4th of July back home...

The 4th of July is my 4th favorite holiday :) I try and go home to Indiana every year to spend it with my family. We normally go to the parade, then head off to Mom and Dad's for a BBQ and swimming. This year we decided to buy our own fireworks and go over to my brother J.R.'s for our own fireworks show. I went to take my first picture and realized my battery went dead :( I was very bummed so the pictures stop after the BBQ. We had a great time as usual with my family and look forward to next year :)

Parkie's Lego Party...

Here is Parkie's Lego party that Parkie and I have been talking about all year. This year with Parke and Abby's parties I wanted to try my hand at making all the decor (or most of it). I had them choose themes at the beginning of the year so I could plan out and shop for things on sale. With Parkie turning 8 this year I knew last year I would be going bigger and better this year. I had been wanting to do an inflatable for awhile now and since Parkie's birthday is in July I thought it would be a good time to do it. As expensive as it was I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was the biggest hit with the kids and adults :) I didn't plan many activities since I knew the kids would play on the water slide for hours. At the beginning of the party I had the kids build lego race cars and race them down the ramp Brad built (thanks breed). I planned a 3hr party to allow the kids enough time to play. We even had a few kids ask their parents if they could stay longer. So I had some of the kids a few hours longer which made me happy they were having such a good time. I was really proud of the party and while I was walking up the slide to go down with Parkie he said "Mom, this is the best party ever!". At that moment it made all the stress, sleepless nights, and work well worth it :)

Parkie's Baptism

My Parkie is 8 yrs old already, I still can't believe it. We held his baptism on Friday, July 15th at 7 p.m.. Parkie was excited but a bit nervous for his big day. Brad and I bought him a brand new suit to wear on his special day. Dad helped him tie his "real tie" which was cute to watch. He asked his Uncle Jason to talk on Baptism and Grandma Ehlert to talk on the Holy Ghost. Uncle Jason made a special slide show to show during the baptism which brought tears to my eyes to see my little boy growing up...(sad face). We served Parkie's favorite desserts...Coldstone Cake batter Ice Cream we had all differnt toppings to choose from, brownies, cookes, cupcakes, and lemonade. It was a beautiful evening with our friends and family celebrating this special event in Parkie's life.