Oh What Fun!!!

The last time we were together, I was busy getting ready for our big Frozen birthday party! We have now lived through it and what a success it was...so successful in fact that I truly don't have many pictures to share - and the ones that I do have are not all that great! Seems as if we were all having too much fun to stop for pictures.

The snow cone machine is always a hit - especially when you live in Florida and have a summer birthday!

Another thing the kids loved was chipping away the large blocks of ice to find some treasures.

Here is Presley in her Elsa bathing suit and her Elsa hair photo prop. The bathing suit was ordered about a month ago and it had to come from China. It arrived the evening before her party. My daughter ordered a size 6 figuring that it may run a bit small but when she opened the package, this thing looked like it would fit any of us. Presley tried it on and fell immediately in love so we knew we had to do something or she would be wearing it even though it hung to her knees. Nana took it home and did a bit of "ruching" and even though it was still a bit large, it served the purpose and she wore it all day long - and yes, she could even wear it into the pool! You can't really see it here, but it came complete with a lovely flowing attached cape as well!!
   

Another hit was the snowy slime. We make this in every color for every occasion and the kids never tire of it. This time it was snow crystal blue with turquoise glitter and even the boys loved it. It is a bit messy as you are first using your hands to knead it, but like magic it "seizes" and comes off skin, clothes, whatever.

The cake has been a topic of conversation for several weeks now. Somehow Presley saw a few that her mom and I had posted on Pinterest and decided that one of those was the exact cake she wanted. It is kind of hard to explain to a 5 year old that, not only do we live in a town where we probably couldn't even find anyone to make that cake but, if we could, it would be the price of a large wedding cake, We had pinned them just as a rough reference. Suffice it to say that every time "her" cake was mentioned, she described it as the multi-tiered castle.

Jen ended up ordering a sheet cake with winter trees and "snow drifts" and then adding the small, round layer. We embellished it with the rock candy sticks to look like the snow crystal castle and then cutting  out a quick download of Elsa. Once the candles were added, she thought it was fabulous!!
 

The day was hectic, hot and full but it could not have been more wonderful! The grown-ups were all exhausted so we knew it was a success!

Since the summer is almost over and everyone will soon be back to school, everyone tried to squeeze in a bit more of a vacation as well and came a few days early. We had so much fun visiting, eating out and laughing...and a lot of the laughing took place during the filming of a "commercial". You see, my oldest and my youngest are co-owners of an online gift boutique and after a number of years of wanting to change the name to better suit their  business and outlook, they finally took the plunge. They decide that the best way to roll out the new name would be to film a U-Tube announcement. And, as soon as I heard this would be happening, I knew a good time would be had by all. These two are funny and by the time we had everything ready to start, we were all getting a bit giddy.

I wish I had privy to all of the takes because a few may actually rival Carol Burnett or Lucille Ball. But, I will say, it will be worth watching - even after it is edited! I think the plan is to make one a month with recipes and DIY ideas for the theme of the month. I will keep you posted.

This month's theme is "tailgating" so they are featuring  food, decor and items they sell that will help you have a successful party.

Grand daughter #2 served as videographer and editor. She is really very talented. She has made videos of each of our family vacations and they are really good - especially considering the "talent" she has to work with. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the number of takes necessary for this 3-4 minute result, but she lightened up when she saw how much fun we were all having.

Those of us not on camera served as the audience. We are easy! We laugh at anything. Becky and I have both been featured on "real" commercials still running on our local TV station so we, of course, stood by with any advice they might need - somehow they never felt the need to ask for any but we were ready, willing and able if the need should arise! After all, we consider ourselves seasoned vets by now.
 

It was the best kind of weekend - family and fun! What more could we ask for? They tell me to get my house ready for autumn soon as the next installment will be taped here! So much to do, so little time. Stay tuned!