It was just Layla, Morgan & I, Blake had a football game. (BTW, go Cowboys! 3-0!). My kids have never been in a lake! This is Lake Kerr.

They loved it! Layla told me she wants to go back one day for a vacation. I'd like that, too. There are a lot of springs in this area, so there is a lot to do outside. There is Salt Springs, Juniper Springs, Silver Glen Springs & more.

Before we left, I thought I'd drive down to Salt Springs run & let Layla take a peek at the springs. They were closed last time we were up there. It's hard to see, but the swimming area is off to the left.

This is looking straight across the boat ramp.

And this is the run, heading off to Lake George (HUGE lake).

Layla was a little freaked out being on this dock, since it only has a railing on one side.

I don't think I really appreciated this place when I lived there as a kid. It was a long way from my friends (an hour & 10 minute ride on the school bus!) and Ocala. But now I can see it for more than the middle of nowhere. I don't regret moving to Lakeland, but I do wish it were closer. I would love for my kids to be able to play in the same springs & lakes that I enjoyed as a kid, and to learn to love nature & the water like I do. It's about 2 hours away, so it's not too far, but it's still a drive. Anyway, have a good one!