Blended O'HANA: lights, water fountains, and characters OH MY!

[mFont23]

Been there.

That is a level of TIRED I haven't experienced since JP was a newborn. And only ONE girl cried. I didn't know what to do... asked if she wanted to call her mom or whatever then I was like.. do you need a hug? Because that's what I do when JP gets fussy. She said yes. We hugged, she talked to her mom. She was fine after that. LOL

Nicely themed.

Per Gia, the theme was "pink, gold, rosegold, roses, and unicorns"

Whoa! Very nice. I don't think I would've thought of that.

I actually ran out of tape (and have since STOCKED UP before JPs party) and we ended up threading some string to TIE it back together at one point. Mom was incharge of turning the girls and almost got whacked a few times. They also RAN everytime any amount of candy came out while the blind-folded girl was still swinging. It is a miracle no one wound up bleeding! Lessons learned.

Look how big he's getting!

NO KIDDING! When I hold him now, his legs dangle off of me and he covers my whole torso, plus some. Snuggles are getting less and less comfortable for him on me. BREAK MY HEART!

Not sure who's having more fun here.

No... I'm sure...

Oh she DEFINITELY had fun. One of the girls says, "Grandma got moves!"

mmmm.... brownies...

annnnnd now I want brownies.

 

[vamassey1]

Or I'll be so exhausted that I'll just throw in the TR towel.

And disappoint all your fans? I don't think so!

Oh she DEFINITELY had fun. One of the girls says, "Grandma got moves!"

Where do you think you got your moves? Not from your Dad.

 

[pkondz]

That is a level of TIRED I haven't experienced since JP was a newborn. And only ONE girl cried. I didn't know what to do... asked if she wanted to call her mom or whatever then I was like.. do you need a hug? Because that's what I do when JP gets fussy. She said yes. We hugged, she talked to her mom. She was fine after that. LOL

Awww...

We had one party... the girls were just a little older, but not much... and this one girl... we had to eject her from the party. Called her mom. It wasn't good.

Per Gia, the theme was "pink, gold, rosegold, roses, and unicorns"

Of course! Perfect choice.

Mom was incharge of turning the girls and almost got whacked a few times.

They also RAN everytime any amount of candy came out while the blind-folded girl was still swinging.

It is a miracle no one wound up bleeding! Lessons learned.

Yeah. Next time you'll give them all bats.

NO KIDDING! When I hold him now, his legs dangle off of me and he covers my whole torso, plus some. Snuggles are getting less and less comfortable for him on me. BREAK MY HEART!

When I became a father (not immediately, but not long after) my mom gave me this book:



Man... I was really... um... allergic... to that book.

Oh she DEFINITELY had fun. One of the girls says, "Grandma got moves!"

annnnnd now I want brownies.

Always the right time for brownies...

And disappoint all your fans? I don't think so!

Where do you think you got your moves? Not from your Dad

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Looks like a fun party! Getting ready to throw Morgan's art sleep over party.

 

[smilie]

Girl you are brave with that many girls at once! Lol... But what an amazing birthday party. I think you missed your calling as an event planner. Great job!!

 

[mFont23]

Where do you think you got your moves? Not from your Dad.

yep. definitely not dad.

Yeah. Next time you'll give them all bats.

I told my husband. Now I know where the idea for the lyric "Mama.... just killed a man" came from. It's because she hosted a 9year old girl's sleepover.

When I became a father (not immediately, but not long after) my mom gave me this book:



Man... I was really... um... allergic... to that book.

JP has decided not to sleep the past 2 nights. So Jimmy brought him in our bed and he was just inconsolable. I asked JP if he wanted Mama to sing, he said yes. So I sang him one of our lullabies, "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis and he just snuggled in and went right back to sleep. I was like I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW! Today, I'm dead tired, because we did that a few times the past 2 nights. But my heart is SO FULL!!!!

Looks like a fun party! Getting ready to throw Morgan's art sleep over party.

Every year I try to get Gia to do an art party or like a spa party. But this was a lot of fun! She's very artsy, so I think she'd enjoy that and what a fun theme that can be!

Girl you are brave with that many girls at once! Lol... But what an amazing birthday party. I think you missed your calling as an event planner. Great job!!

Party planning is my JAM! party throwing... pass. I couldn't wait till all those girls left my house LOL they were good, but I was TIRED.

 

[pkondz]

I told my husband. Now I know where the idea for the lyric "Mama.... just killed a man" came from. It's because she hosted a 9year old girl's sleepover.

JP has decided not to sleep the past 2 nights. So Jimmy brought him in our bed and he was just inconsolable. I asked JP if he wanted Mama to sing, he said yes. So I sang him one of our lullabies, "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis and he just snuggled in and went right back to sleep. I was like I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW! Today, I'm dead tired, because we did that a few times the past 2 nights. But my heart is SO FULL!!!!

Awwww....

 

[vamassey1]

Mom was incharge of turning the girls and almost got whacked a few times.

