My youngest son loves animals. With both sides of grandparents being ranchers, he is growing up with cattle, goats, dogs, and more! So when it came time to decide what kind of birthday party he wanted, he instantly said, “Animals!”

This barnyard birthday was so fun and easy to put together!

The biggest hit of the whole day were these “walking” balloon animals I found on Amazon.

Our Party Menu:

• Worms in Dirt: a layered dessert cup with chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms on top
• Veggies and Ranch Dip
• Popped popcorn in carrot-shaped bags
• Rice crispy treats cut in squares with string around them to look like hay bales
• Pigs in a blanket
• Strawberries dipped in white chocolate that I made orange with food coloring
• Chicken Feed: Chex mix in paper bags
• Cupcakes
• A smaller birthday cake

The Party Favor:

Every child decorated their own pot and then filled it with potting soil and added a vegetable seed. They each left as a farmer, growing their own vegetable.

Here is a link to all of the accessories I used for the party:

brown paper bags for chicken feed | barn package with balloons and cupcake toppers | 9 oz cups for pudding | mini spoons for dirt pudding cups | bandanas | raffia for hay bale treats | mini farm animals | cow print table cloth | red bandana paper plates | black and white cow paper plates | barnyard animal paper plates | barnyard animal napkins | barnyard stacked animals

no mess paint sticks | clay pots

I hope this helps you when planning your next barnyard birthday!

Are you looking for a way to appreciate a friend during Christmas, or you maybe need a present for their birthday this season? I am here to help, my friend.

4 Shots of Detox

Dry shampoo was a marvelous invention, and Drybar made it fun for the holiday season. 4 Shots of Detox is a great sample box of their different dry shampoos.

Glamorous Wash Sample Pack

While we are talking about samples……the Glamorous Wash Sample Pack is a great option as well. If you are at the age where laundry smelling good is important to you and your friends, this is a gift for you. Tyler Candle Company took their scents to another level and created laundry detergent with some of their scents. You don’t use this as your main detergent. You continue to use your regular soap, but then you will add a capful of this heavenly product in addition to the soap. Then enjoy the aroma of this glamorous wash taking over your laundry room.

If you rather try Tyler Candles first, here is the Diva Scented Candle  and High Maintenance Scented Candle for you to purchase. These are my two favorite scents

Cook Once, Eat All Week Cookbook | True Comfort Cookbook | French Bull Utensils | Funny Kitchen Towels    

Cookbook + Kitchen Utensils + Kitchen Towel = The perfect kitchen person gift. I have the Cook Once, Eat All Week Cookbook and Kristen’s True Comfort Cookbook is on my own wish list for Christmas this year. French Bull has fun prints and I love their French Bull Utensils. Just add a great kitchen towel, like one of these Funny Kitchen Towels, and you are SET!

Makeup Eraser

I love my Erase Your Face Makeup Cloths from Amazon, but these Makeup Erasers are a great gift set option too. I use a cloth every time I wear makeup. It takes even mascara off with hot water.

Vital Proteins Collagen Sampler Pack

If you have a friend that wanted to try Vital Proteins, or their powdered collagen, this is a fun way for them to try it!

Pura Smart Home Diffuser Pack

Over candles, but want your home to smell nice? Pura is a great option, and they have a holiday set available this year. The Pura Smart Home Diffuser Pack includes the diffuser, along with two scents.

Coco Friendship Bracelet

I recently asked for viewers help on what gifts they are needing help with this year. The number one response was for children, but most of them added that they wanted the toys to be useful or not annoying. I can relate to that! I also received several responses on gifts for friends and then the dreaded – gifts for dads. I will be covering all three of these items, per your request, but I want to start this holiday season with children’s gifts.

Today, I’m covering stocker stuffers, or lower-priced items, that are kid-approved in my family. Continue to follow me as I post about additional gift ideas very soon! These gifts range for ages 6 months – 6 years old, and they are great for boys and girls.

