A WiLd and cRaZy day!

Today was most definitely the craziest day ever! It's always fun to have an exciting activity to do on a Saturday... but what about 3?! It wasn't supposed to be this crazy of a day because we were supposed to do Emma's friend party last week, but because of illness we had to move it to today right in between a 10K race and going to see the Mary Poppins Broadway musical at ASU. Whew! But thankfully, everything went well and my marathon day ended up being REALLY fun!

So, first - I ran a 10K this morning! I have dreams and aspirations to someday run a marathon, but c'mon - how do people do it?! I mean, I hope to give it a go later on down the road, but I was SO ready to be done running this morning when I crossed the finish line, and I only ran 6.2 miles - how could I possibly run 20 more?!! Anyone out there who has run a full marathon, let me know if it killed you, and how to possibly prepare yourself for something like that. Anyway... I'm so thankful to have joined in running a few days a week with these great girls. It's really been such a blessing to have friends to motivate me to get out with my kids and all our jogging strollers (I recently got my own double jogger for only 30 dollars off of craigslist!) and run regularly throughout the week - I feel healthier and happier then I ever have. ALSO, I'm very thankful to my husband for getting me actual running shoes for my Valentines gift - I got to go to RoadRunner and they tested out my running style and foot issues and fit me with a shoe just right for me (did that sound like an infomercial?) It's improved my running enjoyment tremendously!

Tessa, Leah, Kassie, and I - we all finished in under an hour - I'm so proud of us :)
Alright - next up on the crazy Saturday tour is Emma's Sweet Shoppe birthday party! I've had this party on my mind for over a month, and it turned out wonderful! I highly recommend this as a birthday party theme idea. The colors are fun, kids LOVE it, and it really was entertaining for me to prepare all the decor and games. I found SO many great ideas online. My favorite sites I came across in planning for this are here, here, and here. Ready for lots of pics (and a candy overload)?! Well, here you go... (Keep in mind that almost everything you see below was not my original idea, but was from the creative ladies at the sites I linked to above).



It was a rainy morning, so my poor little outdoor decorations were fighting for their lives in the wet and windy weather - the candy sign and lollipops were made with just colored paper plates, wrapped in cellophane, and tied off with colored ribbons... the lollipops also have wooden dowels attached.



My friend Tessa let me borrow her gumball machine - cute right?





Aw the candy buffet... let's just say we have a lot of leftover candy... :) But isn't it lovely. My favorite is the dum dum topiary - basically lots of dum dum suckers shoved into a Styrofoam ball, attached to a purple painted dowel and placed carefully in a vase filled with rocks, hidden under m&m's. All the glass containers were just random things from around our kitchen, like mason jars, little vases, bowls, and glass mugs - it's amazing how if you fill it all with colorful candies, all those boring jars and such become so beautiful



The hanging candies are balloons covered in cellophane and tied off with ribbons - we hung them from the ceiling with monofilament... ooo... it's like their floating :)




Our party agenda went as follows (my trusty husband Ben was my right hand man during the whole party...and decorating the night before... he sure is good to have around)-

1. Make marshmallow pops as kids arrive - they each stuck a marshmallow on the end of a lollipop stick and then dipped them in melted chocolate, added sprinkles, and an m&m on top. I then put their names on them and stuck them in the fridge to set... towards the end of the party, I wrapped them in cellophane and ribbon and put them in their favor bags to go home.


2. Color! As the kids finished up their marshmallow pops, we sent them over to the small table to color a lollipop.



Becca had a hard time leaving the table... because she wanted to sit there and eat m&m's.
3. BINGO! - such a party staple... and so versatile for any party theme. :)




4. Candy Walk - I printed out a bunch of candy clipart and put them on colored paper (and laminated them, since the kids would be stepping all over them). This is a pretty standard party game (also very easily switched out for different party themes)... play music and the kids step from one to the next - when the music stops, call out a picture and see who wins - OH! and for prizes for all the games, the kids received plastic gold coins - at the end they traded in their coins for candy at the candy buffet, so it was more like shopping at the candy store. :)




5. Cupcakes! We sang to Emma, she blew out her 5 candles, and the kids ate away. Mmmm...



Such cute kids! Emma invited all the girls from her primary class and one special preschool friend (and one and only boy at the party)- a few other primary girls couldn't make it and they were definitely missed... if that includes you, I just may come surprise you with lots of leftover candy - we had enough to feed an army of 5 year olds!
6. Presents!










And last, but not least... a visit to the candy store - the kids eyes were seriously huge as they tried to decide what to 'buy' with their money. It was really fun!


So, it was a good time... but I'm glad it's over... and now I'd like to take a 5 year break from throwing parties ;)

OH, but don't stop reading! I'm not done! After the party, I had 30 minutes to get the kids in their dresses and into the car... and then we headed off to the Gammage theater at ASU to see Mary Poppins! It was AMAZING! The special effects were awesome (I'm still not sure how Ms. Poppins pulled out a full size lamp and mirror from her magic carpet bag), and the chimney sweepers tap dance number was incredible... one even tap danced upside down on the ceiling! At the end Mary Poppins flies off with her umbrella gracefully over the audience - pretty impressive.

That's quite the grumpy face on Becca - I'm not sure what happened when I took this photo... I don't recall her being grumpy :)

Whew! I'm tired... it was quite a day... a GREAT day, but now I'm ready for bed...