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" />" width="500" height="214" alt="ccb" />" />I don't know how I will ever catch up so I am just going to have to focus on what has been the main event in our lives over the last few days. The Birthday Girl's Birthday!
We threw The Birthday Girl a party on the Saturday before her birthday. We made the invitations and had them copied at the office supply store in town.
The Birthday Girl chose to invite just a few of her closest friends, which was great. We still had more than enough girls and one little lone boy for plenty of fun.
Although every mother would like for their party to look as if it was effortlessly thrown together...rest assured it wasn't. Even without planning activities into 15 minute blocks (a total waste of time in my opinion) parties can be a real bear to put together. I found that the most exhausting task was getting the house clean and keeping it that way.
Planning the party menu was a source of stress for me, as I am lacking in the kitchen smarts department. I needed to feed a gaggle of girls and their parents and do it without spending a fortune. Here's what I came up with.
For the Parents
Hot Dogs and Corn: We felt a little cheap serving hot dogs, so to class it up a notch or two we sprung for the thicker, polish sausage versions and added relish and sauerkraut with the usual condiments. Chuck cooked the hot dogs and corn out on the grill.
For the Kids
Mini Pizzas: I stole this idea straight from the virtual pages of Family Fun Magazine. Use English muffins to create personal pizzas. These got eaten up fast. The grown ups liked them too.
Animal Shaped Chips: Also, taken from the wildly popular Family Fun Magazine website. Using cookie cutters, cut shapes from flour tortillas. Spray them with Pam and salt and put them in the oven on 350 for 7 minutes. I sat these out with salsa dip. For some reason the chips were more popular with the adults than the kids.
Sugar Cookies with Chocolate: Since this is one of the only desserts I have ever made that has been nice looking enough to serve to others, I decided it would be a good "sweet thing" to add to the menu. Because I had reached my trying-new-things-in-the-kitchen threshold, I bought a roll of pre-made sugar cookies at the IGA (grocery store). I was trying to follow the instructions to the T, since I have been known to rush through the details and cause cooking disasters, so I didn't grease the pan. The cookie roll said to add the cookies to an un-greased pan. Well dang it those cookies didn't stick so bad that I had to dig them off the cookie sheet with my wilted spatula. So, I was forced to find a sugar cookie recipe online and make them from scratch! They weren't superb, but they were fine. I had planned to add Hershey's Kisses to the top of each, but since a small bag of Kisses at the IGA were $4.99, I searched the aisle until I found a more acceptably priced bag-o-chocolates. Most of which were nabbed shortly after I took this photo.
Peaches: I felt it was my duty to add at least one nutritious thing to the menu. I didn't want to buy an expensive fruit tray or deal with yellowed apples. My solution was a pretty bowl of peaches.
They are praying. Aren't they precious?
The table behind them is actually the wooden box that encases our well.
I put a vintage twin bedspread over the top to serve as a table cloth.
Since we didn't have enough little people chairs, I had to think of an alternative. The girls are sitting on stumps from our woodpile. Chuck shaved them down and leveled them off a little for me.
The gifts were so thoughtful. The kids made their own cards.
I draped fabric over half of an old satellite dish to create a screen for the kids to dress up behind.
I left some clothespins out in the yard and the kids found them and created a tent.
I was so impressed.
I put our tent tarp down then added this rug to fancy up their dressing area.
The little rascals found the instrument basket.
There's that lone little boy.
Chedric AKA Cheddar
Joan
And I failed to get Maria's photo.
Lucky for me, The Birthday Girl opted for a cake of cinnamon rolls instead of a traditional birthday cake, as she does not like icing (that's frosting for you northerners).
Once, I made her a cake with no icing at all.
And no, I did not make these from scratch.
The Birthday Girl is being shy because we are singing "Happy Birthday".
She had to "pretend" blow out the candles because the wind kept beating her to it.
The day of her actual birthday, I packed a picnic and we drove the Delta State Recreational Site http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/deltajct/deltasrs.htm . There we found the perfect fall backdrop for a birthday lunch.
We ate lunch while opening an overwhelming number of cards from relatives back home. I am still amazed by their thoughtfulness and generosity. Our Post Office Box was overflowing that day.
After we ate, we went for a short walk down a wooded path.
Found some squishy berries along the way
A Photo Essay
"A Girl and a Water Fountain"
After we explored the park we walked across Richardson Highway to the Delta River.
The Delta River looks a lot like Mars.
Rivers around here are definitely not what we are used to back home. Even without the Alaska Range as a backdrop, the water marked mud is beautiful in its own way.
I like these old vehicles.
They served their purpose on the road and now they are good for target practice.
