It's Great To Be Eight!

Whitney celebrated her 8th birthday with a pirate party! I went a little "ALL OUT" for this party and it cost "A LOT" of money! The things we do for our kids, right? Maybe I went a little overboard this year. I tell myself every year that I am going to keep it simple next year but it never turns out that way. This time I am "SERIOUS"! Next year it will definitely be more simple. I made it too hard on myself this year with a 4 hour party, lots of time planning, shopping, spending money, decorating, organizing games and activities and putting together invitations.

For the invitations we sent little messages in a bottle. It was a plastic bottle with the invitation and sand inside. Whitney wanted to go to Pirate Island Pizza but I thought it would be fun to have a treasure hunt and do some other fun activities at home. So, we ended doing both!

We went to Pirate Island Pizza first where we ate pizza, played games in their arcade and posed for cute pictures of course! I bought Whitney a pirate costume just for her party so I had to take advantage of the atmosphere. They have a pirate ship, caves, water falls, a jungle and pirate stuff that makes for cute pictures.



After Pirate Island Pizza we moved the party to our backyard. I had it decorated cute and spent a lot of time setting up for the treasure hunt.







I gave each kid an eye patch, earring and bandanna so they could be dressed as Lil' pirates.


First we did some crafts. I had bought little card board treasure chests for the kids to decorate. They had a blast adding gold coins and jewels to their boxes. I also bought little bottles that the kids could put sand in and make there own message in a bottle. We played pin the treasure chest on the X. Then I gave each kid a loot bag and a treasure map for the treasure hunt. I had clues all over the yard. Each clue led to the next clues until they found the treasure. For example: "Go where monkey's swing and sway, you can play here all day". The answer is the monkey bars. The last clue was "buried deep in the ground the treasure chest can be found! So use your hand to dig in the sand"! I had a treasure chest full of plastic coins, gum coins, jewels, rings and necklaces buried in the sand trap on the putting green.



I think this was the highlight of the party. The kids loved it! After the treasure hunt the kids broke open the pinata'. Then we had to take a break because whitney had her batism interview with the bishop. I thought the party would be over in time but it wasn't. So all the kids played on the playground while Whitney was gone. When Whitney got back we had cake and ice cream. I looked on line to find the perfect cake and I had my friend Wendy make it. It turned out so cute!


After cake Whitney opened her presents. She got spoiled rotten with so many presents. She got heelies and a DS game from us and lots of toys from her friends. On top of everything else the kids got they also got to go home with a goodie box filled with more pirate stuff!



It made me feel good when Whitney thanked me and told me this was the BEST party ever!

My Grandma Turns 90!

My only grandparent I have left accomlished a new milestone. She made it to the grand age of 90! I love my grandma Eulalia May Blair. She will always have a special place in my heart because I was named after her, I was born in the month of May, I named my daughter Whitney after her and she was also born in the month of May. We took a trip to SLC for the special event. We had a big birthday party in my parents backyard. All of the family came which was great! it had been a long time since I had seen a lot of my cousins. My Aunt Beckie had a video put together as a surprise for my Grandma. It included photos of my grandma growing up, photos of her children and grandchildren and interviews from her children. It was a touching video that brought tears to my eyes and many others. We had a nice BBQ meal with delicious sides and some homemade cupcakes for dessert. Grandma got spoiled with gifts and had a great time!

Caysen's 1st Birthday!

I can't believe my baby boy is already one! Time seriously flies by. He is getting so big now. He is pulling himself up into a standing position. It won't be long befor he starts to walk! We had a little party with family for him. I think enjoyed the sweet chocolate tase of his cake. He of course didn't understand the whole "presents" thing, but Whitney was excited to open the presents for him!

Whitney turns five!

I can't believe Whitney is already five. It is true what they say about how the older you get the faster time goes by. When I was a kid it seemed like forever to wait until the next Christmas or birthday to come around. Now they come too fast!

Whitney wanted a Hello Kitty party. I don't know how she heard of Hello Kitty or how she started to like it. I showed her a party magazine to pick out her party theme. I pointed out the Princess, My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake parties but she wanted Hello Kitty so that is what she got. It turned out to be a good party and the decorations were darling.

We invited about 14 kids! The most I have ever invited. It was a little overwhelming but overall went well. We had pizza, a pinata', opened presents, went swimming then had cake and ice cream. Whitney had a blast and that's all that matters. All the hard work pays off in the end when I see the smile on my daughter's face!