DC Road Trip

While the rest of the country set out on a long weekend vacation to kick-off the summer this Memorial Day weekend, I stayed local to visit some family in NJ rather than battling traffic. Good thing the weekend prior we got our adventure fix by road tripping to our nation's capital! It's so wonderful to make new friends later in life...even better when those friends happen to be part of your family!! Becky & Brad were gracious enough to host us for the weekend, all while hosting even more family and friends for little Carter's very first birthday!

The weather wasn't very interested in cooperating with outdoor activities, but we still managed to have a great time and shared lots of laughs. This picture makes me laugh with lovely Lily sneaking in on the edge of the family photo, I just couldn't crop out her cute little curly ponytails!    

The birthday boy was SO excited to have mini Nila wafers surrounding his chocolate cake. He crammed them in faster than anyone could count! Not sure if he just filled up on those delicious tiny cookies or if he is going to be one of those people that doesn't LOVE chocolate (oddly enough, they do exist!), but he was not having the cake or chocolate chip cookies. But hey, it was his party and he was happy, so that's all that really mattered!

While I've been to DC a few times, this was the first time I'd really walked around much of the residential areas. I was so impressed with how meticulously manicured the front gardens were, no matter how small the plot of land. Made me feel like I needed to spruce up my own tiny yard with some of that city street pizazz!  To get a little extra landscaping motivation, we ended our weekend with a walk through the national botanical garden.

Thanks for a great weekend, guys!  Hope we can return the favor in Philly soon!!

Ben's First Birthday: Family Shoot

Hopefully y'all aren't getting tired of me blogging about this adorable little boy's first birthday because I have this one last post sitting in my queue to share! A week before the birthday celebration, we headed to a local park and caught some great shots while spring bloomed all around us. I wanted to wait until the prints and canvas arrived to fill his parents' walls before sharing some of my favorites with the world! I'm also secretly hoping that the wait will have given Benjamin some extra time to figure out this whole walking business...I'm a pushy Aunt :).

In case you missed any of the previous birthday posts, please click below to relive the excitement:

Part 1 - Cake Preview
Part 2 - Party Details
Part 3 - Elephant Rocker

Ben's First Birthday: Details

Sorry folks, it just doesn't get much better than the cake smash pictures I posted earlier in the week, but I promise that you'll enjoy these party details too! The DIY touches made everything extra special!

Haddon Heights has a cabin that you can rent at their community center and it was such a great choice for a party! It was completely redone a few years ago and is equipped with a kitchen and bathroom...big improvement on your average picnic table in the park setting. A hand-painted, reclaimed wood sign greeted guests along with those giant balloons that I absolutely love!!

More signs and bunting adorned the interior of the cabin while Ben's logo spiffed up the little things like bubbles, water bottles and cookie favors.

Ben's mama did a great job of weaving the bold colors throughout the party and proved that 'theme' doesn't have to revolve around a tv character!! Centerpieces were made out of mason jars filled with m&m's and handmade pinwheels...treats for all ages!

Aside from the great Pinterest-worthy details and colorful food, there were lots of little friends and cousins roaming around to add to the cuteness factor of this fun event!

Since I just can't get over this picture, I'm reposting it because its really just the best way to end any party (or post about parties)! Hope your day is full of fun and frosting :).