Pool Floats for Summer

The summer heat is here and if you live in the South I'm sure you can agree that being outdoors right now is only 

comfortable if water is involved. We spend most of our weekends outside with Sawyer and he is 

obsessed with the water. He discovered this lime float when we went to see family last month 

and he loved it. It inspired me to round up a few fun floats that are perfect for a day at the 

pool or beach. Below are some of my favorites from Amazon.  

Lime Wedge | Rosé | Watermelon | Donut | Popsicle | Lemon | Pretzel | Pizza | Flamingo | Alligator

Duck | Avocado | Pineapple | Banana | Lime | 4 Piece Set | Diamond Ring | Shark 

Sawyer's Second Birthday: Two Wild

I cannot believe my sweet little boy is two years old! We celebrated his birthday three weeks ago, but it seems just like yesterday we were in the hospital patiently awaiting his arrival. This year’s birthday was very different from last year and not just because current times are strange. Pandemic aside, Sawyer was very excited this year. His love of balloons, sweet treats, water activities and being outdoors made his birthday celebration even more fun. He kept calling it his “happy day.” I loved that he had a sense of what was going on this year. It made my heart happy to watch his excitement as we celebrated.

I have always wanted to throw a jungle themed party with all the animals. I’ve had a Pinterest board full of ideas for longer than I care to admit. Sawyer has a true love for animals, so the theme was very fitting. I found the perfect cake inspiration and from there I based all other details around that. I love the way his cake turned out. Not only was it adorable, but it was also delicious!

The invitations were digital this year given we were taking everything day by day. I used the images on the invite to create small signs throughout the party. 

I found these fun palm leaf placemats that fit perfectly on the food table. I thought they would be good to repurposed later for dinner parties. 

Fortunately for me, the food was catered by Fletcher's Cafe and Catering, aka my mom. I told her what I had in mind and she took it from there. We had quite the spread! And the flower arrangements were done by my talented friend C. Holmquist Design.

The only food contribution I made was this Pinterest inspired elephant carved out of a watermelon. It wasn't a fail, but I think there may be some room for improvement next time. 

I assembled little boxes with favors for the kids which included zebra cakes and classic animal crackers. I may or may not have enjoyed a few of the zebra cakes myself. I forgot how good they are!

I think it's safe to say that Sawyer enjoyed his cake.

Sawyer’s birthday is on June 21, which is the first day of summer, which also means the temperatures are typically high. We created a water play area outside for the kids so they could keep cool. We searched high and low for one of these inflatable pools. They were practically sold out everywhere or either price gauged. We finally found this one and I honestly wish we had it during the whole quarantine. Sawyer loved it!

                                                 

This is our attempt at taking a kids group photo. We gave it a solid effort, but as you can see, this is the best we could do.

                                                  

Sawyer's big surprise came the next day, on his actual birthday — a truck like Daddy's! We're still trying to get the hang of driving this thing. I'll be signing him up for driving lessons soon!

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy!

Weekend Recap: Summer in the South

We had a fun, activity filled weekend and I'm sad to see it go! I had originally planned to take my mom to a candle making workshop on Friday as part of her Mother's Day gift, but the workshop was cancelled due to Covid. I decided to keep my day off so mom and I could still enjoy some quality time together. 

We picked up the most delicious sandwiches from Goat. Sheep. Cow and headed to White Point Garden, a beautiful park with water views at The Battery to enjoy them. I've always wanted to have a picnic there and with mom being in town and so many restaurants being closed, this seemed like the perfect time to do it. 

We basically had the park to ourselves with the exception of a few people scattered about. It was close to 90 degrees out so but the shade made it manageable. 

After lunch we scooped up Sawyer from daycare and headed out in the boat to enjoy some time on the water. Sawyer is beyond obsessed with the beach and swimming these days. Watching his eyes light up with excitement when he plays in the water and the sand is the best.

On Saturday Sawyer was living his best life playing on a giant water slide for his friend's 5th birthday. He is definitely fearless and didn't think twice about getting in the middle of things with all the bigger kids.

When the Kona Ice truck shows up at the party!

He enjoyed his first snow cone...

so much so that he felt the need to later hide and eat it.

Sawyer and I headed to my parents house on Sunday to spend some time with my dad since I didn't get to see him on Father's Day. I think the highlight of the weekend for both my dad and Sawyer was taking a tractor ride. 

Cheers to long weekends with family and friends!