Ahoy Mateys...It's a Birthday Celebration!!!!

It's (almost Jacob's 4th Birthday)

Our sweet boy turns 4 at the end of the month.  However, with baby due any day now, we decided to celebrate a couple of weeks early.  I really wanted him to have his special day!!  Plus, we have been pretty excited about this party for awhile now.  We would have had one devastated little boy on our hands if we had to cancel.

Anywho...Jacob is OBSESSED with the new Disney show, "Jake and the Neverland Pirates".  So, picking a theme for this year's party was easy peasy and oh so fun!!  Check it out below....

 Cupcake area

The big ship to the left is Bucky.  He is one of the stars of the show.

 Having a pirate party meant that all guests needed to have pirate attire.  I made swords out of cardboard and covered them with foil and electrical tape.  I thought they turned out really cute!!  I also made felt eye patches, and everyone got bandanas.  The main part of the party also included a treasure map.  More on that in a bit.

 Close up of the unrolled treasure map

 Yes.  We made a pirate ship out of a big cardboard box.  Go ahead....you can give us the parent of the year award!! HA!!  In all honesty, this kid could not have been more excited about his ship.  It had a steering wheel and everything.  And, it looks complicated, but it was actually very easy to put together. 

 Practicing walking the plank while waiting for friends to arrive

 What a happy birthday boy!!!

Oh - and of course he had to dress up like Jake from the show

 Steering his ship

 Funny PapaDoc dressed up like a pirate too

 Most of the kiddos 

They all loved playing in the ship

 They don't make pinatas like they used to.

We ended up having to get Jared to bust it open.

They all enjoyed whacking it though.

 Candy Time

 Treasure Maps for Everyone!!!

This next part was so fun to put together

We set up an obstacle course leading to "buried" treasure

 Checking out the map

Where do we go first?....

 Bucky's Cave

 Crocodile Creek

(kids had to jump through the hoola hoops)

 Hook's Treasure Island

(digging for gold and jewels)

 Where to next?....

 Touching Pirate Rock

 Swabbing the Deck

(had to use the broom to sweep the soccer ball around the cones)

 Cannonball Blast

 We spray painted styrofoam balls black to look like cannons.  The kids had to throw the cannons in to the ocean (or in this case the kiddie pool).

 Walking the Plank

 X marks the spot

 Jacob found his treasure

 Eating his birthday cupcake

 Present Time

 October Birthday Buddies

Jacob and his precious friend Addy

These two are just so adorable together!!

 Jacob with his grandparents - Coach and Mot Mot

 Me and my two favorite boys

 My sweet boy

 little bit made it the party too

35 weeks - WAHOO!!!

I had been joking with people that I just needed to make it through the party and the baby could come anytime after that.  Seriously though....sweet little one....you really can come anytime you want!!!  We are so ready to meet you!!!  And, I'm ready to not have swollen feet. :)

 After rest we of course had to go back out and have some more fun.  We played in the cave and of course the ship.

 Samson even joined in on the fun

Digging for more buried treasure

What a wonderful day of celebrating our Jacob's 4th birthday!!!  I still can't believe in 12 days we will have a 4 year old.  Where is the time going?  I don't know, but I sure am going to soak up every minute of it that I can.  Jacob - I love you so much and am so proud of the big boy you are becoming!!!!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

This picture is so dear to me.  My sweet, sweet Papa who passed away a few years ago was an avid fisherman.  When he passed away, Jared received his tackle box and fishing poles.  Getting read for our trip this weekend involved getting Jacob ready for his first fishing experience.  A few nights before we left we had to get his tackle box together.  It was such a tender moment for me watching my son go through my Papa's things and pick out lures, worms, etc...to use on his trip.  There were several things that my Papa never got around to opening.  Jacob picked up one of the packs and said, "I think Papa got this for us to use."  Ya'll...I lost it.  I miss that man's presence in my life so much.  And I know with every fiber in my being that he and Jacob would have been the best of buddies.  I'm sure he was so proud looking down from heaven watching his great-grandson following in his footsteps.  Hopefully Jacob will grow to love fishing as much as he did.

We headed to Pigeon Forge for some Labor Day weekend fun.  Knowing that this was our last little getaway as family of three was bitter-sweet for me.  I wanted to soak up every minute of it.  Oh - and my parents and sister joined in too.

 Going fishing our first morning

 Learning to cast

 Doesn't get better than this

 Coach joining in the action

 Doesn't he look like a professional?...

 I think so

Ahhhh...I love this guy so much!!!

 Looking for rocks

 We found this cool slide and of course we had to go it

 Playing a little soccer

 Working a puzzle

 Learning to play Go Fish

And look...he got a match

 We took a tour of the Titanic museum.  Jacob is obsessed with pirates and ships right now.  From the moment we pulled into town he wanted to go visit the big ship.  Unfortunately, they don't allow photography so I don't have any pictures.  This one is of Jacob telling my dad all about the Titanic.  He was fascinated....Jacob, not my dad. Ha!

 This was the amazing view from our cabin

How can someone look at this and not believe in God?

The next morning we woke up and went for a big pancake breakfast.  After stuffing ourselves we decided to go for a drive up into the mountains.

 Family Shot

 That afternoon we had a terrible storm.  It rained harder than I have seen in a long time.  Jacob and my sister were so cute looking out the window at the rain that I couldn't resist a snapshot.

That night we went to eat at this really neat place called The Old Mill.  It was still raining when we were there, so I couldn't take any pictures. But, the food will forever live on in my mind. :)

The other thing Jacob really wanted to do was ride go karts.  The Lord was so merciful to stop the rain in time for my baby to gain some speed.

 I don't think he likes it at all ya'll....

 That face just says it all

 We also let him go for a little ride on the tea cups

Momma loves these kind of rides, but opted out being pregnant and all

 Hanging out on the porch our least evening there

That porch was awesome and where we spent most of our time

I realize that yes, I am pregnant, but I feel so huge in this picture

 29 weeks....ahhhhhh

 Me and the hubs

 No words

 Saying goodbye...to bad it was so foggy out that we couldn't capture the mountains in the background

Headed home

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great weekend.  I'm so thankful for these times I get to be with the ones I love the most!!  The only way it could have been better would have been to have Samson there! :)