{Umbrellas/Pillows/Towels/Flamingo}
Last Saturday we hosted a summer party for my husband’s firm. I have to admit. I was a little nervous. I host summer parties at my house all the time of course, but they usually include pizza, popsicles and large groups of guests who range between 5 and 12 years old. Guests who sometimes fight over our flamingo floaty.
Nobody fought over our flamingo floaty at this party. :)
I took the picture above right before everyone started to arrive.
Before long the music was playing, people were mingling and I felt like I could finally relax after several days of getting the house and yard ready.
I know you’re all wondering if I whipped up a mad batch of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches or banana bread muffins to serve our guests, but no. The firm had the party catered so this guy did all of the cooking. (My husband’s associates know me well.) ;) I have to say that the food was amazing. The best BBQ and he cooked everything in this cool wagon grill in front of our house.
The two of us became good buddies and I told him that maybe next time I’d join him and teach him a few of my tricks.
My husband works with a lot of amazing people, many who have become good friends over the years. It was so fun catching up with them all and meeting new summer associates.
For two days straight before the party I was cleaning the inside of our house like a mad woman. My husband kept giving me a hard time. “What are you doing!? The party is outside and so is a bathroom.. nobody will even come in the house.”
The first group of people came through our side gates to the backyard, said hi and then asked if they could take a tour of the house. I smiled and shot my husband a look he knows all too well…
“Do you want to tell me I’m always right now.. or later?”
I was giving house tours for most of the night. I knew people would want to see the house because when I go to a party in a fairly new or renovated home (or really any home for that matter!) I always want to see the house too! I get it. Why my husband doesn’t get it is beyond me. But needless to say, I was glad I cleaned like a mad woman for two days. Closets and all! And I’m always right.
He chose to tell me later. ;)
I told my girls that I’d pay them some babysitting money if they could keep Kole upstairs and entertained for a few hours. They did a great job, but the party lasted longer than we thought it would, so after a while they all three migrated outside and joined the fun.
El made a few friends quickly.
And showed them some of her best tricks.
Then everyone tried to copy her and that was a good time. We only ended up with one bloody nose so I’d call it a successful afternoon spent on the trampoline. ;)
One by one our guests started to hug us good-bye and leave. I was sad to see everyone go! It really was such a fun party.
It was about the time Kole usually goes to bed and he was loving that mom was pre-occupied and not noticing that little fact. He and El jumped in the water, turned on the pool lights and enjoyed a night swim while we were cleaning up.
Clean-up took a while and it was dark before we finally made it inside and got the kids to bed.
Kenny and I sat down on the couch and he was asleep within 5 minutes. All that socializing just wore him right out. I watched TV for an hour enjoying a quiet, clean house but woke up the next morning with a headache, sore throat and a scratchy voice.
Guess all that cleaning and house touring wore me right out. :)
Aside from tired, we felt so grateful the next day. Really grateful for good friends and fun summer memories made in our home.
Grateful tired.
It’s the best kind of tired there is.
:)
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I love that you share your home with people. I feel like if you are blessed with things, you need to share your blessings. You do that well! Your back yard is gorgeous!
Thank you sweet Angela! I feel the same way. Such a kind thing to say. And congrats on the move! We got your cute card in the mail. :) xo
Such a beautiful home inside and out! :)
Thank you so much Karen! So kind of you! xo
Now that looked like a very cool party! I can well imagine you working your buns off to get everything just right. You have such a lovely space to have a party, too. Yep, you were smart to clean the inside. I’ll bet all your readers get it, too. Maybe your hunny will remember from here on out. Your daughter is exceptionally limber, it looks like. Wowza! And those pool lights are awesome. I hope you didn’t get sick after all this! Thanks so much for sharing. It looks like a complete success! Well done! Hugs!