Melissa and Doug Water WOW

This Melissa and Doug Water WOW pad is great for traveling, doctor visits, or when you need a child to wait for their meal at a restaurant. The pad and pen is reusable. You only need water for the pen and away you go! No permanent messes on clothes or furniture, and you can keep one in your bag whenever you need it. This three pack I linked on Amazon is only $11.49.

Melissa and Doug TAPE Activity Book

My four-year-old son loves tape, and pretty much anything sticky. The Melissa and Doug TAPE Activity Book allows kids to use tape with a purpose. I found this while purchasing fun band-aids (again because band-aids are sticky), and my son will be getting this as one of his presents this year.

Whirly Squigz

I’m a huge fan of Fat Brain Toys. These Whirly Squigz are definitely high on the list. They suction to windows very well and spin like a fidget spinner. Both my boys (4 and 18 months) love them – especially in the car.

Suction Kups

Fat Brain also has these Suction Kups. Multipurpose too! Not only do they suction to pretty much everything, they are great for snacks too! I love putting puffs in the cups, then suctioning the cup to the table. That is not their original purpose, but it works for our family!

*NOTE* If you are interested in both the Whirly Squigz and Suction Kups, Amazon has a great bundled option here: Fat Brain 12-Piece Set This is actually what I purchased for our family on our long 8-hour family trip this summer. It was a great investment.

Let’s Go Fishing

It’s a classic, and parents can join in on the fun. Let’s Go Fishing game is only $6.99 at Target. Reminder – it will need batteries! AAA Batteries linked here for ya to go ahead and add to your cart. 🙂

Crocodile Dentist Game

An easy-to-store gift for 4+ years is this Crocodile Dentist Game. Another classic and fun-spirited gift. Helpful for kids not wanting to brush their teeth too!

Dimpl

This is a great sensory toy, and great for little ones and their development.

Mudpuppy Magnetic Puzzle

This puzzle was a recent birthday gift for my four-year-old son, and HE LOVES IT! My favorite part is that it is easy to store. It is the size of a book and folds open into two different puzzles.

Bath Water Color Tablets and Dispensers

I don’t have to fight the boys to get in the bathtub when I ask them if they want to color their water. These Bath Water Color Tablets and Dispensers are so fun and a great way to learn how to mix colors. You simply put one tablet in the dispenser and put it in the water. The water quickly changes into the color and makes bath time more entertaining. The refills are easily accessible on Amazon as well: Bath Tablet Refills

Stay tuned for my bigger gift ideas for kids, along with dad gifts and gifts for those gal pals!

Going to Jackson Hole, Grand Teton Mountains, or Yellowstone National Park soon? Want to make sure you see and experience it all? I am here to help!

Every year, my husband and I go on a trip together to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We are joined by a couple from North Carolina, who also have the same wedding date as us too (October 12th)! This year the winner was Jackson Hole, WY.

The interesting piece of going to Jackson Hole in October is that it is their off season. The summer season closed – like the mountain roller coasters and white water rafting. The winter season is waiting for snow – for skiing, tubing, and sleigh rides (yes, they do sleigh rides with elk!). So what all is there really to do when none of those activities are available? GO OUTDOORS AND EXPLORE!

The weather is beautiful, and ranges from 14 degrees to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. We were outside without our jackets one day, and the next day we were in several layers and it was snowing – we experienced all their weather! Because the weather is a true fall.

Grand Teton National Park

I highly recommend hiking here when the weather is clear – you don’t want to miss any of the views!

We started at the Jenny Lake Loop, then veered left towards the Inspiration Point trail. Inspiration Point was the best area in the park in my opinion. We had a small lunch break there to take in the views – it was incredible. Along the way, we took a detour to see the Hidden Falls.

We made great time getting to Inspiration Point, so we decided to go further and explore Cascade Canyon. That extra few miles was worth is, as we were able to be only 10 yards from two moose relaxing by a tree. That was an exciting experience!

