Arrgg, A Pirate Birthday Party for Captain Kira

I copied this over from my Photography Blog. I really should just combine the two blogs but I definately don't post all my personal stuff on the photog blog. Today is KIRA's BIRTHDAY! She is 7 years old. I'll be posting more on that later but for now, enjoy some birthday party photos!

 Last Saturday we were in charge of her birthday party. We take turns planning with her mom. This year she wanted a Pirate Party. I {Stacey} actually had SOOOO much fun planning this party. I think I have a new calling in life, so if you need help with a party planner - Let me know! :)

1. Invitations 

 I searched high and low until I found an invitation that was kinda girly but still authentic enough for our party.  I got this one on Etsy from PartiesbytheBundle. She was amazing to work with and got back to me super fast. Plus, I just love the layout. I printed them locally through Square One with Kraft envelopes and they turned out perfect. 

2. The Bounce House

 Kira has wanted a Pirate Ship Bounce House since she decided she wanted a Pirate Party. I'm not sure if she saw the bounce house somewhere or what but I found one locally and booked it as soon as I could. It was HUGE but seriously awesome. We got this from Bounce4Kids for a reasonable price for an all day rental, plus they delivered and picked up so bonus. My mom text me the night before when they were setting up since I was at a concert and said "Now I know why you asked to use my yard". It was really big, tall and perfection for our party. 

Birthday girl was not sure of the slide with the water, she clinged onto dad... See below. She really did like it when it was just the slide :) 

3. Photo Booth

I ordered some Pirate Birthday Party Props on Etsy from CrazyFoxPaper and they were a hit! $6 bucks well spent, that's for sure! We always love our photo booth and tend to use it a lot for birthday parties. Seriously one of the things the kids LOVE! Check out all the photos on our facebook page here. 

4. Treasure Hunt

We set up a semi easy treasure hunt around the yard and split the kids into 6 groups so they had a chance to actually find the clues. I think it was a hit! Plus they all loved their grab bags / treasure loot! 

5. Walk the Plank

I had Andy set up a Plank and my sister brought her kiddie pool. It was a hit! The kids loved walking across it and actually tried to get wet by the end of the party! 

6. Tattoo Parlor 

I wasn't sure how this would go over but it was BOMB. My amazing sister in law was our tattoo artist and she dressed up and played the part. Kira's mom brought some girly / pony tattoos, I had some pirate ones and Maria even drew some tattoos. The kids came back for more than one!

7. Food

I had fun coming up with some food to go with the Pirate Theme! We had Fish N Chips, Pirates Gold, Polly's Crackers, Poison, and Peg Legs! I also ordered cup cakes from Macey's last minute because I wasn't sure if we'd have enough cake. Last year we ran out but this year there was plenty! 

8. Parade

One of the best things about the timing of Kira's party was the parade. River Heights was having their annual Apples Day Parade at 4 pm so we ended the festivities and all headed to the parade. The kids FILLED their bags full of candy. A short parade but seriously the best loot ever. 

9. Water SLIDE!

During the party we left the Bounce House as a slide only. I didn't want people to have to bring suits, towels, etc. Once the parade was over and most people had left we decided to turn the water on. It was a completely different slide and seriously a blast! 

10. Presents, Cake and more! 

What birthday is complete without presents? Kira was spoiled. Our families and friends treat us and her oh so well. She got so many things on her list! A talking Parrot, legos, art supplies, finger nail polish, clothes, jammies, and more. Plus Kira's Birthday Cake and Mud pie were super yummy! 

A huge shout out to everyone who helped and attended our Pirate Parrtttyyyy! We arrggg so glad you came. :) 

And Happy Birthday Miss Kira! Dad and I sure love you!

A special thanks to this handsome guy for helping me with the party! He sure puts up with me when I get wild ideas sometimes! 

Mirror Lake

I've been swamped and busy so I copied this from my photography page so I didn't have to Retype it! Sorry...

{Photos compliments of myself and Andy's Family!}

1. Mirror Lake - We headed up the Unita Mountains toward Mirror Lake. Andy's sister Maria works for DNR and they have a cabin by mirror lake that we got to stay at. The area is beautiful! So many small lakes on both sides, lots of tall skinny trees. It was just peaceful.

2. Family - Andy's Family does a annual camping trip every year. Each year we go somewhere new. We love camping and hanging out with family so we always look forward to these trips.

3. Crafts - We all were tasked with bringing 5 things for the kids to do. One of the crafts Angela brought was actually way more fun for the adults than the kids. I don't think the kids even tried to make a Dream Catcher but all 4 adults (well females) made one. They were super fun, prob my favorite thing we did, I may have even made two. :)

4. Activities - Boy did the kids get spoiled! They had activity after activity to enjoy, plus just playing outdoors was enough to keep them occupied for hours. Some of the items they got to do were: Treasure Hunt, Scavenger Hunt, Fishing (for real), Fishing for prizes, touring around, making spinners, playing games, Face Painting, para-cord, and MORE!

5. The food. We always seem to eat better when we are camping than when we are at home. We enjoyed lots of dutch oven and some yummy camp fire treats. We made individual bags of Ice Cream, over the fire pop corn, over the fire Bread on a Stick and Friendship Fudge. Yummy!

6. Tenting it. Andy and I love camping and the outdoors. We've never been into trailers, campers, etc. We always bring our Tent and sleep in there. Even when it's cold out (which it was) it still is a blast.

7. The Dogs. Oh boy, we had just as many dogs as kids camping. With our newest edition, Roxy, we have two dogs and Maria has two dogs. They actually all did so good. Max and Roxy did amazing! They both slept in the tent with us and stayed around camp on their own, no leashes. A few times they all had to bark and welcome some hikers through our area but for the most part they were pretty darn good dogs. Andy might be a little mad that I post some of these pictures but they were too funny not too!

8. Fishing - The family went Fishing Thursday evening before we got up there. It looked like fun! I grew up fishing with my dad and always loved that activity. The kids probably had more fun with the "Fishing" for prizes though. But still, all around a great time.

9. Family Picture. We did manage to get a family picture. It took a couple of tries and the kids LOVED making funny faces until we kept taking photos until we got a good one. I love this area. Though we are not in front of the actual Mirror Lake it's a smaller and quieter lake right next door. Completely blissful area.

10. Ooops. Jordan's Truck decided to die or just not start on Friday so Saturday they drove back down to Kamas to call a Tow Truck. At least that was the only break down the entire trip. Overall a great time, great people and amazing memories!