QC: TWINS' UNDER THE SEA DRIVE-BY BIRTHDAY

I know it's June July, but I never posted about the twins' birthday party back in April.  Better late than never.  And though this is obviously not the birthday I had had in mind for them, it turned out to be a lot of fun.  Drive by parties really let you maximize balloons, so that was a bonus.  And, the twins loved it and felt celebrated.  Plus there was less overall cleanup.  All in all, drive by parties have some things I might keep in the end, because it was a quick, fun way to make the twins feel special and get to see friends.



As usual, my sister designed the cutest invite for the event, highlighting sharks and mermaids.

The girls and I blew up a BUNCH of balloons.

We had cake with family a couple of days before the party.

And our birthday twins thoroughly enjoyed the day.  We had The Little Mermaid soundtrack going, a bubble machine and snacks to pass out as friends came by.

Of course, our snacks were themed - Goldfish and Swedish Fish.  I also got a cake for us to have after dinner that night, because you can just never have enough cake.

When it's all said and done, I think the twins will have fond memories of this birthday, and for that, I am thankful.

Twins' Past Parties
{Twins' Donut Party}
{Twins Ice Cream Party}
{Twins' Fiesta Fourth}
{Hungry Caterpillar Party}
{Berenstain Bear Party}
{VW Party}

All other Spenst parties here!

LILY'S WAFFLE FRY PARTY

Something I never saw coming was having a daughter who prefers to be known as "Waffle Fry."  So when it came time to plan her shindig this year, there was only one theme that really made sense.

We sent out invites that my sis graciously designed.

As the years have gone on, I have gotten a bit better about doing simpler parties, and this one was pretty straightforward: Chick-fil-A breakfast and as many waffle fries as your heart desires plus a bunch of toppings, including all the normal CFA condiments, plus nacho cheese and bacon bits.  We also gave everyone the option of getting IceDream to dip their waffle fries into.  It's sneaky good.




The best part was that Lily was super happy about the whole thing from top to bottom, which makes it totally worth it.

We had sweet friends and family there to celebrate, and everyone ate while we also did Waffle Fry Trivia.

Every grandmother was in attendance, which felt special.

We sang "Happy Birthday" and cut into the Waffle Fry cake.  Those are cookies that I made to look like waffle fries, and even I was amazed at how realistic they looked!

We sent everyone on their way with Waffle Fry Notebooks and Pens.  There are some perks to having access to the CFA merch catalogue.



I cannot believe that Lily is 11!  We love celebrating her special quirkiness.



Here are Lily's past parties!

{10 YEAR BIRTHDAY TRIP}
{9- Golden Birthday}
{8 - Pancakes & Pajamas}
{7 - Lego Party}
{6 - Butterflies at Painted Pig}
{5- Princess Party}
{4- Horse Party}
{3- Panda-monium}
{2- Crayon Party}

BELLA'S GALAXY PARTY

In a surprising turn of events, I actually threw Bella's party the very day after her actual birthday.  What is actually more shocking is that I managed to keep this party low-key.  There were a lot of contributing factors, and ultimately, it was just as fun and much less work.  Win, win, win!  (That being said, I still love going over the top for things, but not having the pressure to do it every time is also a relief. 😅)



My sis graciously designed this super fun invite.

This was at one of our local trampoline parks, and they have very flexible policies about what you can bring in.  I ordered an Outer Space Balloon Garland that came together quickly, especially with a balloon blower upper that I always have on hand.  I brought in "Galaxy" food, basically all in sugar form, though the park provided pizza to balance things out a bit.

(I used these Galaxy Sprinkles on the pretzels!)

Everyone got to jump as they arrived, and I got to glory in not figuring out themed activities.

(V in her Natural Habitat)

The girls wore Star Shirts from Target and Galaxy Leggings Amazon, and I ordered William a Galaxy shirt as well, and it's great, because I know it is all stuff they will continue to wear.  After about an hour of jumping, they wished Bella "Happy Birthday" over the loudspeaker and asked all of the party goers to meet us in room 3.  Lots of treat eating ensued and general merriment.

I made Galaxy Lemonade, which really did turn out to be beautiful.  Next time, I would add Sprite instead of sparkling water to sweeten it up for the kiddos.  Also, John and I decided we should make the adult version some time.  It will be of no surprise to anyone that knows me that I now have a LOT of extra Butterfly Pea Flower Ice.

We got out the cake (which had to have emergency icing surgery the morning of the party due to a handsy twin- thank goodness for star cookies that cover a world of ill), and everyone sang Happy Birthday to Bella as she conducted them like an orchestra.

Such a sweet group of celebrants - so thankful for friends and family who love Bella well!

(The Rock Candy made for seriously blue mouths 😳)

We sent everyone on their way with a Star cookie!



This party was pulled off without any grandparent help for a host of reasons, and I'm really glad we kept it simple!  But we were still glad to be done.

Here's a list of Bella's past parties, and if you want to glance through all the parties we've thrown, here's that link!

{AMAZING RACE PARTY}
{UNICORN PARTY}
{101 DALMATIAN PARTY}
{FROZEN PARTY}
{CAMP BELLA}
{HELLO KITTY ART PARTY}
{GOLDFISH PARTY}
{CANDY CORN PARTY}