Celebrating Friends

We were able to take part of two great celebrations this weekend. Above is my dear friend Susie and her new baby Luke. Luke was adopted and born between Christmas and New Years. Adoption is such a special picture of God's grace and plan for us. Susie and her husband, Jeff, are so grateful to have their second baby through adoption. We had a Baby "Sprinkle" for her to celebrate his arrival. 

Below is my sweet, genuine friend Jen and her family. We celebrated her birthday with her Saturday night. While we could not participate in the ski day (I am clearly not skiing this winter and Justin has a bum ankle), we did get to join for the dinner and ice cream part! A new tradition with this group of friends is to have everyone share one thing that they are thankful for regarding the birthday person! What a great tradition and way to fill each other's love tanks! 

Kari's Baby Shower

Myself with Kari, Hailee, and Jen

What a fun evening at the Bakers! We had a memorable evening celebrating Kari and the upcoming "Baby B". Jen did a great job prepping her house, decor, and the dinner. I brought most of the appetizers. Hailee, Melissa, and Mel's friend Sarah helped get it all ready in time for the big event. The theme was "Sugar and Spice and Everything Bikes" due to Kari's intense love of biking. The theme will go into the baby's room as well. 

 

What a great view and a well set up table! 

We only played one shower game to keep things simple and focus on chatting. While we only played one, it was a good one! Kari had to identify all of the items in the blue baby bin and the rest of the guests had to identify the bike parts and tools in the white bin. I tied with another girl and got 10 correct in the bike bin. Kari scored 16 items in the baby bin and trumped us all! I thought it was a great idea from Jen to celebrate Kari's interests and challenge the rest of us with our bike knowledge! 

Congrats to Kari and Jake! 

We can't wait to meet Baby B!

Abbie's Baby Shower

The Feucht's with Abbie, Becky, and myself 

Becky hosted a wonderful shower with help from the Feucht family and myself to celebrate Baby Rittmiller. We kept things simple by using her nursery colors, playing a couple of games and enjoyed being in the presence of each other. I wish I would have taken a picture of one of the games. We posted pictures of women in movies and guests had to guess whether they were from a horror movie or from labor. It was quite funny! One of my favorite parts of the day took place at the end of the shower. Jason came by to say thank you and really expressed his gratitude for all of us there as we celebrated their upcoming addition. It was a great afternoon. 

 

Alex's Kitchen Bridal Shower

Congrats to Alex and Kevin! My brother is getting married to the lovely Alex this summer and I flew home to help my mom host a shower for her at my parents house. 

We decided on a kitchen theme since they love to cook so much. It was an awesome event for Alex to be with all of my family's friends to celebrate their marriage. Here are some of the details:

Games

We played the Spice It Up game that we got from our Etsy invites. I loved how all of the paper products turned out! In this game, you had to pick the spice based on looking at it. It was actually quite tricky! 

 

We also played a game where Alex walked out with an apron on and we had to recall all 19 things on her apron. Alex was a good sport! 

 

Finally, after the gifts were opened, we found the answers to our "Alex or Kevin" game. We listed 19 statements and guests had to see if they applied to Alex or Kevin. We used the mustaches and lips to indicate the guess. Then we had Kevin and Alex answer them for us together. It was really fun to see them play together. 

Food

My mom picked up some yummy cupcakes and had quite the spread for the guests. 

Favors

Have you ever seen soap look this good?

Outside Sign

The Guests

Alex with her mom and one of her three sisters, Amy

All of the ladies - my grandma, my sister-in-law Jackie and her mom, my mother-in-law Kathy, my two nieces Ally and Liv, my aunt Laurie along with numerous friends.

So great to hang out with these awesome girls! 

 

My best childhood friend, Jessica Zuke - So fun that she came in for the shower. 

The Cookbook

My mom gave my older brother and I a family cookbook for our weddings. In the years since, Kevin has asked on numerous occasions to have a recipe. My mom responds by saying, "It's in the Sprague Cookbook." To which Kevin asks, "When do I get this cookbook?" Mom says, "When you get married." Well Kevin, ask no more! You have one! And it has grown in size since mine!