Tuesday, May 13, 2014

They're 5! We Gotta Have a Party!



What?? It feels like a short time ago, Glen and I received the news from our doctor that we would be having not one, but two babies! I walked around for the rest of that day in some sort of haze. It was like seeing double. I kept thinking "two, two cribs, two carseats. two." Other moms of multiples would smile and tell me the first few years would be a blur anyway. No doubt, year one and two were all about surviving with cuteness thrown in between. However, I have been gripping year 3 and 4 to no avail. They still turned 5 on me.

We decided that "5" calls for a real party - with friends and all. I came up with the theme when I happened upon red and white striped straws in our garage. A carnival. We would throw a mini-carnival. Easy, right? Says the girl who doesn't host parties. How hard could it be? I already had straws and a bouncy house!  Those of you who have done this before are smiling right now, aren't you?? And so the adventure began...

I spent a day and a half shopping around, while trying to remain frugral. It took an entire evening to ready decorations and games. And of course preparations began early and continued until guests arrived (even with the help of my mom!).

We had a prize basket,  a favor basket, jelly bean jars and rainbow lollipop jars to name of few things.


Sitting in our garage were 8 brown, medal folding chairs awaiting spray paint. Hey! Why not paint them the day before the party?? The colors totally go with the theme.  So we spent the day before cleaning up the yard AND spray painting folding chairs. My husband loves me. hehe




With little experience at hosting events, I'm afraid I was too busy to capture many pictures of the tables, etc. However,  my niece took over the role of photographer and captured memories of the kids at play. That's what really matters, right?

My sweet brother popped popcorn and stuffed individual bags. My hubby hung balloons in groups of 3 from the trees and we set out tables for our carnival/picnic food. NO PIC - BOO! There were corn dogs, deviled eggs, regular hotdogs, fruit, animal crackers, etc.


I wanted to turn our camper into a sideshow or freakshow. Glen nixed the idea and I ran out of time anyway. NEXT time!!





Entertainment...



Why not overload the powerwheels??


The bouncy house with an exceptionally large kid hanging around in there.


The times when the bouncy house turned off because the cord was loose. Oh and the time when everyone was jumping and a friend thought it would be fun to turn the power off. Watch all adults scramble to try and figure out what happened "this time"!



Look! Kitty is up in the tree!


Carnival Games



We had this easel taking up space in the storage building (hubby loves that) so I decided to decorate it, with the help of my nieces!

I thought this striped tank paired with the blue pants suited the theme.

Fearlessly many ventured to walk the tight rope-ish that led to a toddler slide. Hey, you have to work with what you have!


"Is it time for presents YET?"



I borrowed gallon size tin cans and a plinko board from a friend who is a pro at throwing parties. Thank you friend!!

Cake Time!




I made a simple cake and decorated it with lots of sprinkles, while a neighbor offered to make cake pops. Don't you love it when some of the smaller details that only you may notice just come together? The sticks for the cake pops just happened to be red and white striped! How fun.


Is it time for PRESENTS???



We finally said that it was time for them to open presents. We are so grateful to those who came and shared in their special day. And many thanks to all our helpers!!!


I shall leave you with this silly poem I wrote in jest when we celebrated their first birthday. So thankful for our precious surprises. :)


You are one and I am about done
When you are two, I’m sure to be through
At three, even more messes that I’ll see
When you’re four, I won’t care anymore
At five, I’m lifting prayers to survive
When you’re six, just more things to fix
At seven, I’ll wonder about heaven
When you are eight, I’ll accept my fate
At nine, everything should be fine
When you’re 10, it’s a head full of grey by then
At 11, time to send more prayers to heaven
When you’re twelve, into my fiction I will delve
At 13, you’ll probably think I’m pretty mean
When you’re 14, I’ll fuss cuz you won’t clean
At 15, you’ll roll your eyes – see what I mean??
When you’re 16, for food there will only be beans!
At 17, I’ll be almost out of steam
When you’re 18, is there freedom to be seen???


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2 comments

  1. It looks like the party turned out really well, especially since you claim you aren't a party planner! I'm sure your boys loved it!

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    1. Haha! Thank you Ashley. The boys definitely had quite fun-filled day. I enjoyed being a spectator! :)

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