Hobbit Party Invitation

We loved how these turned out but I did nearly burn the house down several times and 2 of them were totally runined due to the fact that they become engulfed in flames and had to be thrown in the sink.
The house smelled like smoke for days...
Totally worth it for the perfect invites, don't you think?

Jeffrey's Hobbit Party

My children are famous for choosing obscure party themes- you know, ones that not many people have done before so there are few ideas out there in blog land and NO supplies at the party store.

This one was no exception.  Jeffrey is currently reading The Hobbit and LOVES it.  So naturally he wanted a Hobbit party.  I, however, have not read it nor do I know ANYTHING about it.
I spent an evening trying to research ideas and didn't find much so I began to panic.
I tried to talk him into picking a different theme- any other theme- but just stared at me until I consented to give it my best effort.  It is his birthday after all!

I mostly loved the invites I came up with but forgot to take a picture... I'll add one tomorrow.


For the party favors I came up with these little packages of gummy worms and swedish fish tied with twine and a gold ring.  Gollum eats a lot of raw fish and worms I'm told...
And the ring of course is "my precious."
I made the tags look old by inking them.

 

I found these chocolate coins and attached a note to them.
I love how these favors turned out!

Then, there was the matter of the cake...
Jeffrey chose a chocolate bundt cake(because hobbits eat cake) and the shape was perfect to turn it into the Hobbit Hole with some green icing and candies.

I let Jeffrey do a bunch of it since it was all his idea- and his cake!
I was really proud of myself for being so easy going about it.

It turned out really cute!

 

The party was at the Kelly Inn Best Western pool- which was perfect since it is a woodland themed pool- complete with a bunch of barrels(which I'm told is a big part of the book?)

I brought a sword, some ravens, a red dragon, and some spiders for decorations.

 

We served root beer, pickles, grapes, carrots, ham sandwiches, fish crackers, and pretzels for supper.
All Hobbit themed food set out in wooden bowls and fancy metal trays.
I even found small wooden spoons so each kid had to eat with that!  The LOVED that.

It was a great feast!

Jeffrey brought his finish lego Hobbit Hole to set out on display.

All the sudden Mickey announced "a toast to Jeffrey- the birthday boy!"
It was hilarious!

I bought one "gold" goblet for Jeffrey to drink out of.

He got awesome presents- his friends sure know him and what he loves!

 

 

Then it was time for more swimming!

 

Everyone had tons of fun and Jeffrey loved his party.
I have to admit- I do kinda enjoy the party theme challenges they keep presenting me...
after my panic attacks subside!

I can't wait to find out what Mary Beth is cooking up for hers...

Happy 10th Birthday to Our Turkey Baby!

Our sweet Jeffrey entered into double digits today.
He's pretty excited about his big day today- it's the first time one of our kids has had their birthday party on their actual birthday.  It made for a busy day but a really fun one!

He was born on Thanksgiving and loves that about his birthday... it's his big claim to fame. :)

He spent the morning building his birthday present from us:  the brand new, just released Hobbit Hole.

 

For lunch he requested his FAV:  garlic butter noodles!
I think he ate half of that bowl(which is half a pound of angel hair pasta).

 

And then,,, well, it was time to get ready for his big party!

Happy Birthday our big boy!
(but don't forget, you're still my baby boy)

Our Tree

 

 

This was our second year getting our tree from Sam's Club.  It doesn't fulfill my romantic notions of walking through a Christmas Tree Farm and chopping down the perfect tree but it works in a pinch.  We went there for other things tonight and on the way out noticed they had about 20 trees there.  They were all frasier firs, big, and $23!  And boy were they fresh.  So, in the FREEZING cold, the kids and I picked out the best one(as much as one can considering they were all tied up) and then I had to hoist it on top of the van since John is recovering from a minor surgery and is forbidden to lift anything over 10lbs.  Last year's tree was from Sam's too and it was probably the best one we'd ever had- so it may become an annual tradition!

Happy Halloween!- 2012

Our friends came over for chili and then it was time to hit the streets!
Jeffrey is Zorro- he had no idea who that was when we found the costume but he was intrigued when I told him about it and he loved the ensemble so Zorro it was!  Mary Beth LOVED this elaborate princess costume we discovered and asked if I could make her a velvet cape with a hood to go with it.  Luckily I had a pattern in one of my books so it was pretty easy.  I want to get some more fabric though and make it reversible- I didn't finish the edges so I could do that later- it wasn't noticeable...

Here they are with their buddy Shia.

 

 

I'm a witch!  Again...

 

A bunch of the neighbor kids all trick-or-treated together.  It was so cute.

 

 

Amber and Shadai

 

 

I LOVE decorating for Halloween!  My favorite is the cauldron I set up with the smoke.
It has been gorgeous weather for 3 years in a row and I couldn't be happier about that.  John sets up the fire pit in the front yard and Amber and I sit and drink cider by the fire while we hand out candy.

 

They were gone a long time this year.  LOTS of candy!!

We let them have a piece a day until they forget to ask(which fortunately is about 4-5 day) and then we save a bunch for gingerbread houses and throw the rest out(well, whatever I don't sneak in the meantime).  They love to sort it and rummage through it on Halloween night though- I remember loving that too...  they had a fun time!

 

Another Halloween a success!

Carving Pumpkins- 2012

We always seem to wait until the last minute to carve- my reasoning is that I don't want the pumpkins to get gross- and this year we did it on Halloween afternoon.  Another perk of having the kids home- way less rushing around and more time to enjoy special moments...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boo had no idea what to make of the whole thing- but she sure looked cute running around in her new sweater I got on clearance at TJ Max.  How perfect is it??  It says her name!

 

 

 

 

 

 

They turned out so great!  It's neat to see the creative ideas they come up with every year... Mary Beth had this plan in mind from the time she picked out her pumpkin.

 John and I did ours also of course- pictures to come in the next batch.