Top Ten: Clare’s Mermaid Par-tay

Yes, it’s true.  If I could’ve been the inventor of birthdays, I would.  My mom always had home birthday parties when we were kids.  There is just something very “family” about that.  I love having people over to the house.  I suppose it’s part of my love language – acts of kindness.  We had great weather – warm but not blistering, sunny with a touch of clouds.  Now, onto my favorite ten memories from Clare’s mermaid party.

TOP TEN:  CLARE’S 4TH BIRTHDAY!

1.  The invites and sign.  Olliegraphic crafted these printables (I am SUCH a fan of those) and Clare loved them.  It’s even better when you score them on sale!  Just in case it’s not obvious, Clare loves all things purple.

 2.  The driveway.  This was totally spontaneous.  Clare’s sweet crew leader from VBS gave her sidewalk chalk on the last day.  On Friday afternoon, we went out front to draw and I thought, ‘hey, let’s write happy birthday to Clare on the driveway’.  At the encouragement of the kids, I just kept drawing.  Clare’s quote of the week?  “Oh, mom.  This is sooo awesome.  You are such a good draw-er.”

3.  The slip ‘n slide.  Would it really be a summer backyard party without one of these?  Without a doubt, the kids #1 favorite activity.  Well, that and the ice cream and cake pops.

4.  The water balloons.  It took Scott 20 minutes to fill them and the kids less than 5 to conquer and destroy.

5.  The bubbles.  For those kiddos not wanting to get wet (namely the birthday girl), we set up a bubble station.  It’s worth noting that Clare was tote-ally on board with the whole “water games/mermaid” party theme.  But, one step on the grass with her wet feet and she bailed on me.  Oh well.  She had a grand time swinging and blowing bubbles while everyone else enjoyed the water.  Par for the course, right?

6.  The cookies and party favors – they totally deserve their own number.  When I called Olga over at Polkadots and asked her to do some mermaid cookies, I never dreamed they would look this awesome!  And yes, they tasted just as amazing.  The favor buckets were a great find at Party City, filled with bubble wands, a water gun, purple Gatorade and said super de-duper cute cookie.  Honestly?  It made me want to be 4 again.

7.  Friends and neighbors.  We have certainly loved being blessed with such great families in the neighborhood.  Saturday was a great reminder of that blessing.

8.  The delicious food.  Scott grilled some pretty fantastic hot dogs, complete with onions and chili for the adults, and chose the perfect watermelon.  The kids sat so politely and sat so quietly – we were all in awe!

9.  Candles!  It took a little creative wind-blocking to keep them lit, but the birthday girl blew them all out right on cue.

10.  Family.  It wasn’t until I scanned these photos that I realized how badly my legs need to see the sun.  My apologies for not giving you a sunglass warning.