Day 3 w/ Our Finn Girls - 4th of July

On the 4th of July, all the Finns and their host families were invited to John and Deanne's house for dessert and then a barbecue supper.  We arrived in the early afternoon and enjoyed the day with lots of visiting, volleyball (and volleyball watching!), eating, and the like.

People visiting. :)

Morgan - and as you can see behind her . . . people playing volleyball!  I put my camera away after this so I only got these couple pictures there. :(

After the barbecue, a lot of people went up to Carl & Becky's for dessert and fireworks.

They have this absolutely gorgeous view from their house!

People visiting there in the early part of the evening.

Josefine, Emma, & Tonja - beautiful as always! :)

Rachel, Tonja, Josefine, & Emma visiting.

People playing volleyball . . . what else would you do?!  But that was just the pros....

People watching/listening to the program thing they had before the fireworks show started.

I had taken some pictures of the fireworks but they didn't really turn out, so I won't bother sharing them.  As with all those days, it was an amazing day that I enjoyed!  Hope you all had a lovely 4th as well!

Graduation Party

 For my graduation party, I looked to Pinterest for lots of my inspiration.  I think it turned out fairly well, though definitely not perfect!

The tables outside.

A closer up of the decorations.

Inside the garage, I decorated slightly differently on the tables.  Kraft paper covered books and a pennant with the flowers.

Mom made this Congratulations banner - it turned out lovely:)

I wanted to do drinks in some galvanized tubs, and my grandpa happened to have these and let us use them!

My picture board.  I covered the cardboard display board with burlap and then put rows of twine on and clothes pinned my pictures on.

Both of us graduates with the cupcakes.  I made cupcakes and then put them on some foam board I had cut into 2014.  I saw this on Pinterest and knew I had to do it! :)

And people at the party!

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day!  Thanks to everyone who blessed us by coming to the party (or tried coming!).  We appreciated it! 

Baker's Review Wednesday 8: Frosty Floats & Trifles

Okay people . . . these are make as you go recipes, not really any specific amounts or anything; I will just generally tell you the steps to make them!

I think everyone pretty much liked both of these items . . . I know I did!

Strawberry & Blueberry Trifles

Yellow Cake (made this from a box mix), cubed (about 1 in.)

Vanilla Pudding

Strawberries, sliced

Blueberries

Whipped Cream

These are really easy to make.  Simply, in either indivdual serving sizes (like jars), or a larger clear glass bowl, layer the ingredients in order given in desired amounts.  Do this a few times and you've got yourself a delicious dessert.  Refrigrate until you are serving it.

Note: These are best fresher, the day you make them.  I made them in the jars for dessert at the party, but there was leftover ingredients so I made a large bowl of it . . . it tasted fine, but it was better fresh:)

Frosty Floats

Vanilla Icecream

Vanilla

Milk

Sugar

Root Beer (or I suppose Orange pop)

Blend together all ingredients except root beer until desired thickness and taste (like you're making a vanilla milkshake).  Pour into cup.  Pour over with pop (as if you'r making a root beer float).  Enjoy immediately!!

So there's a couple {simple} recipes for you to go try out . . . you won't be dissapointed!!

Have a wonderful, relaxing evening!!

p.s. I am literally gushing with excitement right now . . . I just checked the weather forecast, and it shows that it's supposed to be 77 degrees on Saturday and 81 degrees on Sunday!!!  Yaayyyyy!!!!!  We might finally have at least a couple days of nice sunny, summery weather!  And beginning of next week it's supposed to be in the upper 60's!  Fun, fun, fun!

Memorial Day: The Party!!!

Our party was wonderful . . . . and the food was delicious . . . I'd say so, anyways:)

Everyone ready to start eating.

Our plates loaded with hot dogs, chips, jello cup (with a dallop of whip cream and a raspberry on top), and veggies.

Our Frosty Floats . . . delicious!

Our nummy dessert ~ I'll tell you how to make this and the frosty floats tomorrow.

Some of the extra's in case people needed more . . . set on top of a picnic basket . . .perfection!

You can find this printable here.

The apple tile you've seen before . . . I simply added "all american" to it with rub-ons and mod-podged over it . . . simple & cute:)

The table runner is from the bottom of an old white skirt . . . . simply the bottom layer torn off and two pieces cut the same length . . . I actually thought it turned out pretty cute!

There were two different sizes of trifles . . .

This decoration was made from some gauzy navy fabric and some candy hearts sprinkled around it, and the doily tag I made set on top.

The hot dog basket printable is found here.

It was a lovely party . . . and it was pretty cute and frugal, too!

Have a wondrous day:)

Memorial Day: Getting Ready to Party

Saturday I decided I was going to have a party today (Memorial Day).  We could only do stuff with our family, but still, it was fun.  But right now, we're going to talk about getting ready to party!!!



A few of the party supplies.



So I started to plan on Saturday what we were going to eat.

The menu conisted of the following:

Hotdogs

Jello Cup

Veggies & Dip

Chips

Frosty Float

Blueberry & Strawberry Trifle (dessert)

I made the tags for these cups . . . if you would like them, email me here.

The link to the printables for these chip (really french-fry) bags is here.  They are kind of small, but they worked perfect for me.

The link to these is also here.  I loved 'em:)

Some wicker plate things . . . I think you're really supposed to put an actual plate on top of it, but . . . and there was only 8, so the littler kids just got paper plates.

Come back tomorrow to see how the party turned out . . . all the decorations, the food, and everything!!!

Hope you all had a blessed Memorial Day!  Remember those who served/serve our country!