© 2014 sarahfortune.
As you know from Iris’ CVS birthday party, we LOVE a good theme. So when Iris (who still loves CVS, but is now way into Stranger Things) turned ELEVEN, we had only one choice. I made a fun little Reel to recap the party & have a ton of photos following. Now, the count down to season five (and age 12) is on!
As crazy as it is to type, Iris had her SEVENTH birthday party this October! She decided that she wanted to have another year celebrating with a big party at our house, so that’s exactly what we did. I discovered that for $150 a shaved ice truck would come to your house, so once that was booked our theme was set. A Hawaiian luau in October! We’ve lucked out with the most perfect weather every year for her birthday (October birthdays are truly magical for this very reason), but the forecast called for cold rain on the afternoon of her party (not the most ideal setting for an outdoor luau with a frozen ice truck as the main attraction). Somehow, the birthday gods came through for another year – the clouds literally parted, the sun shone, the temperature sat perfectly in the lower 70s. And I kid you not, as soon as the last guest left, the clouds pulled back together, the temperatures suddenly dropped, and we felt the first raindrops of the day. With lucky number seven we were treated to a magical birthday once again.
Five years ago I began the search for our first beach trip as a family of three. I started out looking at Gulf Shores in Alabama, but realized if we drove just a little bit further (and paid just a little bit more), we could stay in this quaint little town called Rosemary Beach. Several friends had recommended spots along 30a, but it took going there to really understand what all the fuss was about
Fast forward five years and we just took our fifth annual trip to Rosemary Beach (see all of our posts here). So far, we’ve been during the month of May every year when it’s not unbearably hot or too humid, the crowds have yet to arrive, and the pricing is much more affordable. Since we go to the same beach every year, we like to select a different house to make each trip unique. Our first two vacations included only Todd, Iris, and myself so we rented cute little carriage houses, which were just perfect for our size family. The third year our pals Seth and Ashlee joined us (where they told us they were pregnant!) and the past two years, the Jones family hopped into the mix.
I am a serious vacation planner, so I start my beach house search early. As soon as our trip was over last year, I found the perfect spot for 2018: a house ON THE BEACH. That is almost unheard of in Rosemary and, if you do find one, it’s ridiculously priced. So yes, this year we totally lucked out. Being in our favorite beach town right there at the edge of the sand made for an easy breezy vacation. So knowing all of that, you shouldn’t be surprised that our beach house for 2019 is already booked! While not right on the water, we are just a one minute walk away from the sand in a lovely, three story home overlooking Rosemary’s playground.
But that trip is nearly a year away. So in the meantime, here are some of my favorite photos from this year’s stay (with a few adventures to Seaside and Alys Beach too!).
Hip hip hooray! Iris had another birthday! This year we gave her the choice of having a smaller birthday party at a fun location or a big party at our house. She opted for the latter and I didn’t complain. Even though there’s a lot of prep no matter how “simple” I keep it, there’s a casual ease about having it at home. Plus there’s wine. Hah.
Anyway, this year Iris chose two themes so I tried my best to blend them together – a unicorn and candy party! The weather called for rain, but it ended up being the most beautiful, crisp October afternoon. That morning when she woke up, we led her on a scavenger hunt where we FINALLY unveiled her big birthday present – a trip to Disney World. I will share the scavenger hunt on a future blog post because, honestly, I put way more planning into that than her party.
For now though, here are a few pictures…
This past weekend we went to Iris’ Nana & Poppy’s house in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Their house is what grandchild dreams are made of. Nestled right on the Little Red River, we navigated between the homemade cookies and sweet tea inside, to the cool fog on on the dock outside. Trying to take advantage of the scenery, Iris and I had fun wearing dresses and having an impromptu photo shoot (my dress & Iris’ dress both courtesy of Velveteen).
