Grad Party-Texas Style!

What??? We're not from Texas...

No, but our daughter will be spending at least the next four years plus (as she plans to pursue her Master's degree) in the great state of Texas.

So, what a better way to celebrate than to host a Tex Mex graduation party?

The weather could not have been MORE perfect!   Beautiful sunny skies, upper 70s-low 80s (by party's end), a light breeze and NO humidity.  Georgia in June??? That RARELY happens.  God was smiling down on her on Saturday that is for sure.

We held an Open House from 3-6, and the door was constantly opening and closing.  She had a wonderful time celebrating all her accomplishments with family and friends, a lot of whom have known her and gone to school with her since preschool/kindergarten.  It was also a great opportunity to see them all one last time before everyone's summer gets busy and they scatter next fall to many different universities and states alike!

The menu:
Taco Bar-Beef Tacos and Chicken Fajitas
The Fixin's: Lettuce, Cheese, Sour Cream, Black Olives, Jalapenos, Cilantro, Guacamole, Sauce (Mild, Medium and HOT)
Chips and SALSA, SALSA, SALSA!!!
Queso and Chili Cheese dip (YUM)
Black Eyed Pea Salsa
Carolina Caviar
And, a party would not be complete without dessert...Chocolate Fountain and Candy Bar!

So, without futher ado...the pictures!

Some recent photos of the graduate, a book for friends and family to leave Words of Wisdom for her, and a place to set cards and gifts.

Proudly displaying the flag!

Sporting the school's colors already!  Love those green skinny jeans!! (yes, mom needs to hurry up and figure out how to edit pics soon...sorry for the poor quality on this one, she took all the others!)

The spread!

We used sand pails purchased at Michael's for a $1 each to hold the various kinds of chips. It worked perfectly...even came with their own scoop (aka the shovel).  The little metal buckets holding the forks was purchased at Target, gotta love those $1 bins!!

Queso and Chili Cheese dip!

Thank goodness for friends with crock pots!

Mild, Medium or HOT???

Dessert anyone?

Candy Bar Baylor Style!!

As most of you know, our daughter played volleyball and coached.  We hung her old jerseys in the basement, along with pictures from each season for her friends to enjoy.  It was a lot of fun looking back at how much the girls on the teams have changed over the years.  Many of whom she is still very close to.

And, our daughter put together a 30 minute video for everyone to watch (she is much more computer savvy than either mom or dad), starting with the week we brought her home and ending with graduation.  Let's just say...her father and I are so thankful we watched it for the first time PRIOR to her party.  Let's just say...mom doesn't wear waterproof mascara and her daddy didn't fair much better!  It really was beautiful.

She is off to the beach with 200 from the church for relaxtion, time spent in God's word, soaking up the sun and playing a little sand volleyball (she stacked her team prior to leaving...she hates to lose). The perfect ending to a long school career thus far.