Boo recently had a birthday. There was planning, of course, and I wanted to make sure we brought everything since the party location wasn't around the corner in case we forgot anything. All was well...until we were there and the festivities started...and I realized I forgot my camera. Live in the moment, it was.
When I got home, I decided to document the occasion with leftovers from the party. I probably would have cleverly thought of more things to photograph, but I was SO tired.
1. Boo wanted a pinata for his birthday and specifically a green and yellow star. You know what that means...I made it. I thought that since the ages of kids at the birthday ranged a bit, I didn't want all the big kids getting the loot from the pinata while the younger ones couldn't get in there. So, I decided to fill the pinata with wild bird seed...and no mess and non-biodegradables that cannot be picked up (ex. glitter...as pretty as it is).
2. After the pinata, we did a treasure hunt (instead of goodie bags) with numbered clues to get to the treasure. I did this at the very last minute because I didn't know where I was going to hide each clue. This was a tricky task since I didn't want to hide the clues so well that the kids couldn't find them...and I didn't want them to be so obvious that the kids would see them before the hunt. The treasure hunt worked, but the kids did find one clue ahead of time and skipped one due to it being hidden a little too well.
3. The back of one of the clues. I decided to make them rhyme (since I'm a little neurotic that way) and underlined the words/numbers that rhymed to make the clues easier to read aloud. The kids made it so quickly through this treasure hunt that the adults had a difficult time keeping up with them...they read the clue then ran to the next. The goodies were a Silly Putty for each kid (they are actually still made in the US - crazy...and why I bought them). The Silly Putty packages have a little hanger for how they are displayed in the store, so I just tucked them in some low-branched trees hanging on thin branches. Perfect.
4. Birthday candles
5. Leftover birthday cupcakes. Boo wanted a rather elaborate cake. To be exact: 3 layers, green cake with chocolate chips, green frosting...vanilla flavored. I started to run out of time (I HAVE to make the cake from scratch as well as the frosting...neurotic I tell you.), and Boo started saying things like "mint-flavored." I required the compromise of cupcakes (no possibility of cake cracking and sliding frosting on the drive in the heat) and sprinkles (all-natural...a total score) instead of green and minty. I used this recipe...a total hit (subbing the sprinkles atop for the chocolate chips in the frosting).
On another note, I'm sure you've noticed I haven't posted in awhile. Not because I haven't wanted to, but it's a combination of family visits, busy-ness, exhaustion (is it the heat?), and simply seizing the summer while it's not raining! Well, it did rain a couple of days this week...so truly, we are seizing it while we can.
I hope to be back soon! I hope you're seizing the summer as well.
