Riley’s 8th Birthday

Riley turned 8 on August 30, and this birthday was particularly epic. He had a half day of school, so we decided to have his birthday party at Nola and Nopsi’s pool that afternoon. So fun!

He woke up to birthday balloons and streamers and ate his requested two strawberry PopTarts and apple for breakfast. Then it was off to school for a short 4 hours.

When I picked the boys up, we spotted Riley’s birthday twin, Mrs. Allison. She was excited to have a half day of school too!

We went straight to Nola and Nopsi’s house to get set up for the party. His friends started arriving shortly after we got there: Claire, Colin, Alcee, Maddie, Brennan, Ansleigh, Myril, Eli, Blake, Evan, and Finn. I had pizza, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, assorted mini po-boy sandwiches, sunflower crunch salad, chips, grapes, and Oreos for everyone for lunch, and the pool was open and ready to go. It didn’t take long for the fun to begin!

For dessert, since the birthday boy doesn’t like cake, we put together an ice cream sundae bar. We had three flavors of ice cream and lots of toppings. Everyone LOVED it!

We let Riley open his presents after a few of his friends left. He was so excited to get the two Lego sets he had been wanting, as well as lots of gift cards to Target to buy even more Legos. Claire sat with him as he started on one of his new sets, but he politely informed her that she couldn’t actually help him build. Then he built even more when we got back home. He is LEGO OBSESSED!

  

The boys were off of school the next day as well, so I took them to Luv 2 Play for a bit in the morning. Then we came back home so Riley could build more. He was so determined to get his two new sets done as fast as he possibly could. It ended up taking him less than 24 hours to build both. More than 2800 pieces. Amazing.

 

Happy happy birthday, my sweet Riley-bean. We love you!

SCR City Park Night 2018

The annual SCR City Park Night was held on August 24 this year. Earlier than usual, and, as such, hotter than usual. But the boys didn’t care. They ran around with their friends all night long, getting in as many rides as they could in the 3 short hours we were there. (Oh, and we tried Frey’s BBQ for dinner before heading to the park. Not sure we need to go back, but the boys liked the cow coloring sheets.)

 

 

 

 

 

I simultaneously love and hate this night. It’s so exhausting and non-stop and chaotic, but the boys have so much fun. Makes it all worth it!

Ten Things

1. A few pics of the wonk potatoes that I didn’t include in a previous post since they were on Kenny’s phone. He found a giraffe-patterned shell when we went out in the pontoon boat during our trip to Miramar Beach back in June and made silly faces wearing Daddy’s hat on the way back to the condo.

  

2. Riley testing out a cool build from his Lego Chain Reactions book, me dancing next to Kate at Jazzercise (she was in camp there for the week), and Rambo Kate with a Nerf gun!

  

3. Evening bike riding/mom tailgating at SCR!

4. The Legos are out of control. For reals.

5. Happy Birthday, Ansleigh!

 

6. All dressed up for Robin’s and Chris’s couples shower. Excited to celebrate their big day in November!

7. Important life lessons from Daddy: how to plug Mama’s tire when she picks up a screw on the mean streets of NOLA.

8. Finally breaking out our ice cream maker for the first time to make batches of {dairy-free} vanilla and mint ice cream!

 

9. A beautiful double rainbow on the anniversary of Katrina. Can’t believe it’s been 13 years.

10. Sleepy pics! With Kate and Luke at Nola and Nopsi’s one night, in their own beds (with their newly installed pet nets above them), and camping out in Rory’s room.

  

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!