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! 

Happy Birthday, Twin

Happy Birthday to my little brother Kevin! Yes, I just posted this picture. We were probably 9 & 10 years old in this picture, in the height of my tom-boy years. I am on the right, if you can't tell. 

Kevin and I were playmates through out our childhood. I convinced him to play soccer and have races at every chance I had. He showed me how to build crazy cool things out of K'Nex. We battled in basement Nerf wars. In high school we went to dances in the same groups a couple of times. We have only lived in the same town for a year out of the last 11, but I still cherish his friendship. From ski trips to traveling out of the country with our family together, we have so many fun experiences together. 

Some of my favorite things about my brother:

-He never seemed phased by looking alike as a child (brothers, that is)

-He has always been way smarter than me and doesn't even have to try. 

-He is a good hugger. 

-He can still rip down a ski slope on his board regardless of how many times a year he gets out. 

-He would fly across the country for you if you needed him. 

-He is bringing an awesome lady into our family!

-We can chat about math together :)

-He is always game for any family activities. 

-He is a great cook. 

-He can talk to you about almost anything and has probably read a book on it. 

-He enjoys traveling and actually does it often. 

-He loves to make others feel welcomed and special. 

-He is up for adventures. 

-He is really good at finding great restaurants and unique places. 

-He still asks me to crack his back. 

(That is just a few)

Next big event - Kevin's wedding this summer. See you tomorrow for your wedding shower. 

I love you Kevin! Thanks for being a great brother! 

Macy is 2!

Candles, banners, balloons, cupcakes, and gifts all made up April 8th at our home for Macy's 2nd birthday! The party has already happened, but we still wanted to celebrate her special day. By dinner time she had the candle thing down and was so cute! She enjoyed her new toys and clothes from all of her grandparents. 

We even sung to her at our friends Easter Playdate over lunch! 

Macklin is 4!

Macklin is officially a four-year-old. And, I have been a mom for four years! How crazy is that!???

We made his day special today with balloons and presents this morning and fun friends all day long! Macklin had gifts from all of his grandparents to open as well as a new LeapReader from us (his first one got dropped in the toilet after Christmas but he enjoyed it so much we just had to replace it). Shorts, games, toys, legos, paint markers, and monster trucks were some of the incredible items that he received. 

We headed to story time at 10am where the librarian gave him a special birthday hat and we all sang to him! We enjoyed friends at the park and had his buddy Briggs over for lunch with his family. 

Tonight we hosted the Talbots for a cook out since Jaxson was unable to attend his party on Monday. They really enjoy playing together. We had our final celebration, ate cupcakes (designed by Macklin) and played with more new goodies! What a special day! 

Jaxson, Mack, Macy, Abbie, and Jayson

Boat Pool Party

Yesterday we hosted Macklin and Macy's birthday party at the Gypsum Rec Center. The GRC is a great place to host a party and the rental fees are very reasonable. We used the large party room and had a pool party. The kids have been enjoying their toy boats (from Target, less than $2 each) in the hot tub over the winter, so I thought we would incorporate that into their party. My parents were gracious enough to find me 20 boats from the St. Louis Target stores and send them my way. They made for great table decor and the kids loved having a new toy right away! All of the other party goodies are from Oriental Trading Co. 

I saw the precious boat jello cups, so we used those as our treat instead of cake or cupcakes (saving those for actual birth days later this week). The kids loved the jello and even devoured all of the extra oranges. Note to Self: Parents were not interested in eating these…do not make nearly as many in the future. 

My favorite part of the event was our Food Boat. We are still excited about Christmas gifts and did not need any more presents around the house (yes, the kids will be excited about gifts from family and extended family on their birthdays, but 20 new gifts each was not necessary). I decided that we would do a food drive for the local food pantry instead. Macklin was on board with "getting food for people who need it." We borrowed a ducky boat from a friend and collected all of the food in the boat! Our friends were so generous and brought 112 food items! So cool! Only one time on the way home did Macklin say, "Mommy, let's go open my presents!" I reminded him of what he had done instead of presents and he said, "Oh yah." Then he moved on with his day. No phased at all. I hope he gets a little taste of loving others when we go drop it off today. 

Justin took the morning off of work to play with his sweet babies! We just couldn't find another time to do it this month on the weekends (with track and everything else with church). It was a great morning as a family! 

Macklin's favorite part of the party was the boat races! It was a short activity, but it was fun to drop their boats in the lazy river and watch them float around. 

Happy Birthday to Macklin and Macy! 

Trevan, Kolt, and Mack enjoying their boats after the party! 

The Invite (from the PaperBlossomShop on Etsy.com)

More Birthday Party Pics

By far my favorite new family photo. This one will probably be the cover of our next family album :) Thank you Ben Dodds for snapping a casual picture prior to the party. 

Here are a few pictures of the kids buddies enjoying the party.

I love Macklin's face in this one! 

Enjoying the jello! 

Macklin's favorite boy at the party - our pastor's son Luke! 

Macy's Posse

One more family picture

 

Macklin's Boy Band

My fellow mommies and I thought that these two pictures of our boys kinda looked like "boy band" pics. Watch out Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, and One Direction…

TMK (Trevan, Mack, and Kolt) is coming at ya with their boats!