A County Fair Birthday

Sunday was an awesome day for a birthday party! When we got up, the sky was pretty gray and I was worried it might rain... but alas the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon! We really couldn't have asked for better weather. The theme for the party was "county fair," so I served fried chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, caramel apples, popcorn, lemon shake-ups and whoopie pies filled with ice cream for dessert. I try to challenge myself to throw a great party on a budget, so I designed the above invitations myself on Adobe Illustrator. As complicated as that program was to learn, I was really proud of myself for how they turned out! They looked even better printed out on card stock, which I basically did for free at the school I work at! There are definite benefits to working somewhere with a technology lab and a print shop. :)

Before the party started, there was all the food to prepare. Annabel wanted to help assemble the whoopie pies :)


Annabel had been talking about her bounce house for MONTHS. She was so stinkin' excited about it. I underestimated how difficult it was to transport and set up, though, and for a few minutes I thought it might not actually happen. I was going to let daddy explain that one ;) However, they got it set up and the kids had an amazing time bouncing the afternoon away!









Asher had fun at the party, too!


This picture is the epitome of Asher's personality. He is always smiling, cooing, or flirting!


Poor kid got stuck in his car seat while we were setting up, but he was quite amused by these balloons!! He kept laughing as they would blow close to his face!


Spending some quality time with grammy


After eating, it was time for games and face painting. The kids waffled between pirates, butterflies and toy story paints :) This is my sweet cousin Abby, who while quite a bit older than the rest of the kids, kept them entertained and seemed to enjoy herself quite a bit!



After Annabel's face paint wore off, she just looked dirty ;) Actually, I think it's probably fair to say that she WAS pretty dirty by this point!

Then, FINALLY, time to open presents!! Oh, the joy!


A new umbrella! How fun!




A Bambi purse and some books


The hat mommy made her

She got so many lovely and fun presents! She got lots of books, including 3 new Fancy Nancy books, which she loves, lots of new craft stuff and a play-do factory! She also got a really cool princess dress, which I think she's going to wear for Halloween this year.

Sneaking some popcorn .... oh well, it's only your birthday once a year!

Milling about...

This gives you a closer look at the pennant banner I made for the party. I love the colors and the way it turned out!

After presents we amused ourselves by reading Fancy Nancy aloud. :) It's pretty amusing stuff.

Ashi thinks Fancy Nancy is pretty silly.

And after the party:

Both kiddos, completely zonked out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY LITTLE FANCY ANNABELLA!