emily and jack's PARTY!

Emily and Jack had been asking for an "under the sea" birthday themed party since the day after they celebrated their birthdays the year prior.  I had been working on making a perfect combination of mermaids and sea creatures when the summer arrived and our kids were over taken with ANGRY BIRDS.  It didn't take much convincing from Dad that they should have an Angry Birds birthday party since it was ALL they talked about anyway.  Since I had never (and still have never) played Angry Birds I had to do a little research but thankfully there were some inspirational ideas out there on the Internet to help guide me along.  I wouldn't say it was a "cute" party but it sure was A LOT  of FUN!

The INVITATION...

The DETAILS...

 

I wanted the day to be loaded with lots of fun for all of Jack and Emily's friends so I made a variety of Angry Birds games for the kids to play...

I must have painted at least 15 Angry Birds balls, a variety to make each kiddo happy, and then filled the bounce house with the balls...

 The pinata got a little smushed on the drive over but after a few hits you couldn't even tell...

The FOOD...

 

PARTY GIFTS...

Angry Birds shirts...

I couldn't get enough of her cuteness, especially with her little Angry Bird tattoo...

Even Uncle Zach picked up a shirt for the party!

The kids opened their presents from family before their friends arrived...

Then they were off playing games...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack and Annie knew about the Jeep from a few weekends back and had a great time driving THROUGH the Angry Bird bricks... 

The kids searched for GOLDEN EGGS all over the yard... 

 

 

 

Each kid would either run back handfuls to their parents or carry in them in the front of their shirt...

 

They got some energy with a second helping of snacks...  

Then we got out the pinata... 

 

 We sang "Happy Birthday" to both Emily and Jack...

 Then opened their gifts from Grandma Emily and their friends...

 Well into the afternoon all of our friends and family headed home with the exception of the Pearsons.  The kids played and played with the kids' new toys late into the afternoon until they literally began to drop.

I had NO idea Angry Birds could be so much fun!  I LOVED this party!  It was fun to put together (even for someone who has never played the game) but even more fun to watch the kids thoroughly enjoy the entire afternoon!

the TWELFTH of September...

Emily celebrate her "original birthday" first thing in the morning with a special order of her most favorite breakfast...Swedish pancakes! 

Then she was off to school with lots of special treats for her classmates...

After school we were supposed to go to her restaurant of choice but we got surprise visit from one of her most favorite people in the world, Uncle Mike!  He left Arizona four days earlier and drove through, skipping an extra day of rest, just to be with Emily on her birthday.  His arrival was a treat in itself but the addition of some very special gifts definitely added some excitement!

 After dinner (at home) we all sat down to enjoy a small piece of cake, carefully chosen from the back of the dress so that the cake still looked perfect from the front...

 

School Days...

Emily and Jack started school on the very same week.  I knew this day was coming all summer but nonetheless I was not prepared for how emotional it would be...

Emily was OVER the MOON excited to get to school!  After many long conversations about where to enroll her (sometimes you can have TOO many options) we decided that the Duel Language Program at West View Elementary was the best fit for her, not to mention we LOVE the principal there!

Emily has Mrs. Peterson for homeroom (below) and Mrs. Mirabelli for math and reading.  When Emily is with Mrs. Peterson she receives her instruction in Spanish but receives her reading and math instruction in English.  I LOVE how these two teachers work so well together and create an atmosphere of family between the two classrooms...

On Tuesday Jack started his first day of preschool.  He was SO excited to wear his official PRESCHOOL shirt and go to Emily's old school.  I worried all summer that he might not be ready but this little guy was more than ready come September...

Lucky Jack got to have Mrs. Markus for a teacher this year!  She already knew him, thanks to Emily, and they immediately bonded.  Jack literally threw his arms around her and told her he loved her on the very first day.  That's our sweet little Jack!

 

 

SEPTEMBER nineth....

We celebrated Jack's "original" birthday, as Emily would say, with some light festivities.  Since we got the travel trailer this summer we had already agreed on NO PRESENTS for birthdays this year.  Instead we wanted to focus on fun activities to do with the kids on their actual birthday and talk about the adventures we would be having while camping throughout the year.  I wasn't too sure how the kids were going to respond to it but honestly neither one of them asked about presents a single time!

We started out Jack's birthday with sprinkle pancakes in the morning...

 Then we headed to the restaurant of his choice, The Chuck Wagon, for dinner...

 Later that evening we picked up a mini Lightening McQueen cake just for Jack...

It was the perfect little celebrate for our special BIG boy!