Happy Birthday Marly & Dean - Round 1

Happy 5th Birthday Marly and Dean. The kids turned five on Monday. Sunday before we hosted the Melberg Family for a Hello Kitty/Dino themed birthday party. I added paper plate decor to the spruce tops at the front door to welcome guests. This is the first year I let the kids pick their "theme". The truth is, we served the EXACT same menu as last year - hot turkey sandwiches, fresh berries, fish eye salad, broccoli salad, and potatoe chips. The only menu addition was punch for the kids. The hot turkey from the crock pot was a hit last year. Why mess with a good thing?

After a meal, it was time for gifts. Marly and Deans birthday attire was purchased from a seller called Fly Duds on Etsy!

The Twinners favorite gift of the party were their dino and Hello Kitty fleece tie blankets cousins Mikayla and Mariah made for them.

Cousins - Baby Charlie, Sawyer, Mikayla, Sutton, Marly, Dean, Wilson and Saxton. Our guests/my dear familyThe blue /green banner/swag over the mirrors (and on the windows in shades of pink) is made from paint chip samples from Maynards! Do It Yourself and FREE.

Chocolate cake from Jack's Bakery. Originally I asked to have Hello Kitty and a dino added to the cake at the store. Before hanging up, I asked the cost. The reply, "$57.95."

Ummmm... I don't think so! My reply, "Okay..... take off Hello Kitty and the Dinosaur photo please. Now what is the cost?" Those two items were copywrited at a price I wasn't willing to spend!

I dug threw the kids toys and found a cheaper option. The Hello Kitty is from a McDonald's Happy Meal!

I displayed the kids first year/month by month photo frames that hung in their original nursery(but have lived in the closet since our move). Next I had the kid do a coloring sheet of their theme. I plopped the "theme art" in my matted go-to Target frames, which get changed out from season to season for various displays.

"Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you"

Did everyone get enough to eat?

Happy Birthday Marly and Dean. My sweet angels. My babies.

On Monday (the day of the kids birthday) we made a repeat appearance at Jack's to pick up cupcakes for Marly and Dean's classmates. I came home early from work and we enjoyed some time together as a family, including a nature walk on the Mississippi (which we access regularly from the forclosure across the street). We were early birds at TFI Friday's in Maple Grove for a birthday dinner out, then wrapped up the evening at swimming lessons.

I am proud of our children and how they have grown!