Happy Birthday, Dear Mina...

The weekend after Gabriela's birthday, we went down to Hollister to celebrate Mina's birthday.  Check out the cutesie veggie dipping cups and the fruit kabobs.

 There were cute straws and cute kids using the straws, and frozen watermelon 

for ice cubes in the lemonade. cute!

 Easton hung out with Auntie Theresa the whole time.  I mean the WHOLE time, 

he even took a nap in her arms!

 The neighbor was so sweet, she brought over her face paint kit and 

painted away on those kiddo faces.

 No party at Tim's is complete without the barbacoa.

 Check out the bros.

 And the BBQ grill master using a custom 49er's grill. 

 Dude doesn't mess around.

 Girls bouncing in the bounce house.  Both are in outfits that Kristie made.

 Someone also invited a watermelon monster to the party.

 It's a little hard to see here, but Uncle Matthew and Uncle Lane kept things entertaining with a riveting game of "Catch Mina".  She seemed to enjoy herself the most!

 See? They really are sweet uncles.

 Gabriela drew a picture of Mina Ballerina on her dance class gift certificate we made her.

 As usual, there was a piñata.  And, 

I am surprised to report that I didn't have to bust it open this time. 

 Cutest piñata hitter ever!!!

 Easton really did stay in Auntie's arms the whole day.

 Gabriela held Baby Wes

He is a long baby!

 And, of course, the requisite cousin bullying.

 Can you tell Mina is excited about her ballet shoes and ballerina tutu shirt she received???

 Showing Easton how to hold the balloons.

A Fairy Happy Birthday Party: Part 4

The best part about this party was the general fairy frolicking that happened.  

At first I was worried that I didn't plan enough for the kids, but then they just started prancing around, with the wind blowing their wings and tutus around.  

Just as I had pictured it!

 

Happy, Happy birthday to my sweet Gabriela.  

I was so happy to give you the fairy birthday party you requested xoxo

A Fairy Happy Birthday Party: Part 3

And then there were the fairy wands.  Lane collected fairy wand worthy sticks at the beach a couple weeks before the party.  I bought and separated bunches of silk flowers, my friend Kiera brought a bunch of sweet smelling lavender, and tons of ribbon from Auntie Liss and me so the girls could create their own fairy wands.

The girls picked the flowers they wanted, and we just wrapped floral wire around them to attach them to their wands. Auntie Adie helped secure the ribbons that the girls chose.

And then the fun began.  Gabriela's sweet cousin Chaney chased the girls around, pretending he was an evil troll.  They used their fairy wands to freeze him.  I love that he totally jumped in and joined in the fun, creating a game that kept them all entertained.

These fairies are plotting their next move.

See??

A Fairy Happy Birthday Party: Part 2

Auntie Liss - Magical Face Painter Extraordinaire

Auntie Liss was so excited about Gabriela's fairy birthday party. She asked for a job and gladly accepted when I asked her to be the face painter.  She did an amazing job.  The girls were all thrilled.  Especially because I made sure there was a hand mirror for them to admire the works of art on their sweet fairy faces.

  

We loved it so much, we all decided that we should have our faces painted too.  

Auntie Liss never ceases to amaze us and even painted her own face.

Thank you for making this party so magical, Auntie Liss!!

A Fairy Happy Birthday Party: Part 1

Get ready for some serious birthday party photos, people.

Gabriela had the sweetest, most magical fairy birthday party ever.  

This little fairy rode her bike to her party at Lincoln Park, her favorite park.

This is one of my favorite shots of Gabriela on her party day. It totally captures her excitement about the day.  

 Of course she wore her birthday crown that Auntie Liss and I made for her 2nd birthday.

Fairy wings, fairy tutu, and fairy face paint completed the ensemble.

 

I am so glad I decided to go easy on the decorations. Simple is just better most of the time. I got some paper lanterns, Auntie Liss brought some flower garlands, and I picked up some super cute fabric to use as a tablecloth on our one and only table at the party.

 The fairies had simple and delicious fairy menu - baby carrots, snap peas, and mini cherry tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, peanut butter pretzels, and pirate booty.  

Nothing that required extra cooking, assembling, or other preparation. 

Then there were the birthday cupcakes in flower petal papers.  Lane baked the cupcakes and made the frosting.  We used blackberries that we had just picked a few days earlier to dye the frosting and decorate the cupcakes.  I am officially a fan of piped frosting. It's so much faster and looks way better. How am I just now discovering this???

 The whole setting at the park was perfectly fairytastic!  We used an area that is not reservable - it's kind of hidden in the corner of the park where there are lots of cool trees and hydrangea bushes and it's far away from the playground.  Every time we visited or drove by the park I scoped out the area to make sure it wasn't an area of high demand. 

 We made fairy wands, the girls all had fairy wings thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, and I made fairy tutus for everyone.  As the girls arrived they got their fairy wings and tutus, received some bubbles for blowing, and then were directed to get their fairy face paint, make their wands, or have a snack.

The birthday girl "blowing" out her candles, fairy wand in hand.  The only things that disappointed me about the party was that I forgot to bring Gabriela's fairy gardens that she made and that we couldn't get the candles to light because it was so breezy. But that breeze and the shade made the temperature perfect on an otherwise hot and sunny day. 

We all had a wonderful time, and I have to admit, I was kind of bummed when the party was all over. Thank goodness for all the help I had.  Lane made the cupcakes and frosting, did the dishes, loaded and unloaded the van, climbed up high and decorated.  Grandma and Grandpa provided fairy wings, Auntie Liss did face painting, Auntie Adie helped the kids make fairy wands. It was totally a team effort!