In total, we hiked about 12 miles to see all of those areas of the Tetons. We saw elk, moose, deer, and squirrels. Thankful, we didn’t see any bears.

Yellowstone National Park

The next day, we woke up super early and spent the entire day at Yellowstone National Park. We left our cabin at 6:00am and didn’t get back home until 10:00pm. It was worth every minute. We drove over 250 miles just inside the park, but we were able to see so many things:

• Lamar Valley
• Grand Canyon of Yellowstone River
  • Artist Point
  • View at the Lower Falls (my favorite)
• Old Faithful Geyser
• Canary Spring
• Prismatic Spring
• Hayden Valley
• Mud Volcano
• Roaring Mountain
• Paint Pot Trailhead

I highly recommend downloading the Yellowstone National Park app, and downloading the park map on your phone, prior to entering. You will have very little service throughout the park. It even tells you what time you can expect to catch the geysers!

Exploring the Town

We spent one full morning at the National Elk Refuge, looking for all of the elk. We found sheep and prong-horned deer, but the elk were hiding too well for us that visit. There were amazing views and explored some great trails by car. I believe the refuge would be great to experience in ATV.

We also took time to tour Jackson Hole, and try out three of their breweries:

• Snake River Brewery: The best beer and food combo. I recommend trying their chili!
• Roadhouse Tap Room: Great atmosphere and my favorite beer.
• Stillwest Brewery: Wonderful views and great service.

We listened to some music at the Cowboy Bar. It was such a fun place! Great energy!

We also recommend going to Pinky G’s for some pizza – it was SO GOOD! We ended the trip with a milkshake at the drug store, which we thoroughly enjoyed as well.

We were able to complete all of these with three full days in Wyoming. I hope you are able to get out to the mountains and explore nature soon!

This year, my son wanted his birthday at Wurstfest. If you aren’t familiar with this festival, I highly recommend checking it out! Unfortunately, Wurstfest was cancelled this year due to COVID-19. So I asked my son if we could have Wurstfest here. He replied with, “Let’s have a carnival at our house!” So a carnival it was!

This party was so fun to plan and fairly easy to put together! I incorporated some fair favorites, with corn dogs, cotton candy, and a balloon artist – which was the crowd favorite.

For games, I didn’t want people volunteering to run “booths,” and most of the children were around my son’s age, so we just put out games that they could enjoy without waiting in a line:

• Corn hole
• Hula hoops
• A soccer net and ball
• Ikea’s dart game
• Knock the cans game
• Photo area
• Temporary tattoos
• Balloon artist

Nearly the entire party was ordered from Oriental Trading and Amazon. The cake came from H-E-B, and it was DELICIOUS! I had a specific budget, and I chose my items around that budget.

Food from the party:

• Cracker jacks
• Cotton candy
• Lollipops
• Corn dogs
• Popcorn
• Confetti sugar cookies
• Fruit k-bobs
• Birthday cake
• Party favors: gumball machines and animal crackers for those who can’t have gum yet.

Tips for hosting a child’s party at your home: If you are hosting a birthday party at your home, I highly recommend going through your children’s closets and putting up items that have several pieces, or puzzles – where every piece is important. If there are any items that are special to your kids, I encourage you to put those away as well. No one wants a fight over a toy at a party!

Once you filter the bedrooms, go ahead and clear out any common areas too. This helps guests focus on the toys put out for the party specifically. We cleared out the play kitchen and art easel that we keep in our kitchen area.

All of our items were stored in our master bedroom with our pup. We knew it was temporary, and having toys in our room would also motivate us to put the toys back to their original location after the party.

Overall, the party was a hit! If you are looking for a fun birthday theme, I recommend a carnival – it’s fun for all ages!

On Christmas Eve every year, my family plays this great game while we wait to get ready for the candlelight service at our church. It’s called the 12 Days of Christmas, and I want to share it with you!

