Here's The Scoop. . .

WARNING: This post is really picture heavy!!!!

July is turning out to be a stellar month for me and my family. Today was one of the highlights!!! Today we celebrated the birthdays of my 2 Granddaughters - Monkey is 4 & Bug is 1 (well they will be in a few days). I wanted to share with you all in pictures what my wonderful day was like. We must of course start at the beginning - with all of the preparation for today.

Bryanna had chose to do a cupcake and ice cream cone themed party for the girls. She asked if I would help her out with the party and I of course said yes and then promptly "hi-jacked" the whole event!!!! Thankfully my Daughter is really good and doesn't get mad when I do this (it happens occasionally).

So this is the invitation for the party - she wanted a photo invite with the girls in their swimsuits since we would be playing in the sprinklers for out "party activity". This is what I came up with (after shooting over 400 photos!)
Because of our theme I used the phrase "Here's the Scoop" alot, but it just seemed to be perfect for our party.

Then of course there were all of the decorations that needed to be made which started with these cute little ice cream cones that I hung from the chandelier. And then there was the the table linens, all made from left over fabrics and scraps that I had stashed away for "that perfect project"


And of course you all know I love banners so I made two of those. . .
One tiny one for Bug's highchair tray

And one BIG one that hung across my china cabinet.

Seriously, do you think I would have such a BIG event and NOT make a handmade book to document it all in? Of course not, so here is the cover. I used all Martha Stewart papers (I love her) with all of these cute little cupcakes and glitter on them.

Of course there was a "Guest book" section for everyone to sign as they arrive. Some people just signed their names, while others wrote a short message.

Then there were the signs made to mimic the feel of an old-fashion ice cream parlour. I even used glitter paper on this one for the numbers - not typical for me! The other side of this sign simply says happy birthday and the girls' names. It hangs in the window by the front door to greet everyone as they arrive.

This little sign served as a sort of "menu board" at the do-it-yourself-sundae bar.

These are the little cupcakes I made. They look like soft serve ice cream cones. Too cute and very yummy!

Of course you gotta have beverages at a party, and since we were serving so many sweet things we decided to serve bottled water instead of soda, etc. But just in case they needed a little bit of flavor I bought these old style diner sugar dispensers and filled them with koolade powder. Pink lemonade and fruit punch so they would match our color scheme. The kids really enjoyed this.

Then there was the lolli-pops served in a sundae cup as table decorations (and of course the kids all went home with one).

Oh, remember the water bottles? You know I couldn't just serve plain old water bottles! These are arrowhead with new personalized lables on them!

And we can't forget the yards and yards of curly ribbon that needed to be curled and hung from the chandelier and the other light fixtures etc.

And here are My Girls! The whole reason I do what I do!!!!

Finally all of the preparations were done and the day was here - time to celebrate! We started off with my Son-in-law grilling dogs for everyone. There was chips and melons too.

Then it was time to do what kids do best. . .PLAY!!!! We set up some water toys in the back yard (my water bill is gonna be HIGH this month!) Our party started at 11am, so it was pretty warm and sunny but not outrageously HOT like it gets in AZ in July. Some of the grown-ups stayed inside with the air-conditioning, but most of them made it outside to watch the kids splash around and have fun.

Monkey got a scooter from her Moma & Papa and even attempted to ride it down the slip-n-slide! Not a good plan in case you are wondering.

Slip-n-slides are not as slippery as I remember them being when I was a kid. So we went through 2 gallons of bubbles, a bottle of baby oil and a bottle of shampoo to keep the kids sliding down that plastic.

Doesn't my Bug look adorable in her tu-tu swimsuit!

I think they were having FUN, don't you?

Bug is still too little to take a trip down the slip-n-slide by herself, but one of the girls let her hitch a ride with her. She just closed her eyes and squealed as she went.

After they were all waterlogged, we headed back inside to play "Donkey on the tail" as Monkey calls it. She saw this game on a tv show and asked if she could have it at her party. Of course you can - Amma will give you almost anything you want! Luckily this request only cost a $1.99! (BTW - Monkey won!)

"I scream, You scream, We all scream for ICE CREAM"!!!!!! That's right, it was time for sundaes! My daughter Lizzy is the "queen of whipped cream" so she was in charge of that for the kids. Oh, and notice the bowls, they look like giant cupcake wrappers! Found them in our colors on clearance for .20 cents each!

As soon as they finished their sundaes it was time to make a wish, blow out the candles and eat some cake!

Monkey usually cries when you sing happy birthday to her - but not this year! She loved it and was all smiles!

It just wouldn't be a "1st Birthday" without pictures of the birthday girl digging into her cake with her bare hands! And we are very traditional around here!

Then there was the gifts. . . Funny thing about invitations - you write "RSVP" on them and no one calls to confirm or decline. You write "Your presence is your present" and everyone brings a gift. But it was very thoughtful for everyone to bring a gift, actually 2 gifts since it was a double birthday!

After the gifts and a little more visiting everyone went home. It was only 1:30 when the last guest left. How nice we all thought, to be done so early in the day. Everyone was tired and ready to just sit and relax. The guys went golfing, Liz and Richard went to the gym, my Mom watched the girls while Bryanna and I cleaned up the mess. A little after 2 my brother-in-law called to let us know he was running late but on his way to the party with his girls. He thought the party started at 2pm!!!! You can't say no - so we got the food & drinks back out and waited to start party #2!

After

they opened their gifts and had some food we headed back outside for more water fun. (did I mention my water bill?)They had so much fun, and had races. We were out of bubbles and baby oil by the time party #2 started, so we resorted to using Gary's shampoo!

With a smaller group around, Bug was able to try out the slip-n-slide with a little more freedom. She loved it!

We were also able to let the dogs out since it was a smaller group and these girls are not afraid of dogs. Zsa Zsa even gave the slip-n-slide a try!

It is no longer 11am and it is HOT now - so hot that Bryanna and I even took a few goes on the slip-n-slide fully dressed!

But now the house is pretty much all cleaned up again. We have had dinner and the girls are all snugled in their beds at home, worn out from the excitement of the day. Our next big event is out birthday trip to Disneyland on Wednesday!

How BLESSED are we to have each other, our health, our friends, our family, and all of ths joy!!!! But now I need to go lay down and get some rest - I am an old lady you know!

Toodles