Olivia's 5th Birthday Party

 

Casey and I are both in shock knowing we have a 5 year old. Which really seems silly because we could have a 13 year old considering we've been married almost 14 years.  Wowza! 

Olivia we couldn't love you any more! 

We may be a little bias but we think you are the cutest 5 year old ever. 

You are a trooper, you literally keep up on our toes everyday with what

funny things you will say or dance moves you will bust out. 

You've stuck through and been a rock in our family. 

You are hilarious in every sense of the word. 

So when I asked what kind of party you wanted to have and your response was

a "Justin Beaver" (yes Beaver) party I tried explaining to a very determined 4 year old

 that he wouldn't be able to make it you wouldn't take no for an answer. 

 

I was throwing out suggestions of your favorite things;

dancing, Tangled, skating, painting, donuts, cupcakes and on and on and on.

You wanted "Donuts and Dancing"

Why yes I can work with that. 

And bonus they are your favorite things so you actually should enjoy yourself at your party. 

Still holding out hope that Justin was going to make his appearance you were telling every stranger, friend and pet that he was coming.

Mommy had work to do! 

The activities we had planned were making donuts and sprinkles to go along with them. 

Dancing on the ballerina bar which transitioned to the Limbo

Line dancing and showing off our best moves with wands for the girls and arrow's for the boys. 

 

 

 

It wouldn't be a dance party without a disco ball!

 

Although Justin was on tour or wherever he was, he was unable to make it to the partay

but still had time to send his picture. This one's for you Liv!

 

I love more than anything Liv's face in this picture. 

This is our happy child. 

Makes the countless hours and sleepless nightts all worth it! 

 

Dancing heart wands for the girls! 

4th of July Party

I LOVE THE 4TH OF JULY!

Here are some ideas for the best day of year! 

Easy Plates - Many of can relate to the shuffle we do trying to gather silverware, plates, and don't forget the napkin! So this is any easy solution to the plated cauose. Take your paper plates, hole punch one hole in the center. Gather all your silverware around your napkin and attach it to the plate with your favorite ribbon, jute, etc. Then you can eliminate the headache of forgetting or dropping something and focus on getting your yummy BBQ food.

Sparkler safety - Kids love fireworks, however it's can be a little scary for them. This is a easy way to make sure your kids can have fun yet stay safe. Take your sparklers and poke a hole in the top of your paper cup. Insert the sparkler with the handle coming through the cup. It creates an easy grip for kids to hold their sparklers yet helps calm their fears from getting to close.

Pots with Socks - If you have beautiful flowers but they just don't match your 4th of July party decor. You can quickly change that for as low as $1.00. Gather some holiday socks, cut the toes off and simply roll over your Terra cotta pots or jars for easy table center pieces that match your other party decorations. 

I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream - Homemade Ice cream that is!!! Kids want to be a part of the festivities and this is the perfect way to do so. Have little hands shake and shake and shake the mixture to create your homemade ice cream. 

Ice Cream

2 1/2 quarts half/half

2 1/2 tbs vanilla

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

Mix all together and divide into small zip lock baggies. (About 1 cup per bag)

Then you take 2 cups of ice and 2 cups of ice cream salt. If you are using a mason jar to mix the ice cream then you will only put about 1 cup of each in the jar to give enough room for the bag to shake around. Enjoy!

Fruit Baskets - Do you have a stack of paper plates that will take years to use? Try this simple table craft to display your fruit for your party. Get one paper plate, ruler, pen, and scissors. Measure about 2 1/2' from the bottom to the center of your plate, Do this 4 times to create a almost square in the center of your plate. Cut along the 4 lines. Fold in each of the 4 sides. Then start with one flap and fold in, creating a box. Taking the next fold, with the flap inserting into the next section. Once all 4 sides have been folded in you should have a box. I hot glued a small dot to secure the basket in place. I added some decorating ribbon and added fruit for a quick and adorable display!

