mom's 50th

it was my mom's birthday last thursday. and not until mid-december did it dawn on me that it was my mom's 50th birthday! with christmas being such a busy time of year, we didn't even think about the details of the party until a week before. not like me. usually i like to start planning well in advance because i don't like being rushed. but with the help of everyone, we were able to pull the party together & it really turned out to be cute & fun for everyone. here are the invites...

and of course the banner...

the cake & treats...

i put a few little cards together with different quotes about aging that reminded me of my mom...here's one of them...can you find the typo??

the favors...

my wonderful parents...

not the best quality picture, but it's my family & i can't not post it. i like how everyone coordinates with the party decor except me. why i decided to wear a green striped shirt, i don't know.

happy 50th mom! here's to another 50, right??!!

he's gROARing up

this post is WAY, WAY overdue...but better late than never! so last summer, like 5 months before zac's actualy birthday, we were walking through the grocery store and saw this dinosaur cake & it immediately caught zac's attention & from that moment on, he was certain that he wanted a dinosaur party...oh, and he wanted a family only party this year, since that's how his friends do it. that was definitely fine with me! so to start off the birthday festivities, we took him to the dinosaur museum the day before his real birthday...

nothing like a peanut butter toast shaped like a 5 for your birthday breakfast...pretty gourmet, i know.

and this is the cake zac wanted...or at least my attempt at it. not my proudest cake moment, i must say, but zac was happy about it...so that was a plus!

zac & uncle nate sporting some cool dinosaur noses i found...

i found a recipe online for homemade dinosaur eggs & put little dinosaurs in each one. then the kids got to break them open...it turned out to be a fun little activity.

and a birthday's not a birthday without making your way through the spanking machine!!

it turned out to be a fun filled day...zac was happy, and that's most important! we sure love him!

...emmy's 2nd birthday - wrapping it up...

we weren't sure how emerson would react to the whole birthday cake & singing thing because she was anti-being sung to throughout the day. once we had the candles on the cake though, she was sold & actually let us sing "happy birthday" while she smiled away! i was thankful that it didn't turn out to be some traumatic experience. :)

emmy loved her little doll...it was a great find, i must say! she laughs, cries, sucks her bottle, burps, and sleeps! so real life and so fun to take care of!

but the real hit of the party was the purse that uncle jer & aunt jen gave her. once she opened it, she literally would not put it down...she even went to bed with it that night. she's such a girl, it makes me laugh... :)

the kids love when grandma & grandpa field come visit...it was so fun to have them come help celebrate!

showing off her new stick-on earrings from grandma & grandpa olsen...sooooo pretty!

it really was a fun weekend! emerson loved having so much family come & so did the rest of us. it's hard to believe that this little girl is already two! she's so much fun to have around...with her funny facial expressions, tip-toeing around the house, crazy curly hair, love of teasing zac & mimicking anything he does, high-pitched screams, sneaky behavior, whispering secrets in our ears, cute dance moves, unique vocabulary skills (or lack thereof), love of anything & everything girlie, and multiple hugs & kisses throughout the day...we can't imagine life without her. she makes us smile everyday...and we're so glad she's ours. :)

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 5...

i found these suckers at oriental trading & couldn't resist. such a good deal too, 12 suckers for $6.95...not bad!

a birthday party just wouldn't be the same without cupcakes...(and yes, the pig is made out of fondant)

we had some "fresh cream" to go along with our farm theme. i made a few other signs too...like "pig slop" for the baked beans, "100% beef" for the hamburgers, and "chicken feed" for some chex mix treats...

(i found the little buckets at zurchers...i think they were like .35 cents...or maybe they were .70 cents, i can't remember...but i thought it was a good deal)

zac saw these barn shaped cookie cutters at orson & gygi...how he spotted them, i don't know. but once again, i couldn't resist & we made some for our guests to take home.

have you ever wondered how to get that perfectly smooth look on your sugar cookies? well i have & i finally figured out! you use royal icing, and i found a great recipe here that's simple and very yummy!

