Come and get it!

For the party, I decided on hot dogs. Why this? Well, when you can get them for 25 to 50 cents a pack, it really helps to keep the costs down. Especially, when you are trying to feed 100+ people. Plus, it fit really well with the theme. We also had chili, baked beans with sausage, potato salad and chips.

My dad was in charge of the hot dogs. Why use an ordinary grill when you can whip up something like this.

Cooking them  this way was torture for a particular male in our family.

Don't feel too bad for him! I think he was treated to a few that made there way to the ground.

Instead of having a traditional cake for dessert, we decided to stick to the theme. We decided to serve a few of Griffin's favorite cakes but do it cupcake style. We chose red velvet with cream cheese frosting topped with  pecans, yellow cake with caramel frosting topped with a caramel and yellow cake with chocolate frosting topped with a candy corn. If you didn't know already, we love Cupcake Wars around here. We could not just set these delicious cupcakes on a platter. OH NO! We had to come up with a display for our grand finale!

We had so much fun putting this together! Just so you know, we were able to get them all on the table in time.

I have saved the best for last! 

Tuck in that cowboy shirt and slip into those cowgirl boots. Make sure your saddle is tight because you will want to come along for the next ride to entertainment!

Yeehaw Everybody!

I was talking to my mom on the phone  discussing the details of Griffin's Surprise 16th Birthday Party. She asks, " Have you thought of  a theme?"  Now I am  a big theme girl when it comes to parties. Usually, I have a theme before I have anything else in mind. When I grow up(hehe), my dream(in my perfect little world) would be to be a party planner! For this particular party that was not the case. I guess since it was going to be out of town, I wasn't quite sure what I could pull off. I was thinking more along the lines of throwing things together,  hoping it falls into place and he is surprised.  My mom is like me( or should I say it is the other way around!). She was not going to let this party go without a theme. She suggested the "Country Theme". I giggled and told her to have fun with it. I knew I would be lucky  just pulling  off the guest list, arrangements, food and entertainment!

Boy did she do a good job!

She had hats, bandanas, hay bails and even a place for a photo opportunity.

 A few of Griffin's friends from Pratville.

We even arranged for Carmel to bring a couple of Griffin's friends from home to the party.

Finally, I was able to grab our family to get a picture!

Can you tell who the cowgirl is in our family?

Or should I say the "Most Wanted" girl in the South?

Next up.......see what grub this cowgirl and all the other guest chowed down on.

Surprise!

Last Saturday, we had a Surprise 16th Birthday Party for Griffin. I have been planning this event since the summer. There will no longer be any looking over my shoulder every second he is home, locking myself in the bathroom to have a conversation on the phone or having every excuse ready to fit any possible question that may arise.

I was so worried he would find out. I had a surprise party for my 16th birthday. I found out about it before the event because I overheard my mom and my best friend talking on the phone. I really hoped that would not happen for Griffin. There were times I could have slipped up like......

*when he wanted to play in his football game but I insisted we were going out of town. My answer: the whole family was visiting due to it being a holiday.

* He wanted to plan something big with friends from Ga( $$$$$$). My solution: I had a party for Ella to make it impossible for him to do anything that weekend.

* He saw me give mom and dad 250 hot dogs in a cooler. My response: They are having something at their house and needed hot dogs.  Since I got the hot dogs for only 50 cents, I told them to use them.

All the preplanning was worth it when the day finally came!

We had it at my parent house and it was the perfect place! He has several friends and plenty of family either in Al or near there. 

He spent the night with his cousin the night before so we could spend all day Saturday getting ready for it. All of the guest arrived 30 minutes prior to Griffin arriving. Everyone, except a few of us, hid around back. As he drove up, I saw him smiling and thought...... he knows. He gets out of the car and goes for the trunk to get his stuff out. What???? He was clueless! Picture this.....I am standing with my camera, Carmel has the video camera and my mom has her camera all pointing right at him. He still doesn't think anything. It wasn't until we made him go around the corner that he realized there was a party for him! I later asked, "You didn't think anything when I was taking pictures of you as you drove up?" His response, "No, you are always taking pictures!"

Check back over the next few days as I share the details of the boot stomping good time we had!

Our field trip to Noah's Ark

Our first field trip for the year was to Noah's Ark. As we were walking up, the first thing I spotted was this 3 month old tiger. He was so much fun.....to watch.....from a distance!

This particular day was a special day for the Wounded Warriors. We were asked to help welcome them to Noah's Ark. 

After we told the soldiers Thank You for their service, we went to check out the animals.

It was such a beautiful day! It was the perfect first field trip!

What is better than a hot breakfast?

A free hot breakfast!

Check your local Chickfila. Ours is giving away a free breakfast item every Tuesday for the month of October. One per person. Our family had breakfast this past Tuesday  for $0.

For the Macon/ Warner Robins area:

Oct 4 - Chicken, cheese and egg on a toasted multigrain bagel

Oct 11 - Yogurt parfait with granola

Oct 18 - Spicy chicken biscuit

Oct 25 - Oatmeal

This is a great motivator for getting out of bed on Tuesday!

AU vs USC game

This past Saturday was the big game for us here in this house. Auburn Tigers vs South Carolina Gamecocks. This post will not be about the outcome of the game( I try to avoid conflict) but the fun we all had before the game.

The game this year was held in South Carolina.  My hubby, son and I , my parents, my 2 sisters and their families all decided to get tickets and go to the game.

A group shot before heading to the game. My other sister met us there. As you can see 2 people are out numbered in the top picture.

But in the picture below I am out numbered.

To me the best part of the football game is not the actual game itself, it is the hours prior to the game........ tailgating!

Just a friendly game of family football.

A few moments before it was time to put the game face on.

Homemade pancake syrup

I made pancakes the other night and realized we didn't have any syrup. I have been wanting to try making my own but most recipes called for maple extract. You know how hard it is to find real maple extract! I have only 1 more place to look here and then I give up. I decided to tweak the recipe a bit and just use a touch more vanilla (since I have plenty of that!) in place of the maple extract. It turned out great! I little runnier than regular syrup but it still tasted good.

Pancake Syrup

1 1/2 c brown sugar

3/4 c water

1 T butter

dash salt

1/2 ts vanilla extract

Mix sugar, water, butter and salt in a saucepan. Heat until boiling, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.