Thank you Jeanne! You really are the sweetest. I’m feeling much better today! I think I just needed a couple of days to recover. ;) Wish you lived closer! I’d have you and your sweet kids over to swim in a heartbeat. xo
I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your blog. You have such a cute way of expressing yourself, and you never take yourself too seriously! It’s always such a treat to wake up to a post! Also, your home is absolutely beautiful! (And your family darling) :)
Cathy! What a sweet comment. Thank you so much! It means so much to me that you feel that way. Really.. it does. Your kind words just completely made my day! xo
Looks like a fun party! Hope you were joking about the bloody nose…ouch! Also – You have an outdoor bathroom you haven’t shown us?!
Thanks Kaitlin! I wish I was joking! Not too much blood but at one point we had about 10 adults jumping on the trampoline and one walked away with a hurt nose. :( And yes! I should take pics of that bathroom.. good idea! It’s not much. Just a small pool bath we put in so kids don’t run through the house soaking wet when they need to go! :) xo
Looks like a good time was had by all and what a cute idea for a bbq truck. Making me hungry right now :-)
Ha! Oh my word Amy.. we are still eating the leftovers! Wish you could come over and have some with me for lunch today! xo
What a gorgeous set up for a party!! I LOVE the pool lights. What a beautiful glow they give off. And can I just say El’s trampoline skills are Olympic worthy. WOW!
Thank you Pamela! You are such a sweetheart! I don’t know about Olympic worthy but she is definitely going places with her gymnastic/dance skills. We can’t keep up with her! I’m a proud mom for sure. ;) xo
What a beautiful pool !! It looks amazing at night with pool lights on.
Thank you Shmyla! xo
That looks so fun! You have the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen- just wonderful!!
You are too kind Lindsay! Thank you so much. :) xo
I love the cool pool colors!!! so fun to have a great party around the pool!! and those husbands never seem to realize that we’re always right!!! lol I laughed really hard when the guy was trying to do the tricks on the trampoline lol I feel the same way at my daughter’s gymnastics class… they should have an adult class and supply lots of advil after :-)
I know.. right!? That’s how I feel too when I’m trying to do tricks on the trampoline! Ha! :) Thanks Aria! xo
Why the second ring around the trampoline? You have the trampoline, and then grass, and another ring.
Our landscaper didn’t want to put grass right next to the trampoline because it’s hard to edge and mow so we put fake grass up next to it. Just easier for maintenance and the kids have a little ring to sit on when they are taking turns on the trampoline. :)
I was wondering this as well. Good to know. :-)
Looks like a great time had by all. Beautiful home!
What does your husband do for work?
Love it! I can’t wait until we have a nice backyard to entertain in! Love your pool lights! El is such a great dancer/gymnast!
Thank you Joanna! :) xo
Grateful tired, I like that! Great way to put it! I need to think that next time I throw a birthday party for you one of my kids!
Of course everyone would want to see your house! I don’t think any one could come to your home and not be dying for a tour!
Love El meeting the grown ups and showing her moves! Look at her legs! Wow! I’m dying to see her dance, seeing how strong and flexible she’s become!
Oh my word Josie.. birthday parties are a different story.. ha! :) Thank you cutie! Can’t believe you haven’t been to my house yet! We need to get you out of newborn land and down for a visit! ;) xo
I can’t believe I haven’t either! Can you handle us with four kids?! So weird to say I have four!
Well I hate to say I told you so.. but.. Ha! ;) You are an amazing mom Josie and were meant to have 4! They are lucky kids. :) xo
Love it!!! What a fantastic term “grateful tired!”
Thank you Katie! :) xo
I hear ya girlfriend! We hosted about 60 or so for the Baylor Send Off party on Saturday. Whew. Oh, and I cooked too…chips and salsa bar. And, believe you me…I cleaned from top to bottom too. LOL Men?!!!
Lauren! Oh my word… and you cooked!? You are my hero! Bet it was a great time. :)
I really laughed.. my husband would have said the exact same thing and I would have done the same as you… men!!
Looks like an incredible fun time!
