Rockin' 50 Years

Clay turned 50 years old.  Was it this year?  Or last?  And how many times did I reschedule this party due to the pandemic.  Hmmm...let me see.  What it 3? No, I actually think 4.  And did we even celebrate in Clay's actual birthday month? Uh...nope.  But, we finally did it.  No matter what month or even what year it was.  And let me tell you, it was completely worth the wait.

So back in 2000 something, I started planning this party.  Clay loves music.  Like all kinds of music.  So my brain slowly started conjuring up this idea of a Concert Themed 50th celebration.  

I started touring venues around town.  I knew just what I was looking for, so when I finally found it, my plan slowly starting falling into place.  I needed a real music venue, nothing fancy, and something very bar like.

From there things started falling into place.  I sent out amazing birthday invitations that looked like concert tickets along with back stage lanyard passes.  I hired the caterer, the band, had posters, tees, and all kinds of "merch" made.  It was going to be great.

Until....the pandemic.  I packed up all the goods, stored them in a closet and proceeded to postpone and reschedule this shindig and all of the vendors four times!  I was not letting this go.

Fast forward nearly a year and half later and we finally got to celebrate Clay!  

Welcome to the 50th Birthday Tour...

Just check out this "merch" table.  It was MY star of the show.  Personalized tees with "concert dates" of big events in his life, concert posters, button pins, lighters, koozies, and guitar picks.  

50 Years of The Rolling Stones was the guest sign in book.  I loved that it was 50 too!

At some point, in one of those years of planning this, I took myself to a local record store and picked up some of Clay's favorite band's vinyls to decorate with.  It definitely added a personal touch.

I replaced all of the venues band posters with my own...even in the bathroom!

The concert tee...even Jack, Maggie, and Lucy make an appearance.

As much as I loved planning this party, the celebration was even better.  After a year of a lack luster social schedule this was epic.  Not to mention we were celebrating an incredibly loved man!

Dress code: band tee.  Check them out. That was another fun aspect!

Happy Birthday Clay!  I hope you felt the love {even if it was postponed}.  You ROCK!

Hoppin' To 9

 Have I ever mentioned Lucy is obsessed with frogs?  Not the cutest animal, I admit, but it's her thing.  So when she asked me for a "small frog birthday party", I wasn't surprised.  I was a little stumped.  How does one make a frog birthday that is age appropriate for a 9 year old?  

I'm always up for a birthday party planning challenge so I got right to work.  She gave me her "small" list of friends she wanted to celebrate with and gave me the location.  Out lake house...naturally because frogs love to swim.

One might be surprised at how many frog related items there actually are.  I certainly was.  I set up the long dining table with a few froggy centerpieces and lily pads. At each child's seat there was a frog bucket hat, a frog tee, and frog gummies.

I knew the girls would spend most of their time swimming.  Especially since Lucy had requested a special boat ride to the water park.  But I also wanted to have a few things for them to do in the evening and the following morning.

The "activity" table had personalized green water bottles with a bowl full of frog stickers to decorate them, a frog piñata, and frog garden stone painting kits.

The piñata served as a great decorative centerpiece until we used it.

Here's a look at the food bar before the food actually arrived. The girls dined on green grapes, green applesauce pouches, green Gatorade, green bags of chips, and sadly NOT green hot dogs.  Any idea on a  green main course kids would actually eat? Yeah, me neither.

 

In lieu of a birthday cake we decorated cupcakes with little frog figurines.  The girls loved them and were very specific about which pair of frogs they wanted.

Since it was a sleep over, I thought it would be fun to give the girls a favor that could be used at the party.  I found these cozy frog blankets and stuffies on Amazon.

And that's what it looked like until the party started...

These pictures make me smile every time I look at them.  These girls truly had a frog-tastic time!  Such sweet friends.

The fun didn't end there either.  Just a few short days later we celebrated as a family on Lucy's real day.  She got balloons at the bus stop, birthday cake, and sibling gifts.

You sure are loved little Lu!  Happy Birthday!  It's been an incredible 9 years.  I can't wait to see all that is  to come with you.