horse

Elijah’s Birthday Extravaganza!

Everyone wanted a horse themed party this summer (well two kids anyway). So how do you plan two parties back-to-back with the same theme and keep them completely different? It ended up being a lot easier than I thought. Elijah, who turned three, wasn’t able to take riding lessons this year. For a couple of the lessons he sat and watched enviously as his older siblings and cousins got to ride around on horseback. I know, I feel like a terrible mother. But what are you supposed to do when you have no baby sitter? I’ll tell you what I did. I rented a horse and pony to come to our house for his birthday party so he could have his very own horse ride.

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Look at that face, worth every bit of it!

And you have to let the other kids ride too…

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The package also came complete with petting zoo,IMG_9829IMG_9779IMG_9780IMG_9785
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And face painting!


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I got to feed the horse one of our apples!

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Aren’t horses beautiful?

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And so are little cowgirls!

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I honestly was so busy with the party that I almost had forgotten to take pictures of the food!

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Beef brisket, scalloped potatoes, rolls, chips,

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the family baked beans (I think they make an appearance at almost every gathering),

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and corn on the cob grilled in the husk,

Where is one to get something to drink in these parts?

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At the waterin’ hole of course! (And there was pop on ice.)

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We had “haystacks” at the last party, so this time we had “Barn Muck,” peanut butter and chocolate. Yummy!

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And no birthday party is to be without cake!

I missed the whole part with swimming in the pool, but it was there. Then we had what turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the day. (I’ve shared my love of party photo ops before.) I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time. I never knew one could have so much fun turning dollar store mustaches into all sorts of facial hair… (I’d really like to do a whole post on this, and I would like to apologize in advance for the onslaught of pictures coming your way.)

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Overall the party was a huge success because the birthday boy was happy! He told me so! “Me excited about my birthday. Me like my presents!”

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Happy Birthday Elijah/Cowboy/Power Ranger/Spiderman! We love you so much!

Horsin’ Around for Addi’s Birthday

The kids, my two oldest, my neice and nephew, have been taking riding lessons this summer. Naturally horses are all of the rage to them right now. So when the birthday ideas were rolling around the one and only theme to be had was a horse of course! (I had to.)

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The farm, where the lessons are had, rents a pavilion along with a horse riding package for parties. My sister, the chef, is also quite an efficient party planner (she gets that from our mother). She made the giant daisy overhead streamer for an area designated as the dance floor. (She also made the burlap birthday banner from the featured image.)

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She covered all of the picnic tables with white cloths and made beautiful arrangements with wildflowers and Mason jars.

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The menu included hamburgers (requested by the birthday girl)…

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baked beans and watermelon…

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slaw salad,

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and potato salad.

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The weather was absolutely gorgeous for cowboys and cowgirls alike.

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As a memento for the birthday girl, everyone attending the party signed a picture…

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of Addi with her favorite horse, Morning Star.

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I have to admit, when Addi said she wanted a cake with the face of Morning Star, I was nervous it would come across like something from The Godfather, but it turned out pretty cute.

 

A highlight of the evening for me was the daddy-daughter dance.

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Everyone got to take home a little “haystack.” Have you had one of those before with chow mein noodles and butterscotch? Um, delicious.

Thank you Addi! You are turning into such a lovely young lady!