101 in 1001 · Atwell Adventures · With Our Family

21. host a nephew/niece slumber party

One of the things on my 101 in 1001 list that I was eager to do since writing it, was host a nephew/niece slumber party.

Living in a different city than our families only allows us to spend limited time with them, so we wanted to steal them from their parents for a weekend so we could have fun!

After figuring out a date that worked for them, we mailed some invitations. The funny thing I didn’t really think about – only 3 of the 10 we invited can really read. Oh well, details 😉

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The invitation didn’t really give a whole lot away, it just invited them on an Atwell Adventure (again, some didn’t understand that Atwell is our last name, ha…)

A few weeks before I sent them postcards asking some of their favorite things (pizza toppings, snacks, candy, etc) and what they thought we were going to be doing when they came to visit.  It was so fun for me to receive their cards back in the mail – and it really helped making grocery shopping easier before too!

When it finally came time to pick them up, Gary and I headed to Macon in to separate cars so that we could haul eight little ones back to our 1200 square foot town home.

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Throughout the weekend, we had a jar of activities and each one got to pick one, starting from oldest to youngest.  What they didn’t know was that I had the activities planned out, and I changed the papers each time we drew a new one. (#shhhhhhh)

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We started out the adventure with burgers and hot dogs for dinner, a few Minute to Win-It challenges thrown in for fun, and ended the night with watching Heavyweights!

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The next morning, Gary headed off to work for a few hours and I tried to hold down the fort with breakfast, movies, baths, and lunch.  It was a relief joy to welcome him back home at lunchtime!

With Gary home we started some of our next activities: tie-dye shirts, a visit to AirStrike trampoline park {the groups favorite part of the weekend}, Dippin Dots before dinner, and pizza night! Proper nutrition doesn’t count when you’re with your aunt and uncle, right?

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More games and movies before everyone drifted off to dreamland.

The next morning we got up and everyone dressed and fed before our final two adventures: putt-putt and Chick-fil-A!  I will say that putt-putt didn’t go over as well as I thought it would… but how could we not, living in the golf capitol of the world? #Augusta

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Before heading back to meet their parents halfway, we got all the kids together and posed for a quick picture.  I need to print this and display it – so many personalities and memories wrapped up in one photo!

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Big thanks to my husband for letting me run with this idea and to their parents for letting me keep their children for 48 hours 🙂

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With Our Family

st. patrick’s day treat

I know we’re still a few days away from St. Patrick’s Day, but I had to finish these early so they make it in the mail to my favorite little leprechauns {also known as, my nephews and nieces}!

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Every so often, I try to send things {usually candy} in the mail to family.  I love getting things in the mail {as told here} – but even more than that – I love getting videos of my nephews and nieces opening surprises in the mail, while their parents usually comment on the excessive amounts of sugar the children hold in their hands. What else are aunts and uncles for? 🙂

I saw the idea of a “rainbow seeds” a few weeks ago on Pinterest and decided to create some of my own.  Once I finished creating the label, I printed on cardstock, folded down the middle, and secured it to a snack size ziploc bag of rainbow seeds {chewy sweet tarts}.  A sweet, colorful, inexpensive treat from Aunt Rachel & Uncle Gary {which hopefully they will remember for and ever when asked who is their favorite}!

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Do you send surprises in the mail?

With Our Family

40 hours in macon

This past Thursday I made a quick trip to Macon {where most of my family lives} and like any quick trip to see 20 people, it was busy!

On Friday night I got to celebrate my niece Addie’s first birthday!  This little girl loves seeing herself in the camera, and I love seeing her love herself in the camera!

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After carb-loading on pizza Friday night, some of us woke up Saturday morning for a 5k.  Clearly, we were the top five finishers.

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And a 5k with family wouldn’t be complete without a post-run trip to Starbucks. {photo not included but just imagine a beautiful caramel macchiato’s with two of my four sisters} #TreatYoSelf

Before I drove back home on Saturday afternoon, the stars aligned and I got to see Sara! Sara and I worked together my last year in Macon, and although it was only a year, it was a big year in my life {dating G, engagement, wedding planning} and Sara was a “fabulous” friend through all that chaos.  This was the first time we’ve been able to see each other since July – and bonus – this was the first time to see her since her and her husband announced they were pregnant!

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I love weekends like this 🙂 Thankful for family and friends that make life so sweet!