Outdoor Estate Wedding

It's been a minute since we got invited to a wedding so we were thrilled to have 2 weddings on our calendar this summer.

We got invited to the loveliest wedding - two of Kevin's students were getting married in Cincinnati over the weekend.  We booked my parents to watch Leo because we knew he'd have the most fun with them at home which would allow us to have the most fun at the wedding.  Hooray for Mimi & Papaw!

We drove a little over 3 hours to get there.  It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding and the historic estate was so cool.  The kids kept calling it a castle.  We got to explore the main floor rooms and enjoyed all the special planning that went into the wedding.

Ari & Jessie were more than students to us - they were our kid's favorite babysitters for years when we lived in Terre Haute!  Olive and Fletcher couldn't wait to see them on their big day!  We got to see lots of friends and former students from ISU and it was just so much fun.

A sweet man sitting behind us offered to take our family picture before the ceremony. 

Best babysitters ever :)  They looked so happy!!

We love weddings!  Olive and I had so much fun strolling through the gardens, checking out the property, eating appetizers, getting drinks (Signature drink for me and a Shirley Temple Sprite for her), doing our nails, picking out dresses and admiring all the pretty wedding details.

The ceremony was outside under these pretty shade trees.

Signature Cocktails - Vodka Lemonade - YUM!

The kids hit the jackpot on seeing their favorite people.  Cara is another one of their very favorite babysitters!  It was so fun to see her, meet her fiance and we'll be headed to her wedding in just a few weeks.

Drinks in the garden :)

The kids had fun exploring during the cocktail hour. 

Silly boys.  Fletcher insisted he was a frog and that I needed to snap frog pictures.  He was a trooper for all the wedding festivities.  These pictures crack me up!! 

Yummy dinner menus.  The adults ordered and the kids had a special meal.

The bride's mom owns a dessert shop so they had the neatest favors!!

A Cookie Bar!!  I couldn't have loved it more.  There was a table full of cookies to choose from and personalized cookie bags for guests.  It was so much fun to pick out 2 cookies per person to take home with us.  This gives me some fun ideas for the future.

There was a traditional wedding cake and A TRUFFLE BAR!  We tried a few different flavors and loved them all.  I've never seen this at a wedding before.

Kevin & Ari.  Best buds.  It was really fun to meet all the parents and talk about how wonderful their kids were to our family when they were grad students.  We got to gush about how much we love them!

 I'm so glad we were able to make the trip to celebrate our friends!

Dinners on the Blackstone

Kevin got a Blackstone Grill a couple of months ago and we've really been enjoying it.  He found this model at Lowes.  He really wanted the 36inch with a lid.  We have had our eye on one for well over a year and after our grill didn't survive the move, we knew it was time.  He got the biggest 36 inch griddle and has been very happy with it.  Ours has a lid.  He says it takes a little adjusting to switch from a regular grill to a griddle, but he really loves it.  We've had lots of delicious dinners thanks to the Blackstone.

We've cooked: chicken, burgers, hot dogs, brats and corn on the cob on ours.  You can basically cook anything and everything on it according to Pinterest.  I'll link his favorite Blackstone items at the end of the post.  Now let's chat about all the meals we've had where the Blackstone made the main course.  I hope it gives you some new dinner ideas for your crew!

1. Thin Chicken Breasts Marinated in Worcestershire Sauce.

This was really yummy and worked great for grilled chicken salads for dinner.

2. Chicken Hibachi

We usually have Kevin do the meat and I do the veggies inside.  I know you can do both on the Blackstone, but we're trying to master things in the meat department first.

I chopped all these veggies and sauteed them in soy sauce.  Then he cooked the chicken marinated in Olive Garden Italian Dressing.  I sliced everything up bite size and served it with rice.  It was delish!

3. Steak & Veggies

We used tenderizer and some soy sauce + Worcestershire sauce on some thick Ribeyes for Olive's birthday.  They turned out so good!  I roasted veggies inside - little potatoes cut in half, yellow onions and fresh asparagus.  Drizzle it all with olive oil and your favorite seasonings.  Bake at 425 for 40 minutes on the potatoes and about 20 minutes on the asparagus.

4. BBQ Chicken

I marinated thin chicken breasts in our favorite Stubbs BBQ sauce and water for a few hours and then Kevin grilled it.  We made some blackberry lemonade (yum!) and Kevin did the coern on the grill.  He read to leave the corn in the husk and then wrap them in foil.  He cooked them for 20 or so minutes.  We let them cool and then cut the corn off the cob.

Hooray for grilling season!

Do you have any Blackstone questions?  

If you have a Blackstone, what are your favorite things to cook on it?  I'd love to try some new foods.

Here are some of our favorite Blackstone necessities.  Kevin's getting a few of these for Father's Day and we love the rest.  My Amazon affiliate links:

Friday Faves

Happy Friday!  I hope you've had a good week and that your Summer is off to a good start.  Our kids are done with the school year and we're excited for some fun months ahead.  The best parts of our week were:

1. Olive's Pastel Party

We spent a good chunk of the week doing all the birthday things for the birthday girl!  Her party was such a fun celebration.  You can read all about the party here and my balloon garland tips here with my favorite balloon pump!

These cute cousins are all 9 for a couple of months!

