4tunate

This weekend we celebrated our quadruplet boys 5th birthday with an ultimate Sugar Fest!  We threw a Candy Land Themed party with sweets and treats. How could one go wrong with old fashioned candies, brownies, cakes, and cookies? 

I went the simple route with invitations, and sent this one via Pingg.com

The boys were so excited about all the decorations and getting to help decorate their cake.

It turned out even better than I expected, and they LOVED having a part in their party preparations. The Candy Land Cake was a vanilla spice sheet cake with cream cheese frosting topped with a variety of assorted candies – Now & Laters, Conversation Hearts, Rainbow Twizzlers, Rainbow Lollipops, Red Hots, and Candy Dots. (Yes, the superhero and basketball attire is par for the course most mornings.)

I also loved how these Lollipop Cookies turned out.  It’s a simple sugar cookie dough rolled and cut out into circles, baked and immediately sprinkled, and then decorated with a swirl of icing.  The lollipop outside is a colored paper plate with a cookie pop stick hot glued to the back.

The table was so fun to decorate and set up with a variety of old fashioned candies: cinnamon sticks, sour cherry balls, gumballs, malt balls, jelly beans, peanut brittle, lollipops, brownies, angel food cake, and taffy. (I found a lot of these treats at Cracker Barrel.)

Seriously, have you seen a more colorful and fun cake ever in your life?

Blowing out the “5” candle together…

It had been 3 years since we’ve thrown a birthday party for the boys, so it was fun to have a house full of family and friends to help us celebrate.

One of my sweet friends, Kate, happened to be in town from Ohio with her sweet baby, Desmond.  Y’all, I have NEVER seen a more content and happy baby in my life.  I couldn’t get enough of him (or his mama)!

And our neighbor Scot, who was also celebrating his birthday just returned for a 2 week military R&R from the Middle East.  The boys look up to him so much as their “real-life superhero”. Thank you so much for your service to our country, Scot, we are praying for your continued safety!

The present opening was massive chaos, and over the top! Thank you sweet friends and family for your generosity and for loving on our boys!

11 Boys swarming around the boy toys. LOVED IT!

And the birthday party aftermath. Tons of great new entertainment and wonderful 5th birthday memories!

I can’t even fathom how much it would cost to take our family of six to a NBA Indiana Pacers game with lower level tickets. I’m thinking it could pretty much pay for a vacation somewhere warm. But when six tickets were offered for FREE through a friend of Brad’s in his professional organization, we were GAME! (HUGE THANKS JOSH!!!)

The boys were amazed by it all and lasted the entire game… well past their bedtime.

The mascot, Boomer, was a big hit of the night.  Isaac got a “rescued” (aka Goodwill find) Reggie Miller jersey for Christmas that he insists on wearing every single day while he shoots hoops with his Little Tikes basketball hoop for hours a day.  No exaggeration…HOURS!

Remember how he could shoot hoops at age 2?  The dream continues…

Not much competes with getting to take in a professional basketball with a son or two on your lap.

The energy was still going strong after the game, which led to a victory dance outside the newly renamed Banker’s Life Fieldhouse.  

The adventures never end with these little dudes! 

These simple hot deli sandwiches are a family favorite.  It makes for a quick dinner, an appetizer, or you can even make extra and freeze these for fast lunches. We love these for family get-togethers this time of year and they pair wonderfully with a warm bowl of soup.

Every time I’m meal planning Brad suggests these and I always forget just how simple they really are!  There are several variations to this recipe, but this one is easy to remember and beats a plain ole deli sandwich any day!

Simple Hot Mini Deli Sandwiches Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1lb. of Your Favorite Deli Meat (I usually do roast beef, ham, or turkey or a combination)
• 1/2 lb. of Baby Swiss Cheese
• 12 Dinner Rolls (I use the Sweet Hawaiian Rolls)
• 1/4 c. Melted Butter
• 1 T of Poppy Seeds
• 1 T of Dried Minced Onions
• 1 T of Dry Mustard
• 1 T of Worcestershire Sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice dinner rolls in half and place in a 9×13 pan.
3. Layer deli meat and cheese.
4. Mix the remaining ingredients into the melted butter.
5. Brush the butter mixture on the tops of the rolls and cover with foil.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 7 minutes.
7. Remove foil and allow the tops of the rolls to brown for an additional 5-7 minutes in the warm oven.

What’s your favorite warm sandwich?