Ellie Grace Turns One!

We're back!!! Derrick and I have been traveling in Europe for the past two weeks and it was amazing! I'm still sorting through those 600 pictures and figuring out how to dive into those blog posts that will be coming so today I'm backtracking to a very special event that we hosted a few days before we left.

Our little niece Ellie turned 1 and the party was at our house. The theme was Minnie Mouse and the theme was very evident everywhere you looked! I'll let the pictures help tell the story.

Leanna made this adorable photo banner with a picture of each month of Ellie's life.

Derrick's Mom was a cake machine and made a total of four different kinds of cakes including 56 cake pops and 20 something cupcakes.

I thought this was so cute and so smart! it looks like a chalk board but it's just black foam board and neon sharpies. It looked adorable!

 Ellie made it after her morning nap and was in high spirits the whole time! Derrick's mom made this adorable tu-tu and a friend of mine made her cute Minnie Mouse ONE-sie.

 

We grilled hot dogs and everybody mingled and ate until time for presents! I had a little fun with Ellie's presents and wrapped them according to theme.

If you're judging by her presents this is one loved little girl!

Derrick and I got her some cloth alphabet letters for the refrigerator and then we made her latch board to play with. I just got a pre-cut and sanded plaque at Michaels and stained it and then we attached all these latches and hooks from the hardware aisle at home depot.

She seemed to think it was pretty cool.

After presents it was smash cake time. Derrick's mom made this adorable smash cake and Ellie had no problem digging right in!

We can't believe this little girl is already One!! Leanna, Kevin, and Ellie moved to Florida 3 days after the party. Kevin got offered a youth ministry job at a great church! We're so excited for this next adventure and opportunity for them but sad to be so much farther away. Looks like we'll be planning trips to Florida every few months as we keep striving for favorite aunt and uncle status!

Jack's Gone Pro

Little baby Jack continues to achieve greatness on the Frisbee field! A couple months ago he made the first Raleigh professional ultimate team and has been itching to play. He had to wait for his college season to finish up and then he had to recover from an injury after nationals so finally, last weekend, we got to watch Jack in his first pro game! Derrick and I have gone to watch the Raleigh Flyers in several of their home games but this one was so much more exciting with Jack in to cheer for.

Jack ended up playing almost every offensive point and scored a couple goals and got an amazing lay out D. Raleigh Flyers won pretty easily. Overall not a bad start to a professional career :)

We went with Alison and Beth. The only shot we have is blurry and Beth is being swooped by Alison's hair. I love that Jack's club experience is Raleighwood. So many of these elite men's players have men's club experience, very few have only ever played on a club mixed team and Raleighwood is so relaxed it's just kind of a running joke now. Raleighwood loves Jack and we're pretty sure he loves Raleighwood too. 

Jack's Wilmington teammates were there watching and heckling.

Alison has claimed girlfriend status since Jack walked her down the aisle at our wedding :)

Jack won't be playing in too many more Flyers games this season because he's heading to Worlds in a week to represent Team USA. Can you say golden child?

Day in the Life

I may or may not have just stained my arm brown making a birthday present for my niece.

And I may or may not have house showings in 10 minutes.

#firsttimeworkingwithstain

#Thisismynormal

#itseriouslywontcomeoff

Seven Year Old Crabcakes

Our sweet Crabcake turns 7 today. I can't believe it! A client just reminded me that dogs start eating senior dog food at the age of 8. Cue the tears! We love this pup so much and tonight we will celebrate by buying her a treat at Woofgang Bakery!

Family Weekend

A couple weekends ago my family came into town to take our mothers day pictures! This year for Mother's Day we gave both of our moms a professional family photo session and my family was up first last week. The pictures are AMAZING! Seriously, so good! Once we narrow down the ones we're keeping I'll post some of them here. We're using JAGG photography and they are great!

Derrick's mom and little cousin Cassie came up Saturday morning for some Cassie climbing time at the gym. She just turned 8 and Derrick's mom brought her on a celebration trip. She also gave me an awesome birthday present....a Selfie Stick!! And a gorgeous monogrammed purse! I immediately started practicing my selfie stick skills!

 

After climbing we took my family out to teach them pickle ball! Jack is still recovering from nationals so he went out with friends instead but the rest of us hit the courts. I'm going to be honest....after the first minute or so of whiffs and lost balls Derrick and I were wondering if pickle ball was the best choice for the family. It turned out awesome though! After getting the hang of it Mom, Dad, and Jay were all amazing!

Jay is a high school tennis champion so at the end he took Derrick on in a really tight singles match. It was fun to watch but I'm glad I wasn't playing in the 100 degree heat. Derrick ended up with the win but Jay gave him a run for his money during his first day on the PB court!

That night we had everybody over for a cookout to test out the new grill. We used our friend's pesto turkey burger recipe and they were delicious! Derrick did a great job at the grill.

After the cookout Mom pulled out some cupcakes and cards and we had a little birthday celebration for me. It was super sweet.

 

We ended the night with a board game around the coffee table.

The next day Mom and I got some quality time going on a birthday shopping spree at the outlets and getting a pedicure. It was so nice!

I love having a house where we can invite everybody over and have plenty of space to spread out and hang out together. It's been one of the happiest consequences of being home owners.