The week before Easter was a whirlwind of birthday fun at our house. It was busy, busy, busy in a really good way. Ella and Zoe's RAINBOW PARTY was at a neighborhood school's gymnasium --- there were lots and lots of friends, three cousins, two aunties, one uncle, one grama (with one grampa waiting for us back home) and splashes of rainbow colors all over the place. It was a fun theme and a super fun party!!
The girls helped with all of the party preparations.
Quite a few weeks ago they watercolor painted 20+ RAINBOW invitations ....
They helped paint the RAINBOW 'Welcome' sign ....
They painted RAINBOWS for decorations (Ella's is the larger one, Zoe's is the smaller one) ....
They organized crayons by colors and chose color sheets they thought their friends would like ....
They sorted colorful beads for the RAINBOW Necklaces (while I cut the ribbons) ....
.... and they used markers to decorate 20+ goodie bags with cute little RAINBOWS.
The girls also helped bake 2 dozen colorful cupcakes ....
.... and make, bake, layer, frost and decorate our amazing six-layer RAINBOW cake!!
The morning of the party the girls woke up extra early, and tried to keep themselves occupied until they were told they could get up ....
.... then Grama Dianne took a few photos of me with the girls ....
.... a family photo .....
.... and then it was time to party hard, RAINBOW style!!
As everyone arrived the kids made their RAINBOW necklaces and colored for a bit --- then we moved into the gym and the RAINBOW games began ~
First there was parachute play ....
Then the kids played RAINBOW tag, and a RAINBOW version of Duck, Duck, Grey Duck (and I am very entertained by how 4 and 5 year olds play Duck Duck Grey Duck --- they run ALL OVER the place).
Mia chasing Ella:
Zoe chasing Maddie:
Birthday Girl Zoe ~
Birthday Girl Ella ~
After games it was time for presents. I was extremely impressed by how well all of the kids sat and paid attention, but this part of the party was stressful for me. It felt like it took forever, and it always feels wrong to rush through reading handmade cards and opening gifts quickly just to get through the process. But we made it through, and Zoe and Ella got so many really nice, really fun and very thoughtful gifts. It was a great balance of toys (Zoobles, Zhu-Zhu pets, My Little Ponies, Little Pet Shop animals), dress-up play (crowns, wands, earrings, bunny ears), creative play (art kits and art project supplies, beading kits, jewelry-making kits, wand-decorating projects), an Easy Bake Oven, brightly-colored rainbow shirts with matching shorts, jewelry boxes, and two absolutely adorable, hand-made dolls with their own rainbow quilts, a change of clothes and extra ribbons.
Everyone was SO generous.
After gifts it was time for Ella to blow out her FIVE candles on the blue cupcake she chose ....
.... then Zoe blew out her FIVE candles on the purple cupcake she chose....
.... and even though the cake was lopsided it looked so pretty on the outside AND the inside --- and it even tasted good!!
The RAINBOW of tutus (for the girls) and RAINBOW bows on the stuffed animals (for the boys) were specially made by our family friend, Diane. She did an incredible job bringing my vision to fruition, and I really appreciate her help. She is so talented in ALL areas of sewing, so if anyone needs anything done (and I really mean anything you can think of, tailoring, upholstory repair, tutus, doll clothes, people clothes, etc.,), please let me know and I can give you her contact information. Her prices are very fair and her quality of work is outstanding.
As the kids finished their cupcakes and ice-cream they headed back to the gym for more fun with bats and balls,
friends and balls,
and jumping around in the bouncy house .....
After the party there was time for a quick pic with cousins ....
..... and once home, trying out their new sleeping bags from Grama and Grampa was top priority ....
It was such a fun party and a great afternoon.
I am still shaking my head though, when I remember that Zoe and Ella are now five year olds ....
.... and the RAINBOW cake, that makes me happy. It still tasted great a few days later, and it still looked so pretty, even when it was toppled over and picked at.
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