Oh my word.. they are clueless aren’t they!? Ha! Thanks Heidi! :) xo
Always love seeing your pictures! I’ve been following your blog for so long and I also cannot picture where your pool bathroom is :)
Looks like a fun party!
Thank you so much Anne! Means a lot to me you’ve been reading so long. :) I’ll have to share our pool bathroom soon! xo
Erin, I have to say I had to control myself from laughing at a couple of your stories here (because I’m reading this at work). I totally agree with you about cleaning your house before a party and you being always right, because people still may want to see the inside. I wish I could get a tour of your house in person. So gorgeous! I get asked this too whenever there’s new people to come to our home. I also love getting house tours of friends’ homes. I actually miss house hunting because of this fact. Your in-ground trampoline looks so much fun and El is quite the athlete! It seems everyone enjoyed seeing her do her tricks! Funny or not so funny about the bloody nose incident though. Oh, and I love your pool at night! The different colored lights are amazing! You are so blessed! Thank you for sharing!
You are such a sweetheart Debbie! Thank you! I know.. house touring is so much fun! One of my favorite things to do! I loved house hunting too for that very reason. Thanks for your sweet comment cutie! It made my day. Hope I didn’t get you into trouble at work. ;) xo
You have the absolute best yard and home for a party! Love those pool lights😍 I’m sure your guests were beyond amazed at your beautiful home….pat yourself on the back😉😘
Xoxo
Oh you are too sweet Shauna! Thank you! Can’t wait to have you come and stay at some point! But first.. next week!! YEA! :) xo
Hi Erin! First of all, your home is beautiful and your backyards is amazing not to mention you are just so darn adorable and real which I love!! I was wondering where your outdoor umbrellas came from. I love that they tilt which is probably necessary for really hot days like I have in Florida! Please share if you can. Thanks so much and keep being you!!
Lisa
Lisa! What a sweet thing to say. Thank you! You made my day. :) I got those outdoor umbrellas from Pottery Barn! I linked to the exact ones at the top of the post under that first picture. I agree… love that they tilt! That’s why I chose them. So nice to be able to move them around when the sun moves! Thanks again for your sweet words Lisa! They meant a lot to me. :) xo
I love your house and your backyard. We started building our house two weeks ago – I wish I could copy yours. 😍😍 I have been reading your blog for years, but don’t comment much. I enjoy reading it a lot. Sometimes I just wish that all the companies that you mention would also exist in Germany 😉 have a great weekend 🤗
Thank you so much Vera! It means a lot to me that you have been reading so long! Best of luck with your new house.. so exciting! And so nice to hear from you. :) xo
Beautiful home and outdoor space! We are looking into installing an in-ground trampoline and I was hoping you might be able to share any advice you might have? Which trampoline you ended up purchasing and if a landscaper installed it? I’m having such a difficult time trying to get this project off the ground! (so to speak) :)
Hi Jenica! I’ve been meaning to write a post on that and just keep forgetting! We did have a landscaper install it and it was called the Airmaster. It’s 16 feet.. the biggest one we could find! :) I’ll try to write a post about it soon! I took pics when they were installing it. xo
Thank you, Erin! I can’t wait to read your trampoline blog!
I’m also interested in the trampoline post. What happens to the water when it rains? How far down did they have to dig?
Hi Jen! I’ll be writing a post on this soon! :) xo
Wow what a perfect home for a party! Looks like so much fun!! I don’t blame you for spending 2 days cleaning, I would be the same way, you just never know! This may be too personal but do you have a cleaning service come through your house to vacuum/dust/etc.? Or do you do everything yourself? I can barely keep my apartment clean so I wonder how you keep your whole house looking perfect!!
Hi Chelsea! Thank you so much! I do have cleaners who help! There is no way I could do it all on my own. :) I wrote all about my cleaning routine in this post.. I hope it’s helpful! :) xo
https://www.thesunnysideupblog.com/2016/07/7-secrets-keep-house-clean-organized/