Baylor Send Off Party~

We had the pleasure of hosting the Atlanta area Baylor Send Off party on Saturday.  Each summer prior to students heading back to the University, a send off party is held in various cities around the states.  Baylor sends one or two representatives to attend the party to help answer questions parents and students might have.  Unfortunately, our representative lost a dear friend last week and could not attend as she was speaking at her funeral.

The party is a way for new students, their parents, current students, their parents and alumni to connect.  It also gives new students and their parents a chance to ask questions they may have about the university and college life on the campus in general.  Many express how much it has helped ease their fears of sending their child 12 hours away from home.  Many lasting friendships are made as well.

We decided to have a dessert social for our party.  We lucked out in that the rain held out until after the party.  The weather was perfect.

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

A little green and gold pride!

The chocolate fountain is always a hit!!

We had a local bakery make the cupcakes and cookies for the party.  The cupcake toppers I had leftover from our daughter's graduation party.  I purchased them from an Etsy shop.

The cookies were so cute!  And, hard to resist.  Baby Girl and I couldn't partake in them as they are not gluten free.  Everyone else loved them!!  If you live in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend the Patio in Johns Creek for custom baked goods.

We offered Sweet Tea, Lemonade, "Baylor" water, and of course Dr. Pepper...the official beverage of Baylor University!!  (however, my daughter will tell you that coming from Atlanta...she is still a Coke girl!!)

"Baylor" water...water, lemons and limes...Green and Gold!!!

This was quite the conversation piece.  This is an old road sign from Waco, TX.  The university's main entrance is on, of course, University Parks Drive.  A few months ago, hubby and I were at Scott's Antique Market when he spotted this in the distance.  No doubt about it, it was coming home with us!!!  Everyone wanted to know how we had acquired it.  The legal way!!! LOL

I put the new porch chalkboard to use as well.

We had a wonderful time!  Can't believe we will be heading out in less than 2 weeks!! The summer flew by, and the fact that our baby girl will be a senior (she is finishing a year early) makes it even harder to comprehend!!  My friends keep asking, "didn't you just move her in for her freshmen year?"  Seems like it.

I promise house pictures are coming this week..."if" the rain holds off long enough!!

Have a Blessed week everyone!!!

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.