Lorelei and Makin's Farm Party

Back in the winter around February or March I came up with the idea to do a farm party for the kids. I don't want to do joint parties all the time, but for the time being, they are fine with it, and we will just have a mix of joint/individual parties for years to come I'm sure, depending on what they would like. But this year, the farm idea was perfect!

Texans are big on birthday parties. The whole "everything's bigger in Texas" definitely includes birthdays. It is amazing to look around on Saturdays and see how many backyards have rented a blow up bounce house for a party! :) Needless to say, there were quite a few options for a petting zoo. This was key for me, since we have two animal lovers and wanted to do something extra-special for a shared party.

Probably the biggest undertaking was the bandana banners we made to decorate. No crepe paper or balloons this year! I saw the idea in a pamphlet at Hobby Lobby and Brad tolerated and helped me with my crazy decorating plan. We loved how it looked in the end. And extra-thankful to A.J. for helping Brad hang them! Also loved our goodie bags...another Brad and Elizabeth evening project. :)



And the super-cute shirts were from Amanda and John who had them specially made for them for their party. :)

One of the most exciting things about the party was the people who came! We loved having my entire family here for the big day, (and added bonus, they brought hay bales among a lot of other amazing props/decorations and extra helping hands!) as well as Amanda, John and Sydney. And of course our special "locals" who love our kids so much. All of them coming together was so much fun. We are blessed with amazing, AMAZING people who love our family.

I should also mention a few days before the party...I was panicking and needing lots of prayers. Not only was there a 50% chance of rain on Saturday, but also Makin got sick on Thursday! I was so worried that Lorelei would get sick etc. Amazingly the rain chance went down to 10% (and not a drop came down on Saturday) and Makin was fine Friday morning and no one else got the bug!!!

The kids had been hearing about the party for months and were so excited it was finally here. Their reactions as they were watching the animals walking into the backyard were priceless! :) Let the fun begin!















The first hour was the petting zoo. There were approxamitly 20 animals. A mini cow and horse, a sheep, bunnies, chickens, ducks, goats, pigs and a not-so-slow-moving turtle. The kids loved feeding the animals romaine lettuce and carrots. They also got a chance to hold some if they wanted. The last three who stayed in the pen the entire hour (aka the ULTIMATE animal lovers) were Lorelei, Alysa and Morgan. :)








Then we played a few games. Pin The Tail On The Cow, which only Lorelei and Kaitlyn were interested in... :) Duck, Duck, Goose, and Dance and Freeze (to a techno version of Old McDonald of course). And to throw in my little educational moment, we had two bins of soil along with toy fruits and veggies as well as tractors so they could get a glimpse at what farmers do!

And Aunt Heather was our amazing face painter!!!



Then of course was the food, followed by cake and ice cream. For the cakes, I decided to do tractors, that way each child could have their own cake, but it looked different as well. Growing up I always asked my dad if we could paint our tractor pink, since he had two daughters driving it! Well, I never got my pink tractor, but made sure Lorelei at least got a pink tractor cake. ;) And we sang to each child separately. :)

Some Nana and Papa Moments

My Favorite Cheesin' It Pics

Lorelei's favorite part of the day: "Petting and feeding the animals."
Makin's favorite part of the day: "Cake."

It was completely wonderful and seemed to go by in a flash. Had so much fun celebrating our kiddos! :)