Cache's 3rd birthday party!

It's that time of year again! Although his birthday isn't for a few more days, we thought it was a good idea to throw Cache's 3rd birthday bash while grandparents and Jared were still in town. Jared will be on AT for the actual day. Of course, when it comes to planning events, Pinterest is a party planner's best friend (at least one on a budget). I had all these ideas in my head about what would be so fun and we did the best we could! Thank goodness for Jean and Steve being here because I had enough help to pull it off! Especially with a the kitchen torn apart for the floors to be done...not what I had planned at the moment, but I'm glad it's done!

We even had to have the fridge in the fireplace room for a few days :)

But the party was a success! We blocked off the kitchen and it was a nice day so the kids came and went as they pleased outside and indoors. Most of the time was spent on the front porch. We even did the piñata out there! It was a pretty cool piñata because all the kids had to do was pull on the strings hanging down until one opened the trap door! No black eyes or crying children! ;)

Mystic Portal Popcorn, Fruity rocketships, Pizza Planet Pizza, Buz's rocket fuel, Wheezy Cheezy Cheetos, Woody's Roundup Salsa and chips, Bullseye's Much (veggies), and of course the cake!Yummm...

 

Cache got Buzz, Woody and Jessie potato heads :)

Cloe, Tyler and Cache playing in the water table

Hanging up the pinata!

It didn't take long before kids started pulling strings

And all of them!

Candy!!
 

And while we were all partying, Papa Steve put up an awesome swing! We all had a blast on it...not just the kids. :)

 

The. It was cake, ice cream and present time! Nothing like homemade ice cream and cake! 

This cake had neon purple and green layers with raspberry, strawberry and blackberry fillings between the layers! Buttercream frosting, and yes, it was all gluten and soy free! Who knew? ;)

Oh yes! First picture of Avelyn who slept through the majority of the party. But she was ready to go when she woke up! 

Overall it was fun and I'm glad so many were able to come! I'm glad family was able to enjoy this time with us too!

Western South Dakota...same state?

We got the opportunity to drive out to the west side of the state recently to meet Grandma Jean and Papa Steve! It was an awesome vacation and we got to stay in a small cabin for a reasonable price (since it was the weekend before Memorial Day).

On our way out west we stopped at a "minute man missile" information center and learned about the history of the Cold War and how South Dakota played a part. Very cool. Cache got to sit in a Minute Man chair ;)

We also stopped at "Wall Drug" in Wall, SD which is pretty much the "Ron John's" of this state. Tourist trap! But we had lunch and got to take a break, so yah!

 Of course out options were slightly limited due to weather and dates, but we had lots of fun! First we visited "Evan's Plunge" which is a water slide/pool made out of a hot spring! The water wasn't too hot, but it was lots of fun! Cache loved going down the water slide! Jared and I got to enjoy the speed slides and Hercules Rings. It's hard to swing across an entire pool with rings! We had so much fun, that we came back later that day with grandma and papa. 

On our way back to the cabin, we ran into buffalo on the road! Not something I think I've come across before. This was in Wind Cave National Park. 

The next day we made it out to Mt. Rushmore. It is a little smaller than I expected, but I think I've heard that before, so I wasn't too surprise. In fact, what surprised me more was the fact that they were having a high school graduation there! I didn't know they did that...

Camping was lots of fun and everyone was tuckered out! Cache even slept through 2 hours of everyone cleaning up around him and making lots of noise! 

Picked up some black hills gold while in the black hills!

The trip home was fun too. We got to visit the Ellsworth AFB and museum. 

And Wall Drug again!

And of course, the best thing at Wall Drug was the BTTF car parked outside! Complete with a mr. Fusion or Parkinson's donations! Awesome... :)