Happy 4th Birthday Mason

Mason celebrated his 4th birthday today! I can't believe that it's already been four years. He has been counting down until his birthday since February, so he was estatic when it finally arrived. All of Adam's family came up this weekend to celebrate with us. The kids loved having a house full of family.

Mason opening up his gifts from Mimi & Granddad last weekend.

The boy is in heaven with his new T-Ball set. 

 Mason with Great Grandpa Kaye

 Showing off with his Uncle Matt

Mason with Aunt Laura & Uncle Matt 

 Mason with Daddy & Uncle Matt

I believe he got everything he wanted this year for his birthday. He had blast playing with all of his toys. 

 After lunch, we went in the backyard for some water fun. Uncle David decided to lounge in the pool with the kids for a bit.



 Daddy tired himself out on the slip n slide.

 Mason loved the slip n slide

 I have no idea what Adam and his brother were thinking, but it provided a ton of entertainment for all of us watching.

By the end of the night, the kids were so tired and decided to cuddle up next to Uncle Matt on the floor.

This past weekend, we drove down to Houston to celebrate my Granny's 90th Birthday! She is my Great Grandmother, which means that she is also a Great Great Grandmother to Mason & Taylor. Family from all over Texas drove in to celebrate her special day. I love that we live in Texas now and were able to be a part of her day. Had we been in California, I'm not sure we would have made it. Granny is an amazingly talented lady. God gave her the gift of art. She can paint gorgeous paintings with oils and acrylics. From a very young age, I remember seeing her paintings and wishing I could paint like that. I'm pretty sure she is the reason I started painting at a very young age. I wish I would have continued, but I still have some of my very first paintings. When I was younger, Granny taught my sister and I how to make homemade Chicken & Dumplings. I'm not a fan of the meal, but I could eat hers any time. It meant a lot to me that she took the time to show my sister and I how to make it. She also loves to play games, her favorite being Marbles. Granddaddy Covey, her husband made several Marble boards during his day and my Dad has made a couple as well. It's a family favorite to play Marbles. If you play with Granny, you will instantly know she is very competitive and can take you down. We are blessed to have her in our lives and treasure the moments we have with her. Love you Granny!

Adam's 30th Birthday Party

Adam celebrated his 30th birthday this weekend. Although his actual birthday wasn't until Sunday, we celebrated with our friends that Friday. I asked Adam a long time ago what his ideal birthday plans would be and of course it centered around watching March Madness.

I love entertaining and I love making my husband happy. I made a few of his favorite dishes and few new ones. The BBQ Jalapeno Poppers were on the list to make, because he couldn't get enough of them the last time. I also had cream cheese topped with Blueberry Chipolte Sauce. I normally prefer Raspberry, but it was gift and I had it in my pantry. I also made my Smore's Mix. It's a mix that tastes like you are eating smores, but without the mess. Tortilla wraps with cream cheese and picante sauce spread, and artichoke dip. I added a few fruits and veggies for those that weren't interested in everything else. I didn't realize that almost all of my dishes revolved around cream cheese until after I placed them on the table.

I also made my Adam's favorite dessert, my dad's Banana Blueberry Cream Pie. We ate, chatted, watched basketball and had a great time. Thanks to all of our friends for making the party so special.

The Food

Singing happy Birthday to Adam

The Birthday boy

Our friends

My Dad's famous Banana Blueberry Cream Pie. I made two pies, and I'm glad I did. The first one went really fast. Some even took an extra slice home for later.

With the Birthday Boy

Taylor's Candyland 1st Birthday Party

Back in November, I was watching an episode of the Cake Boss on TLC and it centered around them creating a cake for Dylan's Candy Bar. She needed a cake that represented Candyland. They did an amazing job with the cake and I was so inspired. I looked over to Adam and said I think the theme for Taylor's first birthday should be Candyland. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was thinking of the possibilities for her party.

I decided that I wanted to hand make all of the decor for her party. Sure it would be much easier to go buy it, but where is the fun in that? Being creative with my hands is something I love to do, so I was especially eager for the challenge. A child only gets one first birthday and I wanted to make Taylor's very first birthday party a memorable one.

I created a DVD for her first year and played it continually throughout the party. If I can figure out how to post it, I will, but it's a rather long video and a large file.

The Birthday Banner on our new, empty entertainment center.

The Candy Buffet

I took painting classes as a child and it was the first time I lifted a paint brush in 20 years

The table is all set and ready for the party

The Invitation Table. I had each guest at the party guess how many pieces of candy were in each jar. Whoever was closest without going over, took the jar home.

Taylor's Invitation

We also asked each guest to leave Taylor a sweet message on her picture collage.

Picture Collage

Lolly Pop Ball. I stuck Dum-Dum suckers into a styrofoam ball. This was Mason's dream and I had to keep an eye on him the entire time. At one moment I caught him taking the suckers out one by one, licking them and putting it back in. Good thing it was just for decoration.

The drinks.

Taylor's smash cake.

The Birthday Cake.

The front of the goodie bags.

I had to include a toothbrush inside the bags, so that the parents didn't kill me for giving their kids all that candy.

The goodie bags.

Lolly Pop Pathway

Follow the colors

Mason loved the pathway and kept running outside to check it out.

Cheese! One of the few pictures we got of him at the party. He didn't sit still the entire time.

The birthday girl.

Pulling out all of her books. One of her favorite things to do.

Sitting pretty.

Singing Happy Birthday

We let Mason blow out the candle for Taylor.

Eating like a lady.

This is more like it.

Yummy!

Do I have something on my face, Mommy?

I found icing in her armpit.

Sweetness. Amazingly, she didn't get a single bit of cake or icing on her dress. A girl after my heart.

Mommy & Taylor with Nicole and Ruby. Ruby loves babies and had fun following Taylor around the house.

I looked over and some of the kids were sitting on Ray watching Taylor's 1st Year Video.

Too cute.

Playing Candyland

Even Taylor wanted to play, it was her party after all.

Jayme & Madison making their guesses.

Taylor with her "husband" Luke.

Husband & Wife.

Opening presents.

Uncle Ray and the birthday girl.

Aunt Rissa and the birthday girl.

Daddy & his baby girl.

Mommy & Taylor

I love her face in this picture. She smiles with her eyes.

Mommy & Daddy with their Pinkalicious girl.