I did fear for my life. I would turn them around 3 times, duck and run. I finally told them to wait until I said swing to start swinging.

When I became a father (not immediately, but not long after) my mom gave me this book:



Man... I was really... um... allergic... to that book.

We had this book. I was a little allergic to it too.

JP has decided not to sleep the past 2 nights. So Jimmy brought him in our bed and he was just inconsolable. I asked JP if he wanted Mama to sing, he said yes. So I sang him one of our lullabies, "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis and he just snuggled in and went right back to sleep. I was like I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW! Today, I'm dead tired, because we did that a few times the past 2 nights. But my heart is SO FULL!!!!

He's so sweet and really loves music.

 

[pkondz]

We had this book. I was a little allergic to it too.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Every year I try to get Gia to do an art party or like a spa party. But this was a lot of fun! She's very artsy, so I think she'd enjoy that and what a fun theme that can be!

I will try and post some pics from Morgan's party. They are going to hopefully have a good time.

 

[GGOOFY1]

Great Party!! Are you an event planner? If not you missed your calling!

 

[mFont23]

Great Party!! Are you an event planner? If not you missed your calling!

But really, I owe all my credit to the internet!

I've got "John Paul's Jurrasic Party" the weekend after Easter. Pretty pumped about that.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Great Party!! Are you an event planner? If not you missed your calling!

But really, I owe all my credit to the internet!

I've got "John Paul's Jurrasic Party" the weekend after Easter. Pretty pumped about that.

Michelle your parties/ideas are so good they’ve been known to make their way across the Atlantic to help plan parties here

 

[vamassey1]

I just finished editing my pictures so I can finish up our last MK day. I'm hoping to get this done by the end of the weekend. We had JP's birthday party this past Sunday. I'm hoping @mFont23 will post a life update with pictures. She did another amazing job on his birthday.

 

[mFont23]

I'm hoping @mFont23 will post a life update with pictures. She did another amazing job on his birthday.

Okay, twist my arm, why don't you?! Kidding. I'd be HAPPY to share. Been a busy week, as always. I'm allllmost done with cleanup after the party (that was last weekend). Whoops.

Also, I'm really pumped for Mom to finish up her MK day because then I can move forward with my part of the trip report. Although... bittersweet. Because it's our last day of the trip and it's not even a park day. BUT! We are planning our next trip, officially. I mean we are ALWAYS planning our next trip, but the money is down and we are rocking and rolling waiting on flights to come out. SO THAT IS EXCITING.

So, that party...

Let me start by saying I know he only turned 2 and this was WAY over the top. But I loved it, he loved it, and I enjoyed doing it. It really was a super awesome party and the kids had a BLAST! Note to self, do a Saturday party next time because he was just too excited and we coudln't get him to bed on a Sunday until past 9pm.

Here's the "details"... you know, the stuff 2 year olds don't actually care about, but us Moms find fascinating.



This was the cake table, but obviously before the cake and before the cake pops in the planters. The pictures of the table during the party were very dark because I've got full sunlight behind that window, but kept the blinds closed for the party. I individually taped, hung, or pinned each of those decorations around the window.

Here's the AWESOME cake (only about $40, too). The birthday book he got... which, when you read it, is actually very weird. Also the "John Paul's Park" signs I printed from someone who made it on Etsy ($4). And it was worth all $4 because I tried making it myself with the sillhouette cutter and got very, very angry. All those teeth (and no tooth brush #WaterBoyMovieReference). I also made cake pops to look like dino eggs in a "nest". The volcano we already had. Jimmy buys random things for us when he stops at the store for wine some nights after work. This was something he got Gia once because she went through a phase a few years back of the vinegar/baking soda volcano obsession. I'm not kidding, we used this things SEVERAL times a day for WEEKS.



This is the back of my "dining" area where we put all the food. You know you had a good party when nearly all the food gets eaten. We didn't over or under do that! I was excited about that. Mom hung all those streamers individually. And she's about 5 feet tall, so that was interesting.


Okay there's a story here. My dad was a huge help for the party, as always. But he was being, I'd say, semi-Grumpy. You know, living up to his name. He knew it was obnoxious and over the top and I think he thought the whole thing was stupid. But he goes to cut the watermelon and plans to go back home after that. He was done. He had done a lot. I'm like, uhhhhh can you cut it into triangle pieces? Please? .....talk about a sigh and eye roll. I'm like, "I can do it if you want to go ahead home." He did it, and didn't huff and puff too much. But this is why I wanted triangles LOL.





I love these strawberry volcanos and Mom and I used a cute cutter on the sandwiches. Best part is the dinos with "mayo" and "no mayo"


Herbivore Valley and Carnivore Corner


When I had this whole idea, I really wanted this "dig-in" idea. So I actually hand painted this whole sign and I have to show it off because it's a labor of love for me.


On the bar, I put all the treat bags. I got plain bags, cut out dinosaurs on the cutter, and got some thank you tags from Etsy to tie on. Ended up putting the party hats on them and it was super cute. The kids actually loved the party hats.


