back to school feast 2016

our second annual back to school feast came with much anticipation...from me! i figured by the time this rolled around we'd be in our house, organized, everything in its' place, yadayadayada... while technically we're not all those things, we are pretty darn close. the major stuff is done (besides our closet!) and i'm just doing a little bit every day while trying to keep three little girls alive. not to mention get a five year old ready to send off to school!

the theme this year comes from a talk given by president monson in the april 2014 general conference. when i started thinking about and looking for our new theme, i knew i wanted something really simple this year, but something that meant a lot. when i found this quote it hit me like a ton of bricks and i knew it was it!

(thanks googs!)

i absolutely love it and i hope that we will always have it in the back of our minds and that brooklyn might benefit from it as she goes out into the big scary world!

just like our theme, the feast itself was very simple. using the basic primary colors, and basic basic food, i threw it all together in an hour. but the girls always make me feel like it's the greatest thing in the world with their oohs and aahs. they mostly loved, just like last year, clinking their glasses together and saying cheers with the sparkling cider. 

on the menu:

bbq chicken

mashed potatoes & gravy

corn on the cob

rolls w/peach jam

pickled beans

watermelon

sparkling cider

raspberry lemonade

this girl! 

the day before, i put our peach tree (that i love!) to good use and made some jam. so of course, we had to put it on our rolls. homemade jam can't be beat!

after dinner was the 'fashion show'. brooklyn's favorite part! she had a red carpet and everything. kendall loved jumping in at the end to model their new jammies.

and adalyn was such a good girl through all of it. she just goes with the flow and admires the chaos all around her. she's such a good baby!

then it was time for priesthood blessings. it's safe to say that brooklyn was almost just as excited for this as the 'fashion show'. she loves getting blessings from her dad. and kendall loves that she gets to hop up there right after her big sister and get a blessing from her daddy too.

while i can hardly believe brooklyn is heading off to kindergarten, i am so excited for her! i've been in that kindergarten classroom, i know the fun things that happen, i know the all friends she'll make, and i know she's going to love it! there might be a few mama tears shed, but man i really am so happy that she is so excited about this big new adventure she's about to start.

we ended the night with peach crisp and vanilla ice cream, watched a football movie (because byu football starts in 6 days... james has been counting down since like 100 days), and put the girls in bed. they don't realize that summer is almost technically over so i'll keep my sadness about that to myself and put on a happy face. and really, i'll be SO excited for fall once labor day comes and goes. because fall.... fall is my favorite!