Winner, winner... game night dinner!

Our fabulous dinner club rotation made it's way back to our house this weekend and Ryan and I were so excited to host. This has been such a great resolution and I am so thankful for the strengthening friendships we have with these four other couples. We gorged on some simple game night classics. I used recipes given to me by Pinny and they were all so good!

 Honey Crisp Sangria

3 Cinnamon Sticks (plus more for garnish)

2 honey crisp apples, chopped

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 bottle red wine (light-bodied Spanish variety)

1 and 3/4 cups apple cider*

1/2 cup brandy

1/4 cup orange juice

juice from 1 lemon

club soda, to taste

This was a last minute menu item. While we were at Spec's buying a rather ridiculous variety of craft beer (gag - please can we just agree to stick with Bud Light?) I thought it would be fun to make sangria. (Because when you are in a liquor store as big as Spec's, you suddenly become Brian Flanagan). This was the first recipe that popped up and we just so happened to have honey crisp apples at home. 

Jesus clearly wanted us to make the sangria. 

We decided to double the recipe since it was relatively simple and inexpensive. Spec's didn't have cinnamon sticks so we left those out. I didn't see the brandy mentioned, so I left that out. We also purchased alcoholic apple cider instead of sweetened cider as recommended (oops) and when we mixed it all together, it was a little tart. So we added a super secret ingredient that I will share with all of you. Capri Sun. Four capri suns, to be exact. 

Delish.

No game night (or any night) is complete without chips and guac. My personal recipe:

4 avocados

Salt, Pepper, Garlic powder to taste

Mash avocado, season and enjoy

Then it was on to the main event. I was going through my boards and realized that I pinned these sandwiches  on five separate occasions so I thought this was the perfect time to try them. 

Ham and Cheese Sliders

24 King's Hawaiian dinner rolls

24 thin slices of swiss cheese

Shaved ham 

1/3 cup REAL mayonnaise

1/3 cup Miracle Whip

Poppy Seed Sauce

1 tablespoon poppyseeds (I didn't measure)

1 1/2 tbs yellow mustard

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbs minced onion

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl mix mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the rolls and assemble with ham and cheese. We prefer thinly sliced deli meat on our sandwiches. Close rolls and place on jelly roll pan. (You'll need the lip to catch the melted butter). Place them touching each other. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the poppyseed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until soaked in. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for an additional 2 minutes. 

(We assembled the sandwiches in the morning and placed in the fridge so we had to bake ours longer. Watch them closely because all that butter will drip down and the bottoms get browned.)

Ryan also made these random brisket sliders that were amazing.

Brisket Sliders

Pre-cooked brisket

Onion rolls

Assorted cheese

Sautéed Mushrooms

We seasoned the brisket with some BBQ sauce, followed my secret mushroom recipe and assembled. Baked at 350 degreed until crunchy and serve warm.

The Best Coleslaw Ever

1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix

2 tbs diced onion

2/3 cup Miracle Whip

3 tbs vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbs white vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

poppy seeds

In a measuring cup combine miracle whip, vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt and poppy seeds. Whisk together until combined. Place cole slaw in a mid-sized bowl and mix with onions. Pour salad dressing mix on top of cole slaw and stir. **We meant to double the recipe but only bought 10oz bags of cole slaw. I didn't use all the dressing mix because I was afraid it was too much. 

Deviled Egg Pasta Salad

1 pound campanelle pasta

2 Cups mayonnaise

4 Tbs yellow mustard

2 tbs brine from pickle jar

6 large hard boiled eggs

3 ribs celery

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1/3 cup sweet relish

salt and pepper to taste

paprika for garnish

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Dice eggs into large chunks.

Combine all remaining ingredients and pour over pasta. Fold in eggs. Garnish with paprika. 

Now, you can serve this cold and it's fantastic, but y'all. I about died when tasted how good it was warm. SOOOOO good. 

We stuffed our bellies and filled our hearts. And then we laughed until we about died from an unforgettable evening of cards**. 

**seriously the best game ever

Back to School {Birthday} Bash...

We celebrated two of the cutest 7-year-olds I know this weekend. Radley has a built-in birthday buddy with Kayla and they once again requested to have a joint party. We had taken off a couple of years and I guess they missed it. We set some ground rules: it had to be low key and no gifts allowed and you know what... they were just as excited!

Krista and I got the idea to have a "back to school" theme and since we said no gifts, we decided to ask guests to bring school supplies for Still Creek Ranch, a local non-profit. We also pledged to keep it low-key, so we rented a local pool for the location. I have to admit, I'm pretty in-love with the invite I made using PicMonkey. 

We did not buy ONE thing for decorations. We used things that we already owned... down to the white plastic table cloths that I refuse to throw away. Even the "happy birthday" banner was old (and used at 2 previous birthday parties!) We bought cute sparkly pencils as the party favor and the birthday girl requested snow cones and we were happy to oblige. On the way out the door I decided to bring Radley's globe (that is geographically incorrect) and it was the perfect addition. 

I made a fun sign for the donation station and thought these antique drawers would be a perfect spot to drop the school supplies. The kids' friends were AMAZING and brought so many goodies to give away - I was so proud of everyone!

And since no party is complete without cake, Krista went above and beyond and made apple cupcakes and an adorable pencil cake. 

We had everything set up in about 15 minutes which meant that everyone could start enjoying the party right away. 