Then we had our photo op spot. It's not a party without photo ops in my world. Also... anyone notice those TREXs look a lot like Reptar from Rugrats. Weird.

...continued in next post...

 

[mFont23]

(John Paul's Jurrasic Party Continued)

So when I looked at the weather a few days before, it said Sunday was going to be hot. Perfect, but hot. And in the new house we finally have a yard! We love our yard and spend basically everyday out in it. So i texted moms and told them we have a small water situation going on in the back and to bring either swim clothes or extra clothes. Nothing crazy, but it'll be great for the kids.

I wish I had one good picture of the whole set-up. We had small sandboxes with dinos in them to dig out, we had the water table for fun, the fire hydrant sprinkler going, and a baby pool with the slide put in it. We also have a small trampoline, cars, bikes, bubble machines, etc. At one point, I looked around and said OMG it's like a child's fair here!



I mean, there was a line for the slide and this was before the other 5 or 6 kids showed up. We had a great turn out and they all had so much fun!




Here's G with both of her brothers.

After over an hour of outside play, we rounded up everybody and it was time for cake.

Had to do it in the photo op spot, duhhhhh.

He actually blew out his handle himself... twice. I was impressed. He also sang himself Happy Birthday. again, impressed.



He had so much fun with his buds from school. I'm so glad we had a bunch of kids and he was comfortable and just had fun! Really exceeded all my party hopes and dreams. He won't remember it, but I'll never forget.


A few family pics.

We opened a few presents, but I was trying to avoid it. We would've been there forever, kids might fight over toys, and how to you get toddlers to sit and watch another kid open gifts. So he opened his fireman suit, and a bat and next thing you know, we're all in the playroom (told you, it's like a kids play ground at my house) and they're hitting a pull-string pinata. Jimmy really wanted to let them have at it. Okay, fine.


THEY LOVED IT! We let Gia whack it last and it decapitated Marshal. Also note: I didn't like any dino pinatas I saw, so I got his favorite Paw Patrol: Marshall. See, I'm not more extra or OCD than I am a good mom that just wants her kid happy. Even though he's be just as happy with the box Marshall came in. Oh well.


We had this thing, too. It was cheap on Oriental Trading and a photo prop, but I was going to make it a bean bag toss. Until I had the water idea. Who the heck needs a bean bag toss when you can slide into a pool?!

Lastly, I'll post my son happily playing with a truck he got.... but also notice the dino feet I cut and individually placed on the floors in vinyl. LOL

 

[smilie]

That looks amazing!! Are you available in October to plan my daughter's birthday? Lol... Seriously girl, you have a gift. Great job!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

party looks great!!!!

 

[vamassey1]

Okay, twist my arm, why don't you?! Kidding. I'd be HAPPY to share. Been a busy week, as always. I'm allllmost done with cleanup after the party (that was last weekend). Whoops.

Michelle did an awesome job on the party. I just show up and ask what she needs me to do. She had it all planned out.

Mom hung all those streamers individually. And she's about 5 feet tall, so that was interesting.

I did this wall and the photo back drop wall. Thank goodness she had a step ladder.

He had so much fun with his buds from school. I'm so glad we had a bunch of kids and he was comfortable and just had fun! Really exceeded all my party hopes and dreams. He won't remember it, but I'll never forget.

I think the kids all had a great time.

 

[vamassey1]

Last Park Day- MK One Big Happy Family Back Together

Time to finish this last park day.

Michelle, Jimmy, JP and I headed over to the Big Top area so JP could play in some more water. The plan was for everyone else to make their way over to us there. Looking back at our pictures I realize how dingy Casey's looks. I'm so glad it has gotten a fresh coat of paint and look forward to seeing it for real.

Of course John Paul loved playing in the water but I think Michelle has some fun too.

After the water play was done and everyone was gathered together we thought about riding Dumbo. It was a great ride for Gia to do with both her brothers but after looking at the wait time we had to pass. Part of our party has a FP for SDMT coming up. We decided to get out of the heat and do a little shopping in The Big Top. This is when I discovered all the great treats many of which are in the Confectionery on Main Street. Gia and I jumped in line to use some snack credits. She got a caramel apple & got some caramel corn. She loved that they cut it up for her.

It was time to head to SDMT but of course Michelle & Jimmy didn't want to ride. Michelle traded out her Magic Band with Ashley and we headed to ride with Gia. This was Gia's first ride on Mine Train so she was nervous. The others all headed to Main Street and as Michelle reported they watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Gia ended up really liking SDMT and wanted to ride again, but of course we didn't get a chance to do it on this day. I think the ride photo shows what a good time she had.



I liked it too.




After we exited Mine Train we headed down or is it up Main Street to meet the others. As Michelle already posted we got some really cute family pictures.


We next headed to Monsters Laugh Floor. It was an attraction we could all do together in the AC. I know it's corny but still fun.


Continued in next post.