Tutti Frutti For Our Cutie

Happy 6th Birthday Lucy!  It's time to celebrate so let's get Tutti Frutti!

Okay, so I imagine the first thing going through a lot of minds is where did a FRUIT theme come from?  And actually, that's pretty easy.  Last summer {yes last}, Lucy and I were out and about, maybe Target or something,  and EVERYTHING had fruit on it.  Lu and I just both thought it was so stinkin' cute. 

I threw out the idea of making it a theme for her next birthday and she was all for it.  Easy as that {in true Lucy fashion}!  

And since that summer of 2017, we have been collecting tutti fruitti goodies every time we see them.  Which is often...and everywhere!  You can't deny that you have seen fruit all over the place lately.  I mean Target even had banana book ends the other day!  And don't even doubt that I was trying to think how I could use them for this party.

So here we go...a Tutti Frutti Birthday celebration for the Berry Best 6 year old I know...

Let's start with the table.  I didn't quite have all the food out or really even have it entirely set up.  But, as you can imagine, the whole menu was fruity...sour raisins {which happily come in bright pink and yellow boxes}, fruit snacks, popcorn {in fruit hats/cones}, fresh fruit, and tea sandwiches complete with a pineapple toothpick.

I was so happy with the way these little signs turned out.  I wracked my brain for every fruity saying I could come up with and even got a little desperate with some of them.  Tracy at Sweet Peach Paperie  added the clip art and the fun design.  She turned my vision into a reality.  I adore working with her.

And let me tell you, these frames from Ikea have been well used since Maggie's Emoji party.  I have no idea what I ever did without them.

The beverage station was totally fruity too!  I got the pineapple cups form Shop Sweet Lulu and the straws from Amazon.  The cups were fun for the kiddos to take home post party.

And I could not resist all the fruity flavors of Fanta.  I mean pineapple, orange, grape, and strawberry...amazing!

For favors, I filled berry baskets {from Michaels} with fruity fun.  Each guest took home a fruity Whiffer Sniffer {which I found on clearance at a toy store going out of business-see it pays to know your theme a year in advance}, fruit coin purses {from DG-my fave}, fruit lip gloss {from the dollar store}, and fruity gum.

I packaged them up with cute stickers from Sweet Peach and was thrilled with how darling they turned out.

I really can't deny that coming up with Fruity activities was not the easiest.  But, it all fell into place.  Unfortunately, I just couldn't get too creative with the names.  So everything turned into "Tutti Frutti" something...

Tutti Frutti Sand Art...{I was able to find fruit shaped necklaces at Oriental Trading...score!} The kids loved this station.

Tutti Frutti Sun Catchers {again oriental Trading}...

A Tutti Frutti photo Booth {which is always a hit}...

And Tutti Frutti Playdough, which was totally a miraculous accidental find.  Seriously, on an end cap at Target in a clearance bin, there stood fruit scented playdough.  And it even said "Tutti Frutti" on the label.  Amazing...it was meant to be.

The kiddos had fun making fruit creations out of the dough and taking sniffs!

Now, lets get to the Par-Tay...

Needless to say, we had a "fruit"tabulous time!

After activities, swimming, and lunch, it was time for dessert.  What could be better than a Fruit SnowCone truck, I mean it was a Tutti Frutti party after all?  Hello Kona Ice.

The truck did not disappoint!  The birthday girl got to tour the inside, pick her own fruity flavor, and even crush her own ice.  The snow cone man even gave Lucy a special birthday cup and tee.  Talk about cool!

When Lucy was done with her tour and concocting her snow cone, we popped in some fruity candles and sang a Happy Birthday ditty to her!

From there, all the guests sprinted out to the truck for their treats and I was able to snatch these cuties for a couple family pictures.

It was a Grape Day for a Berry Special Girl.  We Partied like Pineapples and celebrated the Lime of my Life!

Happy birthday sweet Lucy!  You will FOREVER be my cutie!

Littlest Sister is Six

So...it happened!  The Littlest Sister turned Six today!  First my baby leaves me and runs off to Kindergarten, then she loses a front tooth, and now she goes and turns 6.  A mama can only handle so much in a few short weeks.

Lu's 6th birthday fell on a school day this year.  Pretty cool, since they said her name on the announcements!  Not, so cool that I only got a sweet snip-it of the birthday girl this morning.

She bounced downstairs ready for her birthday breakfast and sibling gifts.  Gotta love her bed head...but presents were a priority.

From there, we all doused her with birthday love...kisses and hugs galore and sent her on her way to big girl school.

I popped in at lunch time and nearly melted at those darling Kindergartners.  They are the cutest.  I served Birthday donuts and got one more birthday smooch to hold me over until bus time.

For her birthday dinner, Lucy was very torn.  She REALLY wanted Chef Reggie {from school} to come make her birthday dinner because, "he is just the best cook". {which cracks me up, because my other two wouldn't touch a school lunch if their life depended on it}  Lucy rebounded when she discovered Chef Reggie doesn't make house calls and asked for her other favorite.... Fried Calamari!

We dined at a festive local seafood restaurant.  The staff took very good care of the birthday girl!  Fried calamari on the house!

And a delish s'mores platter to celebrate the special day!

MMMM...I adore this littlest of mine.  If only she would stop growing up!

Saturday is party day...Tutti Frutti...time to celebrate our Cutie...again!

The Concert Circuit

Nothing like celebrating the first week of school with a weekend of concerts!  

The girls literally got off the bus Friday afternoon, ran home, changed clothes and we jumped in an Uber for a night of Taylor Swift!

How fun that I get to share my love of Taylor with my girls!  Swifties at their best!

We made sure to arrive downtown early to avoid the traffic.  We met our fellow Swifties for dinner and fun.  We were going to make a night of this!

After a long dinner of anticipation, we made the jaunt to the stadium.  I was so impressed with these girls stamina.

The girls were ready to rock, but little did they know, we had to get through two opening acts and wait to well past bed time for Taylor to come on stage.  Cokes, anyone?

Come on Taylor...we are waiting for you!

The wait was completely worth it...Taylor did not disappoint!  Her show {or at least what I saw of it} was AMAZING!

Little one danced her tail off through the first five songs and then had her ultra meltdown.  Can't say I wasn't waiting for it.  Between her sobs, I heard "Taylor hates her old songs" and "Taylor has on black lipstick".  She was a goner and there was no turning back.  When I checked in with Maggie, I got, "yeah, I'm ready to go, I'm cold".  WHAT?!?!? 

Oh well, we tried.  Both girls passed out in the Uber on the way home and I dreamed of the day that I would see an entire Taylor Swift concert.

But, I did get a little reprieve from my mourning Saturday night with the Dierks Bentley concert.  Adults only, this time.  So much fun and we made it through the entire show!  Woo hoo!

Now, I'm paying for too late nights in a row and praying my girls are caught up on sleep come Monday morning.