Every time I looked up, I saw splashing kiddos with huge smiles on their faces. 

Even the big kids were having fun and they weren't even in the water! :)

Ryan and Pete were nominated as tackling buddies and had at least one kid on their shoulders at all times. 

Pops hangs out with a tamer crowd these days.

The kids stayed in the water until we forced them out for cake and ice cream.

And a big group picture of course. 

We had a great morning celebrating the best kid with our best pals.

And we even managed to get one picture of We 5 Kings at the end (because I totally almost forgot!)

And the best part was this... they are so excited to be able to bring so many awesome supplies to Still Creek!

And we can't thank their friends enough for supplying all the fun at their back to school birthday bash!

Pink is her signature color...

When we started thinking of Landry's birthday party, I instantly knew that it had to be pink. This girl loves pink. And not because we dressed her in it, or gave her pink toys, or painted her toes pink... simply because she loves pink. So when I found this little gem on Little Trendsetter I knew we HAD to have a pink party. 

A quick search on Etsy for an invite and we were set. 

We hadn't planned on a huge party - something at home with our nearest and dearest, but I still wanted the day to be special so I turned to Pinny for some pinspiration and as usual, she didn't let me down. Specifically I fell in love with this. 

There was only one giant kink in the plan... I was going to be half way around the world for the entire week leading up to her party. BUT... I am totally okay with my crazy, so we started setting up two weeks in advance. 

Ryan sent me a text one night after Radley finished one party project...

He was in charge of cutting. :) And the week went by and I got a few more things arranged and taken care of, but not as much as I hoped. But...Ryan totally came through. He spent all day on Saturday prepping the backdrop for the cake table - he even informed me that I didn't purchase enough supplies and took the kids and my dad (!) on a last minute HobLob run for some more supplies. And I'd say it was all worth it...

(Please try not to be too impressed with my photography skills. Pink makes a weird coloring and then I basically had in on the wrong setting and didn't realize it until I just uploaded all the picture. More proof that fancy camera does not a photographer make.)

I mean, how cute was this set up??

The party was at 3pm so we only did cake, cookies, strawberries, wafers, mints and punch. You know, sugar with sugar. The pinwheels were a last minute addition to the cake and I love it!

And the cake wasn't just pretty on the outside... the inside went with the pink ombre theme, too! I saw this on Pinterest and one of my talented friends recreated it for the party!

I reused some ragamuffin garland I made for Emmy's first birthday, mounted the party invite on a chalkboard frame and used one of Ryan's grandma's pink corning ware dishes for the favors.

Some balloons, a sign, and left over party pieces and we were all set for some fun!

We were all set for a perfectly pink party...

Thankful...

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Sharing a meal with the ones I love is one of my most favorite things. 

I also love that instead of worrying about presents or candy or love letters or prizes, everyone is more focused on how they can help.

So much effort and love goes into each dish - and the hands that prepared it are focused on serving others more than pleasing him or herself.

And even princesses contribute!

(Outfit mandated by Pincess Emmy).

No one is too old...

or too young to help. 

And once the meal is prepared we gather together to celebrate in one day what should be celebrated all year long. We expose our thankful hearts and come together in gratitude. 

On my list of thanks this year? 

Happy kids...

Healthy parents...

A handsome husband...

And a home to share with our friends...

and family!

Especially thankful for the tiny crew that keeps smiles on our faces and love in our hearts.

Hope every day is filled with thanks giving for you and yours, too!

A gold finish...

 We rounded out Radley's birthday weekend with a small get together on Sunday afternoon. From the day after his 5th birthday party, he had been talking about going bowling for his 6th birthday party (I have no idea where his desire to plan so far in advance comes from), so bowling it was!

(I promise Emersyn is a happy child - she just has Chandler Syndrome)

I can't really say enough positive things about the hosting duties of Grand Station. I was required to do nothing but pay them. Y'all. It was amazing! The only things I brought were that simple banner and adorable cookies provided by my friend Jori at Bird's Bites.

When we arrived, the tables were set up - complete with plates, napkins, cups and an awesome balloon bouquet. We had our own "party hostess" who took care of setting up the games for the kids, shoe sizes, drinks, pizza orders - everything.

Seriously. 10 thumbs up. 

And this big guy was so excited...

Especially when his "crew" arrived!

Everyone was having so much fun that the Dads decided to join in. Sadly, they did not bring socks. Fortunately Grand Station provides them.

We call them the "socks of shame". 

We tried to convince everyone to take a picture in Radley's party hat, but only a few cuties were willing! 

Emmy and Landry crashed the big guys game...

but I don't think any of them seemed to mind.

And what party is complete without a giant bear named "Choo Choo".

No party. That's right.

(I was going to make a Miley reference but this is a family blog, and well, that just wouldn't twerk).

(See what I did there).

Then it was time for happy birthday, cake, and...

presents! We played Spanish bingo tonight and it was awesome! 

Love this group of kiddos!

Once the bowling, cake eating and present opening were complete, each kid received a game card for the arcade. The game card values were more than what we paid for the party...y'all. 

HOST A PARTY HERE!!!

Anna and Caro showing all the boys how to handle a fire arm. I think they successfully killed 10000 zombies. Landry loved it.

And Radley loves anything that involves Uncle Pete.

We had the greatest time and the perfect day.

Loved celebrating our golden boy!