In preparation for the game, everyone playing brings some gifts. They could be funny gifts, really good gifts, gifts from the dollar bin at Target, a Starbucks gift card….well you get the picture! This year, I am bringing some Bath and Body Works items, some funny head/hat lamps, some board games, some really good tools, and some funny things I found at the dollar bin. You then wrap up the gifts, so you can’t tell what it is without unwrapping. I like to wrap some very fancy, and some I just put in a gift bag and tape closed. This makes it a mind game on what kind of gift is inside.

When it comes time to play, everyone gathers together in a circle and puts the gifts they brought in the middle.

To play the game, someone will need to tear pieces of paper and write a word from the “12 Days of Christmas” song. You will need a piece of paper for each person playing. We like to put words on the paper that are from the 5^th day of Christmas or less. For example, we typically write the following words on our pieces of paper:

Christmas

Day

Love

Tree

Turtle

French

Four

Golden

On

Partridge

Hens

Birds

Rings

By using these words, the game starts faster and there are more opportunities for everyone to grab a gift.

Once you wrote on the paper, you will put all of the pieces in a bowl and have everyone playing draw a word.

-THE GAME WILL NOW BEGIN-

Then pull up the “12 Days of Christmas” song, and have someone sing (or in our case read) the song.

When the player’s word on their paper is said in the song, they go pick a gift from the middle of the circle. The song cannot stop, so there is no time to sit and pick each gift. Only one gift may be picked at a time. They also DO NOT open the gift until the song is over.

Once the gifts are gone in the middle of the circle, players must then steal a gift from other players.

The stealing keeps going until the song is completely over. Once the song is over, the players open all of the gifts they have. There are some laughs when opening, and of course trading when everything is said and done.

Our family always has a blast, and we have several memories from the game each year. Maybe this can be a new tradition with you and your loved ones! Have fun!

With Baby P arriving in less than four weeks, my husband and I went ahead and celebrated our wedding anniversary a little early. We typically travel somewhere new, out of the state or country. But with pregnancy travel restrictions, we decided to explore Texas instead.

Details on my outfit: HERE

Joining us on our anniversary trip were our honeymoon friends. While on our honeymoon, a few years ago, we met this fun couple from North Carolina that also got married the same day as us and were celebrating their honeymoon too. We ended up becoming friends by the end of our honeymoon trip and stayed in touch when we returned to the states.

When our first anniversary rolled around, we reached out to the North Carolina couple to see what they were planning to do. We ended up planning a group trip to Nashville, Tennessee and had an absolute blast. We get to have a group for tours, concerts, and adventures. Then we break apart for evening dinners or dates. It is now tradition travel together for our anniversary every year. It is so much fun! I don’t know how we got so lucky to find such fun travel buddies.

This year, our North Carolina friends were kind enough to move our anniversary trip up and visit us in Texas. We had the best time exploring San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels, Gruene, Fredericksburg, and Luckenbach, Texas. It was a tour of the Hill Country. Not only did we get to see new areas of Texas, our North Carolina friends experienced some of the best places in Texas to see.

If you are ever in these areas, I recommended some must-see places below:

San Antonio: The Riverwalk, River Boat Tour, The Alamo, Pearl Brewery, Market Square, Mi Tierra, Gunther House

Austin: Shops on Congress St, Deep Eddy Distillery, 6th St, Rainey St, Salt Lick BBQ

New Braunfels: Naegelin’s Bakery, Float the Guadalupe or Comal River, Pour Haus

Gruene: Gruene Outfitters, Gristmill, Gruene Hall, Cotton-Eyed Joes, Gruene General Store, Adobe Verde, The Grapevine, Tavern on the Gruene

Fredericksburg/Luckenbach: Burger Burger, Beulahs, Dooleys, Becker Vineyards, Grape Creek Vineyards, Crossroads, Silver Creek, Luckenbach Dance Hall

Details on my outfit: HERE

Details on my outfit: HERE