2. Crochet Club

Olive spent a lot of time crocheting this week!

3.  Book Worm

There's a good chance if you stop by our house, Leo will hand you a book and expect you to sit and read to him.  He's got a stack of favorites and he wants you to name everything he points to.  These are his 3 favorite board books right now.  A search and find Momo (dog) book, the sequel and a transportation board book.  Here are my Amazon links to them:

 

4. Party with Kevin's family

We got to celebrate Olive with Kevin's family, too.  The kids loved hanging out with Daisy the dog and had a fun night together. 

5. Jordan Bakery Box

These SUPER Chocolate Chip Cookies have been a fun addition to my cookie menu.  I've made them several times this week.

6. Flowers are Blooming

All of my flower pots are filling in so nicely!  They look beautiful!

7. Hammock Hang Outs

Olive got a hammock for her birthday.  It's been lots of fun for all the kids.  It fits perfectly inside of our climbing dome!  It has worked for one, two or three kids to play in at once.  It's on sale right now so I ordered a 2nd one for a surprise one day this Summer.  Here's my Amazon affiliate link to it:

 

8. Kids on Campus

We went to work with Kevin one morning and had fun strolling around campus.  The kids love to talk about going to college with Dad one day so we'll have to wait and see if that comes true.

9. Mini Golf

Kevin sometimes takes the big kids on adventures on the weekends while Leo naps.  It's a win win for everyone.  I get work done while Leo naps and the big kids get to do fun things with Kevin.  They practiced their golfing, snacking and claw machine skills together.

 

10. Berry Lemonade

We've been experimenting with yummy lemonade combinations.  We've muddled fresh strawberries and blackberries in the bottom of our cups and then added in our favorite lemonade + ice.  It's the perfect summer drink!

Happy weekend!!  See you back here on Monday :)

Linking up with Momfessionals

Balloon Garland Tips & Tricks

I've been raving about balloon garlands for over a year so I figured it was time to do a little behind the scenes post about them.  I'll share my tips, what works best for me and #8 is the very hardest thing about balloon arches.  I included a link to the best thing you can buy if you're planning to do a balloon garland.  It's the best air pump that I've found and it's on a big sale.  I've build several balloon arches and you learn a lot after doing that first one.  They are easy peasy - I promise!  They are such a fun addition to any party!

1. Always buy a kit

There are tons of options for under $15 on Amazon.  Seriously any color scheme or any theme balloons are available.  You get 100+ balloons with a big variety of colors and shapes.  People ask me if it's more affordable to build you own kits and I think you'd easily spend more than $15 trying to buy all the balloons and the balloon tape.  I've seen several stores have kids in store, but they all seem small and pricey so I'd recommend looking on Amazon first.

 

2. Watch some Youtube tutorials.

There are tons of them.  I've watched several different ones that are quick and super informative.  They'll help you to feel confident in building your balloon arch in no time.

3. Buy a pump that has two air spouts.

I somehow lost a balloon pump in the move so I upgraded my pump to one with two air spouts.  It allows both kids to be blowing up balloons at the same time and really speeds up the process.  Blow up all of your balloons before you start building your garland.  That'll give you a good idea of what you have to work with before you start.

 

4. Ask for help.

My big kids are great at helping me blow up the balloons.  They can't tie them on their own so I do all the tie work.  Then when it comes time to build them they hand me the colors I need.  If you can avoid blowing up balloons with little kids around, that will make your life easier.  The air pump is loud and scares my toddler so we always do this work at nap time or after he goes to bed.

 

5. Don't wait until the last minute.

Blow up your balloons at least 24 hours before your event.  That will give you plenty of time to build and hang your balloon garland.

 

6. Transporting is hard.

I've transported my balloons before and it's hard.  Even in my van with the seats down, they take up so much room.  If you can avoid having to transport your garland do that.  It's not impossible, but make sure you have tons of inside vehicle room if you plan to transport your garland. 

 

7. Try to place it in a spot where you can take pictures with it

A balloon garland makes the prettiest photo op spot.  Your garland will last for weeks if you want it to so be sure to put it in a fun spot.  A classroom balloon garland would be such a fun way to kick off a school year.

8. Have a plan for hanging it

The very hardest part of decorating with a balloon garland is hanging it.  They are tricky to hang.  I hit the kitchen jackpot at our house because the way that our cabinets are arranged allows for me to have the perfect spot to wedge a balloon garland in.  I use packing tape to hang the smaller balloon garlands on my mantle.  If you leave a tail of balloon tape at the beginning and end of your garland, you will have a much easier time hanging it from there.  You can attach it with string, nail it up or use some strong tape to secure it.  I know people recommend using command hooks to hang it as well.  I haven't tried that method.  Just remember to give yourself plenty of time and several different hanging options to see what works best for your spot.

This is the air pump I was talking about!  It's great and on sale for just $21.99 right now!

Here's my Amazon affiliate link:

Balloon Garlands that I've loved:

Blow up all the balloons!!

This is the balloon tape up close.  See how there are holes all along it!?  You just have to put a balloon in each hole, twist it on and then alternate the way you put on the next one.  If you leave the first 4 or so holes empty, this will give you a really great tail to hang it from.  Trust me.

Do you have any balloon garland questions for me??