Raylee is turning two this month, and I can't believe it. I had originally decided we would do a very small, simple party for her. But then we found out we were expecting and we would have the gender ultrasound just days before her party. Not to mention, we just love both our families (big families) and we wanted a chance for them all to see our new house, especially after we had completed so many projects. So we went big! I decided to do a bee theme and host a bee-day party that doubled as a gender reveal party. We ended up having around 50 people come, so thank goodness we have a pretty big Continue Reading
Baby #2 On The Way
I realized the other day that I haven't actually announced our big news on the blog yet. I've announced on my Facebook and Instagram pages, so you've probably seen. But in case you aren't a social media person, but like to read my blog, I didn't want you to miss out on our big news! You may have noticed I had an extra plump belly in the photos of my last post where I shared about my favorite cleaning tools. That would be because I've got baby #2 growing inside there! We found out we were expecting the day before Thanksgiving. We felt we were both ready to have another little one, so we had Continue Reading
Twin Beach Gender Reveal Party
My sister-in-law is pregnant with twins and will be having them sometime in the next two months. We are all so excited for them! When I found out that she would be finding out the genders right around the time we would all be doing our family vacation in Florida, I kind of begged her to do a gender reveal party on the beach. In fact, I offered to plan the whole thing. Thankfully, she agreed to it! With the help of our other family members, we all threw a fantastic beach gender reveal party for twins! Photo by MindyAnna Photography Beach Gender Reveal Details I came up with a few gender Continue Reading
Sunshine First Birthday Party
Wow, I can't believe I have a 1-year-old! Like I said in this post, her first birthday party was more for me than her. I did survive 9 months straight without sleeping through the night and kept all three of us alive, so a celebration was in order. We decided to do a sunshine first birthday theme because Raylee is "our little sunshine." Look at the name of my blog, how could I not use this theme? We had around 25 people come to celebrate with us, and it was a blast! I was afraid Raylee might be shy or fussy with so many people filling our house, but she was actually happy and smiley. I Continue Reading
Baseball Gender Reveal Party
Pink and blue -- that's what most people do for a gender reveal party. But we aren't most people. We've had the idea for a baseball gender reveal party for almost a year now. Travis loves baseball. He still has all his baseball memorabilia from when he was a kid. He took me to my first MLB game, and we had so much fun. So we loved the idea of finding out the gender using a baseball and bat. I'm so excited to share all the details of our party. But first I want to say a big thank you to our family that came. I started to thank them all at the party, but I got choked up so I kept it Continue Reading
How to be a Good Guest in Korea
Every culture is different. When you visit a new country, you want to show respect as you experience a new culture and meet new people. Are you visiting Korea? Or perhaps you are moving or already living there? If you've been invited to a party or dinner by local Koreans, this post will give you tips to make sure you are a good guest, showing respect to your hosts. These are tips on Korean etiquette to remember when visiting this culture that is several thousands years old. How to be a Good Guest in Korea Avoid eye contact. Unlike Western culture, looking into an acquaintance's Continue Reading
Dinner Party Menu Ideas
Last week, I had my first dinner party in my new house. Remember how I've talked about how hospitality is on my heart lately? Well, this was one way I could extend hospitality to some of my favorite people. I made tacos. I borrowed a card table from my grandparents and some extra chairs too. I baked a small pan of brownies. I made a pitcher of lemonade. And I welcomed them into my unfinished home, to sit at my table and commune with me. I think they enjoyed my hospitality. But I definitely know that I enjoyed hosting them. The few days leading up to that party had been rough. I had felt Continue Reading
Save the Date: It’s Party Time!
Guess what ya’ll! Something new and exciting is about to happen at Seeing Sunshine. Bust out the confetti! I’m throwing a party! A Facebook party! Yes, put on your party hats! What’s a Facebook party? It’s where all you party animals get into your comfy pj’s, grab a snack (I recommend something sweet) and join me on your computers to interact with each other and win some prizes. That’s my kind of party! The party will be Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. EST. That’s the first day of fall! Yes, we are celebrating my favorite season! If you are still not too sure what I’m talking about, let me Continue Reading
Neighborhood Ice Cream Social
Remember when I wrote that post about striving for hospitality? Well, I didn't want my hospitality toward my neighbors to end with a plate of brownies. I wanted to do more. Late one night, as I laid in bed trying to sleep while my mind did the opposite of sleep, I remembered reading a post called How to Host an Ice Cream Social This Summer. (Read that post here.) The idea stuck with me. Everyone loves ice cream, right? I worked all the details out in my head that night before eventually falling asleep. The next day, I told my husband about the idea, and to my surprise, he wanted to do Continue Reading
Bachelorette Party Ideas
I always meant to write a post sharing about my bachelorette party, but I just never got around to it for some reason. Now, eight months later I'm finally going to tell you all about it! My maid of honor Aubrey planned my bachelorette party, and I had a fantastic time. She decorated, made food, planned games, bought gifts, and even made something very special for me with the help of my friends. The best part about my party was it didn't include anyone getting drunk. I really wanted to celebrate my singleness in a clean, fun way. No bars, no clubs, no dirty decorations -- that's just not Continue Reading
Holiday Roundup: Munchies
It's my final holiday roundup! Today, I'm sharing lots of recipes for snacks and munchies to enjoy at: parties, game nights, movie nights, and get-togethers. These snacks are great for munching on while traveling or you can even bottle them up and give them as gifts! So many options ... and so many snacks! Let's recap the yummy munchies I've shared with you. Garlic Ranch Pretzels Goldfish Snack Mix Crock Pot Chex Mix Ranch Oyster Crackers Those were all delicious! Travis has already been asking me to make more. But there are tons of other yummy snacks too. Here are some recipes from Continue Reading
Holiday Munchies: Goldfish Snack Mix
The holidays are a time of playing games and bonding as a family, and everybody knows all that quality time makes you hungry. I love having munchies around to snack on during a great game of canasta. Not to mention snacks for traveling and the fun New Year's Eve party. That's why I'm doing a series called Holiday Munchies. Last week in the series, I shared a Garlic Ranch Pretzels recipe. But ya'll know how much I love goldfish (the snack not the kind that actually swims!), so this week I'm sharing a Goldfish Snack Mix with you. These little fishies have a great flavor! And even though they Continue Reading