You can also see my tutorial here.

Cut off your brown paper sacks and serve individual servings of potatoe chips. 

Not a healthy portion as shown. I am aware of that!!!  It's a holiday go all out!

Corn on the cob grows in the grass right? 

So what a better way to serve it than in some!

Amercian pies are a great serving option for desserts. 

Walmart has these individual serving sizes for .88 a piece!

Star's in the yard - We can't forget the yard when decorating for the party. By gathering a poster board and your favorite star shape. Trace the star shape with a white crayon, Cut out the star. Gather some flour and head out to your sidewalk entryway. Place the poster board on the grass and lay a heavy layer of flour in the cutout of the star. The flour will make a decorative star shape in your grass. Don't worry with a quick swipe your flour with spread not hurting your lawn!!

Firework Topper!

Get your scissors and scewers ready for the easy DIY. 

Fold a 2inch piece of paper in half, creating a 1 inch piece. 

Fold a 2inch piece of paper in half, creating a 1 inch piece.  

Cut lines in tiny lines. I like to go as small as you can, approx 1/8 inch.

Cut along the fold line.

Glue a small dot of hot glue on the corner of your paper

Place your scewer and fold. 

You will fold about 2 inches to have a good amount of flair.

There you go!!!  

Fruit Baskets

Take a few of those thousands paper plates that you have that will take you 12 years to use and do something with them this 4th of July!

Let's do this!

Measure 2 1/2" on each plate. On the right had side.

While doing this imagine creating a box in the center of your plate. 

This "box" will become the bottom of your basket.

Do this same thing 4 times.

Cut your 4 lines. 

Each section fold over. Creating 4 flaps.

Then you will "tuck and fold" each section.

Forming your basket as you go along.

I used a small dab of hot glue to hold the corners in place. 

I added some bling to the basket aka ribbon!

And there ya have it a fruit basket to put at the center of your table. 

Olivia turns 4!!!!

I can't believe Olivia turned 4. Holy Smokes where does the time go?  I know everyone warns you of that but she's not my baby anymore, she a little girl.  I was joking that when she turns 5 it's going to feel like 30.  Let's be grateful that she is 4 and enjoy this time. I am looking forward to this coming year and the funny moments that are a guarantee with this little one around. 

She wanted a "Baking Party" this year. 

It may have been influenced by her sweet tooth that her and I have. 

She wanted to make sure that everyone she knew, or perfect strangers at the park knew that they were invited. We decided to cap it out with many 3 year olds.  This was a first for me. But it was so much fun.

We served cupcakes, lemon tarts, donuts, chips, chicken sandwiches, and lemonade. 

So pretty much I tripled the sugar intake for each child and sent them on their merry way home!!!

For the take home gift, I made those treat bags and filled them with a cupcake mix and instructions so they can go home and have some special baking time with their families. 

I printed off some of my favorite pictures of Olivia during the age of 3 and placed them on my picture  board.  We set up a bakery stand where the kiddos could set up cupcake liners, weight their cookies after being overloaded with frosting.

They decorated their cookies and mini cakes and surprisingly did a really good job not ruining their clothes (sorry mom's if they made a mess)

I know for certain she was the most excited about having all her friends with her!!

The only other thing she wanted was a "Kinata" aka pinata. She refuses to call it a pinata.

Don't laugh at my pinata. Ok you can, it's pathetic but it's been a good 28 years since I helped my mom do one for my 4th birthday party.   

We had to hit the kinata with a rolling pin of course!!

She got a swimsuit from Larkyn and immediately had to run upstairs to put it on. She wore it the rest of the party.  Go for it sista, rock a swimsuit and be the only one in the room wearing one, while you can!!!  I hope she always has the confidence to do so regardless. 

My amazing sister Jill whipped up magically like she always does a fun game of "Olivia Bingo".

The kids had fun.

Happy Birthday Olivia we love you so much!!!! 

We are grateful for you everyday that you came into our lives.