That, or just reckless shooting.
You decide.
This is the only wildlife we encountered while exploring.
When her Daddy got home from work, we used Skype to video call Mom and Craig while The Birthday Girl opened the present they sent. Mom just wasn't satisfied, so they also watched while The Birthday Girl opened one from Aunt Janice and Uncle Charlie too (Aunt Janice and Uncle Charlie don't do video Skype calls yet). Then we Skyped Aunt Phyllis and Joseph while The Birthday Girl opened the gift from those Georgia in-laws. Shew. The gifts were abundant and it looked like Christmas morning over here.
Without time to open Big Mama's gift and give it the proper attention, we saved it for the following day, and the three of us left the cabin to celebrate at Pizza Bella's Restaurant.
The Birthday Girl loves going out to eat and often talks about how much she misses El Tapitio, Applebees, and Logan's restaurants from our life in the "city".
For those reading from Alabama, Pizza Bella tastes a lot like Maters (the wait is as long if not longer) and the setting is like Shoney's circa 1989. Everything was very clean and the owners were super friendly.
The cat was a gift from those Georgia inlaws. He was just born a few minutes earlier when we stuffed him with Polyfil. It is his birthday too.
Why not?
On the following day we had time to open Big Mama's gift
that was packed to the brim with goodies for all of us.
(I got a seriously long and sharp knife for my belt.
Let's all hope I don't get close enough to a wild animal to use it, shall we? Thanks.)
That night we were invited to yet another brithday party out at Jeff and Courtney's house. Courtney spent all day in Fairbanks buying party supplies (food) and invited Brent, Karla, Earl, Jamie, Carol, Jeff, and Haily out.
We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, and good conversation out by the picturesque pond again.
Max
(Phase 1 was when they only partially acknowledged that one another existed)
The truck radio is playing.
LOVE this one. Dancing to the music on the truck radio.
Here The Birthday Girl is telling everyone not to sing too loud.
There were gifts!
A gift from the Durhams'
I had to post all of the photos from the bunny presentation because I love the series of facial expressions.
Austin appears to be as happy to see her reaction as she is to see the bunny. And Courtney too!
Here, she is questioning the whether or not she really gets to keep this bunny.
It is just too amazing to believe.
What an awesome birthday. The generosity we've experienced has been overwhelming. Thanks to all of you who took the time to acknowledge my baby's birthday. Love ya'll!
Oh Hayley I know it took you a long time to do this but I am so glad you did. This text along with so many pictures allowed me to know what her birthday was like in a way that I wouldn't have known otherwise. That part of her life I would have just missed had you not done this. It's so nice to see that you all have such wonderful friends already. You all look so cozy sitting around the barrel fire and the gorgeous lake. Awesome photo of Max in the lake BTW. I LOVED seeing Charley having fun with Austin. They reminded me of teenagers in a good old movie having fun. Then the cake and the bunny. OMG I would loved to have seen that presentation. But I got the next best thing. Can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks. Love you and thanks for the blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy Charley had such a lovely set of days! Looks like her time was a blast. Two favorite lines...."this is even better than a kitty!" and "Mama, are you allergic to bunnies?" Sweet girl, you have there. :)
ReplyDeleteCharley makes the most hilarious, adorable expressions! You can really see the story the way you put it together! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, this a great post, sister. It must have taken you forever! I love getting to see the birthday bash(es) in such full detail. Bet she'll NEVER forget about that extravaganza. I loved the shot of her dancing by the truck and the whole bunny finale, but my favorite FAVORITE was the one where she was being shy when the little girls were singing Happy Birthday. They look like little princesses in a fairy tale world and BG's expression is so interesting... Also, I love the one of you and Chuck in the restaurant. Chuck is looking very svelte, lately isn't he? And you look super pretty.
ReplyDeleteThat bunny's crazy lookin! Awww sweet lil bunny Hiskers. You're gonna give me a rash aren't ya, with your sweet lil bunny nails and your sweet lil bunny dander? I'll bring some benadryl and claritin.
I had tears after reading this post! Thanks for sharing and Happy Birthday to Charley!
ReplyDeleteOh Celeste. I miss you sweet roommate and friend of Hayley's. It is bitter sweet isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Charley! (I gasped when I saw the rabbit. The little girl in me loves bunnies) I'm so glad you guys are doing great up there! Awesome photos! (The fall colors in Alaska look SO. PRETTY.)
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet blog. :)
Looks like Charley had a fabulous birthday! Wow, you did such a great job on it all! Great pics!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and Laura would love to see that Charley is wearing her shirt!!! I will let her know:-)
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody! Your comments make me happy.
ReplyDelete