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 4...

some of the little tags i made to hang from the chandelier...

diet IBC rootbeer was a must!

and i found this little watering can at target & figured i could use it for something! so a centerpiece it was!

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 3...

here's the cake, which was far from perfect...but it turned out pretty cute and served its purpose, which was mainly for decoration & blowing out candles! :)

the easiest & probably best tasting fondant recipe:

1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
1 bag of mini marshmallows
2 Tbsp. water
crisco

*put marshmallows & water in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until the marshmallows are smooth with no lumps. (stir between each microwave session)

*then gradually add powdered sugar. once it is workable (not super sticky, pour it onto the remaining powdered sugar. (you may want to grease your counter top & hands with crisco to prevent sticking.) knead it until it is the consistency you want. you'll end up using most of, but not all of the powdered sugar. :)

...zac's jungle saFOURi...

zac's birthday turned out to be a lot of fun. we invited seven of his little friends to join us for the fun, and that was the perfect amount...they all got a long great and seemed to have a fun time...so that was good! but in all seriousness, i think i actually had more fun planning the whole thing!

here's what our little guests were greeted with when they entered. they had to check in and receive an official passport to field jungle as well as some jungle money...

you may wonder why our little store is called "island medic"...well i was going to have mylaria pills (some mike & ike's) and a pretend little typhoid shot...but i didn't get around to it...and i had already made the signs...so it might not have made sense, but oh well. at the store, they bought themselves a saFOURi hat, bengal binoculars, jungle juice, and monkey munchies...

grandma debbie was so thoughtful and ordered zac a cookie bouquet for his big day...he loved them so much & still hasn't been willing to share an entire cookie...the stinker! we do get bits and pieces here and there, but for whatever reason...he's being really posessive of them...funny kid!

glad to see that emerson decided to make a mess of herself at zac's birthday party...seeing as how she would have nothing to do with her own cake.

i attempted to turn the basement into a little jungle...and we sent the kids down to search for bugs. here's zac redeeming his bug for one of his favorite prizes...he loves these little things. they turn into animals when you soak them in water...pretty fun...

the kids each made one of these...i love oriental trading for things like this! they have such great deals there...i think i got 12 little kits for $4.95...what a steal!

we got zac a "scooter-rider"...where he came up with that name, i'm not sure...but emerson has been loving it just as much. needless to say, i've spent a good share of time breaking up tug-of-wars between the two of them the last couple of days. always so fun!

and now we're off to boise for thanksgiving! so...happy eating!! :)

...brooke's glamour party...

so our busy weekend turned out to be lots of fun!! but i'm not kidding when i say it was busy. we went non-stop from thursday afternoon till saturday night. i'll post pictures from the shower later, as for now, here's a few highlights from the birthday party...

the birthday girl, whose birthday is actually today...happy birthday brooke!!

the cake and favor bags...

my friend britnee did a great job on the flowers...i especially loved the little crown she made...such a cute accent! and the "b"...incase any of you are wondering...i bought it at a scrapbook store for like $2...and then painted it black and mod podged some paper onto it. it was so easy & cheap...and made a cute little centerpiece.

i love tulle. it is one of the easiest and most forgiving things to use when decorating or wrapping a gift. i say forgiving because your bows don't have to be perfect...and it still looks cute. also, zurchers is a great place to find tulle in a variety of colors for a decent price.

we made these little cakes for the girls to go home with...brynn, my sister actually gets the credit for these. they turned out so cute...and of course the little girls loved them! i'll have to post instructions on how to make them later...you'll all be surprised at how easy they really are.

we set up a little beauty bar and did the girls nails, hair, and makeup...they kept saying over and over, "this is sooo fun! oh, i love this! i don't want to take my hair off ever!" hearing that, made all the craziness worth it...

drinks, popcorn, and candy for the movie...

so there you have it...brooke's glamour party! now we're off to have dinner and celebrate her actual birthday tonight!! :)