happy birthday to my two best gals!

yes, their big days were october 24th and october 30th...but things have been busy. and i may have not wanted to look at anything else that was red // green // or a shade in between since then. no thanks. it's still hard to stomach. 

is anyone else of the same conclusion that these parties are so. much. work! are they worth it? according to my fitbit...i walked nearly 20,000 steps that day. that's like...eight miles and i didn't even work out. i was just running around like a crazy person. 

and with all that...here's how it went down...

i had this suuuuuper grand idea to create all my best gal's paper goodies. i mean...i do dabble in this kind of stuff, so why wouldn't i make their invitations, party banner, cute straw flags, etc? 

when it came down to it, i was already busy enough making other goodies for various clients! i certainly didn't want to add one more thing to my plate. that's when minted came in to save the day. 

i've worked with minted in the past, and you know what...worth it. their products are wonderful. the paper is thick and quality. their products are always adorable. and there were lots of different goodies to choose from to tie the party together. win win win - win all around. 

i ended up choosing this sweet strawberry themed party...but it was super hard to narrow it down, because they have SO MANY to choose from...and they are all adorable. seriously, have a look. 
the day had me super nervous...i mean...it was late october in idaho. you really never know what you're going to get on the weather front. but, according to the forecast it was supposed to be 68º that day...uh, that didn't happen. i think it was closer to 60º with a wind. i felt terrible for our nearly 50+ guests. (yes, between children and adults we had that many people. rent a bounce house...they will come.)
to keep friend and family warm i had four batches of chili bubbling inside. in hindsight...i should have just had the party inside...but the bounce house! i guess the kids could have just gone crazy outside...no parental supervision needed, right?

in addition to chili, i whipped up a SUUUUUPER delicious batch of sparkling apple cider sangria. if you're ever looking for a fall-themed party drink...this beverage is where it's at. i drank about five glasses of this delicious concoction...i had no trouble staying warm.

when the kiddos weren't busy bouncing their sugar out i asked my farmer's sister if she could do some face painting and she was more than happy to help.
she already had her face painted like a cat...so of course, kaye wanted to be a cat too.


we had butterflies, lions, and other various animals running around.

sawyer opted out of actual paint and went for frosting instead. when you think about it, she had the better idea.

i'm not super sure what animal she was going for, but it looked good and it was super fun to kiss her sweet face. #couldntgetenough
yes, sawyer's name is missing the Y. someone decided that bending and chewing it in her free time was the best idea.
we opted out of any sort of present opening this year...don't get me started. okay...you got me started.

i asked guests to not bring gifts for the girls this year. and farmer and i didn't get the girls any presents either. that's right...zero birthday presents was the idea. now, before you start to think that we are the meanest parents EVER...here's why...

my girls are SPOILED. spoiled beyond...i don't know what.

between my farmer...me...my farmer's parents...our neighbors...and other people in our gal's lives they are literally getting presents ALL THE TIME. all the time. i would absolutely hate for presents to become the expectation, rather than the excitement of it all.

i want my girls to value the people in their lives, not the gifts the people give them. because time is the best gift of all...isn't it? who cares about the doll with the jacked up hair they got at their birthday...but wasn't it amazing that so many people dedicated their saturday afternoon to celebrate my gals? yes...jacked up barbie is going in the trash in a few months years. but you can't throw experiences away!

the best part? my gals had zero clue that they missed out on a birthday expectation. granted, a few people did break the rules and brought gifts. i let the girls open one a day for the next few days and of course it was fun to see them excited. it was also fun to watch them play with the toy for an entire day before it lost it's shine.

i could go on and on and on about this...but i'll stop.
the party was so so fun and i can't thank all the attendees enough for helping to celebrate my two best gals.

we handed out little cookie jars as thank you's to all our friends and family.
i made little recipe cards to match the strawberry invitations i snagged from minted...not to mention, the cookies were delicious. win // win.

i love how the party came together and all the special touches from minted.
i did run out of time to make little smash cakes for both girls...so they had to settle for cupcakes with candles in them. in addition, the wind was blowing too much for the candles to stay lit...luckily we did a re-do on kaye's actual birthday a few days later, so kaye's wish still has a chance of coming true...even though she stated it to us out loud.   
and a huge thank you to minted, again, for providing all the lovely paper goodies for my gal's birthday party. it added all the special touches to make the day picture perfect!