If there was one terrible mistake I made during the pandemic, it was hosting a pretty big birthday party for two. At the time, the numbers were steady and our families were all healthy and being careful and the news had encouraged us to make outdoor activities a priority. No one got sick and our two girls loved being celebrated, but in hindsight I feel guilty for the potential exposure and a little gross for flaunting our get together on social media. As we reflect on the previous year, there aren't many things I would do differently, but this is something I might would have reconsidered (written in December 2020). We arbitrarily decided, long ago, to only do big birthdays while the girls were in elementary school. Golden birthdays and milestone birthdays are the exception, but we ...
my parties
DIY Dream Catcher Party Craft
Less than a week before Ella's birthday party, she told me that she thought we needed a craft. Normally, I would have had a moment of sheer panic, but since the party was already geared to be super low-key, I felt sure we could pull it together in the nick of time. I took to Pinterest and searched through tons of "summer camp" themed crafts, but these Kid Made DIY Dream Catchers were my absolute favorite! via ArtBar Blog I started by digging through my own stash of craft supplies and (fortunately) had most of the items we needed on hand. The berry baskets were left over from a previous birthday party, I had plenty of random ribbons and trims, I bought discounted Christmas gift tags at Target last year that I knew would be perfect, I had plenty of washi tape thanks to Bible Journaling and ...
Camp Ella Birthday Party Recap | Vlog
I knew today's Blogtember prompt was to share a vlog, so I had planned to take plenty of video from Ella's party for you. When I got to the barn that afternoon, I realized that my video camera didn't have a memory card inside, so I had to use my big girl camera for both video and photographs. It was hard toggling back and forth while trying to monitor the party and keep everyone happy, but I'm super happy with how it turned out. I've been saying for actual years that I was going to start sharing more video here and now that I finally know how to edit and make it all pretty, that might actually happen. How excited are you? No, really... HOW excited?! This was the most atypical birthday party that I've ever thrown and simultaneous the most fun. If you've been reading here for any amount ...
Birthday Flashback: Cowgirl Cookout
It's that time again -- we're only two weeks ago from Ella's tenth birthday and I'm sharing a few of my favorite parties from the past. For her sixth birthday, she requested a cowgirl themed cookout and boy did we deliver! Like many previous years, we celebrated at my parents' house, because they have a fabulous backyard where we regularly have a "campfire" in the fall. Ella told us she didn't want to help decorate or see anything ahead of time, so this party started the tradition of a party decor surprise. I always make other arrangements for the girls on party day and we do the entire set up outside of their presence. Seeing them look at everything and get excited in the moments before their guests arrive is one of my favorite things ever! I painted this chalkboard to welcome our ...
Birthday Flashback: Ella’s First Birthday
A version of this post appeared on the blog several years ago. I thought we would resurrect it in honor of Ella's upcoming tenth birthday. I wasn't yet blogging when we celebrated Ella's first birthday and I thought it might be fun to share the photos with you here! We're creeping up on double-digits (one month from today!) and I thought it might be fun to share a few flashback posts over the next few weeks. I'll be recapping a few of my favorite parties leading up to the big day! Her first birthday invitations read "Our Little Cupcake is Turning One," so we decorated with everything sweet and pink. I started planning this party so far in advance and I couldn't imagine anything better than sweet, pink princesses. Even as an infant, she was a girly girl through and through. We had the ...