To say this summer has flown by may just be the understatement of the year! It’s been an eventful season for our family for many good reasons and a few less than good ones too. I’m going to write about the best reasons and keep praying for the less fortunate ones. Remember the kate spade baby shower? My adorable little niece was born a month and a half later on June 17th! My husband and I spent many hours at the hospital anxiously awaiting her arrival, but by 2:00 AM Friday morning we forced ourselves to head home for a few hours sleep before our work day started at 7:30. That little girl? She didn’t make her grand entrance into this world until 6:00 AM! Her mama was the definition of a trooper! We quickly returned that afternoon to fuss over our newest family member. Those two days gifted me memories that will always be near and dear to my heart, a truly amazing experience. And just look how cute she is?

What’s equally amazing is how she has changed in just two short months! We love to watch her facial expressions and reactions to new sights and sounds when we visit! And yes, her super cool Auntie (that’s me…obvious, right?) got her that ‘Mean Girls’ inspired onesie! I couldn’t resist!

If anything else could match the excitement for our niece’s arrival this summer, it was my stepdaughter officially moving in with us and enrolling in our school district! This of course meant bedroom remodeling, school shopping, homework station set-up and extracurricular sign ups! But before we jumped into the whirlwind of a new school year starting we had another cause for celebration…Hailey’s 13th birthday! Don’t worry, this is where I tie back to the title of this post and the reason you all clicked read more, s’mores!

For nearly as long as I’ve known Hailey she has always longed for a surprise birthday party. With turning 13 this year and becoming an official teenager, we decided what better time to plan that surprise party! It worked out perfectly, because her birthday was on a Friday this year and Allen was picking her up from her Mom’s house that afternoon meaning her friends could come over early and be there when she got home to jump out and yell ‘surprise!’ We had decorations up in her current favorite colors (those are ever changing), gifts in matching wrapping paper, her favorite food to eat, favorite music playing and of course birthday cake! The look on her face when she walked in was priceless and worth every penny and minute spent on the day! Those quick moments are why we do the things we do as parents; they are the best form of non-monetary payment.

Before we jumped into the events of the evening, we got the girls outside for their annual photo shoot! I LOVE that we have taken a photo of them together for four straight years now; it’s been a joy to watch them and their friendships grow and so fun to see the photos over the years side by side.

The second surprise of the evening was movie tickets for them all to see ‘Suicide Squad’ the day it premiered in theaters! She had been talking about this movie for weeks so opening night on her birthday was a gift itself! We have really nice dine in theaters at a mall near us and the girls felt extra grown up sitting across the aisle from us and ordering their own popcorn and drinks at the touch of a button 🙂 The movie was pretty entertaining too; I’d recommend it as a rental for a fun movie night at home! The final surprise of the evening was s’mores by the fire!

I’ve always wanted to make a s’more bar, because I’ve seen so many cute ideas on Pinterest! Mine wasn’t extravagant, but it was cute and fit the bill for a piece of the puzzle that was Hailey’s birthday! We had all the usual s’mores ingredients with the addition of chocolate graham crackers and Reese cups that could be used in place of Hershey chocolate! I found most everything at Michaels and was lucky enough to already have the wooden trivet! The labels for the jars storing chocolate and marshmallows were made using scrapbook paper, ribbon, a hole punch and a sharpie pen. For temporary hold, I simply taped the ribbon to the back of the jar. For the marshmallow sticks jar, I added another layer and wrapped a piece of lace covered burlap around the jar before adding the label. Again, I used tape for a temporary hold, but you could also use hot glue with the burlap for a more permanent wrap. The burlap was from Michaels as well, came in a pre-cut roll and was a deal when using the always available 40% regular priced items coupon – my favorite!

The one and only problem with our s’mores by the fire idea…it was August 5th. That means it was hot!! This summer has also been quite humid so as we began scooting our chairs back because we were sweating from the heat of the fire we realized this was going to be somewhat short lived for the evening! It was still fun and we’re looking forward to more s’more making this Fall; the nights are already cooling down significantly!

All in all, I think it’s safe to say Hailey had a wonderful 13th birthday and now we’re on to the unpredictable teenage years; I hear it will all be worth it! 😉

I hope you’ve all been having an enjoyable summer! I know it’s exciting that fall is right around the corner – I am looking forward to hoodie weather, apple picking and pumpkin everything, but let’s also remember we have 8 more glorious days of summer! Savor that swimsuit, watermelon and frozen everything just a bit longer!

 

As always, thanks for reading!!