Without Further Ado....FOUR!

I know, I know. 

I'm still slacking on the blog this summer.

But, once again, everyone can thank my Oma for giving me a little nudge to post Tripp's 4th birthday pics.

What?! 

My *baby* is already 4?!

Wasn't he just born?

And how did 4 years just fly by before I can even catch my breath?!

Well, it did and this 4 year old wanted to celebrate his birthday with a camping and fishing party! 

It was so much fun!

 Tent Pinata Prep Work

 MeMe gave him his 4 wheeler on the morning of his actual birthday.

 Birthday cupcake

Ready for his party!

 The spread...camping fare. Hot dogs, trail mix, "roasted" marshmallows w/ pretzel sticks, mixed goldfish crackers, chips and dip, fruit and veggie trays and the watermelon that MeMe carved with little fishes that sat in the fridge until the next day :/

 Not only did he need this cake (my most detailed to date), but also he informed us he wanted "dirt and worms" cupcakes. 

My go-to for natural food coloring

 The pinata was a hit! 

A tent filled with granola bars, boxes of raisins, packs of peanut butter crackers and more camping themed goodies! They didn't miss the candy at all.

Henry really racked up!

 Where's Tripp?

 His balance bike from Nana and Poppie...which he LOVES by the way!!!

And really, who needs all those birthday presents when, really the box is the most fun.

Seriously. We've yet to be able to recycle the darn thing!

Happy Birthday Tripp! I can't wait to see what year 4 has in store!!

Felt Mardi Gras Masks

Today's agenda is focused on 1 thing:

 Mardi Gras!

-Make Masks

-Homemade King Cake

-Soaking beans for tomorrow's red beans & rice

The masks turned out so cute and the boys really had fun making them.

Well, Tripp had fun making a mask.

Charlie had fun eating a marker, dumping our supplies out and then, picking them back up to start the cycle all over again.

Notice the marker mouth?

Deciding which treasures to decorate his mask

Meticulously picking out his sequins

Charlie's contribution

Finished!

Checking himself out in the mirror :)

the Mardi Gras monster!

Charlie has yet to let me put his on him, but I will get a pic when he does!

Laissez les bons temps roule, y'all!

The Makings of a Fairy House

My little diva of niece is turning 3.

So, what could be better than a Fairy House?!?!

I've been wanting to make Tripp a Gnome house for a while now, but never have gotten around to it.

A birthday party for Cadence gives  me a deadline, however. 

So, she gets her fairy house.

We made it using all materials we had or found around the house and yard.

It turned out pretty darn cool, if I say so myself.

Ha, ha! The Flower Fairy has a rubber band wrapped around her face.

Oops.

Poor thing.

Tripp and Will worked hard making the house while I whipped up these 2 little fairies.

Tripp decided he wanted to give Cadence one of his gnomes as well.

He's such a caring and sharing little dude.

Up next was adding a little fairy decor and terrain.

Will has really rubbed off on Tripp.

He totally landscaped this fairyville.

I wanted to use the coffee grounds a little more because it was a cheaper means than the fake modeling grass that Will uses for making models for class.

So, I told Tripp we were going to give the fairies a dirt floor in their house and mulch them a front pathway.

He then proceeded to inform me that they needed a mulched pathway to their table and around their campfire. 

The tree also needed mulch around it.

His other prized landscape-architect inspired contribution was the rock garden.

He took out his special bag of rocks and picked exactly which ones he wanted for the fairies' rock garden.

These were all his ideas, too. 

We're not one to trample his creativity with our own ideas.

The house o'fairies really turned out better than I could've imagined.

We had such a blast making it and it cost us basically $0.

All that was left was a test run...

Every Fairy House needs a large dump truck ;)

Boys!

Oh, Tannenbaum!

Fire in the fireplace.

Sounds of the season playing in the background.

My silly boys playing.

Our home all a glow with Christmas decor.

There's not much more I need in life.

Today we put up most of our decorations. The tree and stockings have been up for a week, but I put the finishing touches on them and began working outside.

I still need to finish up the front door and the garland outside, but here's a peak at our festive decor.

What can make such a good day even better??

Topping it off with a yummy baked ham, purple hull peas, fried okra, rolls and sweet potato pie.

Yum!

I could get used to days like this...