Camping Birthday Party

He's two. I didn't really want to have a party to celebrate him getting older because I don't want him to get older. I kinda want him to be small and snuggly forever. Try as I might, I have no control over the aging baby, so I'll savor the snuggles while they last. Last fall we booked a cabin at Steep Ravine and decided to invite my parents and brother over for the afternoon to celebrate our little one's birthday. It was a no-fuss party, just love and happiness :) My stepdad made breakfast burritos and my sis-in-law-to-be made a smoked salmon quiche. Amanda made his crown. I didn't really make anything, but I did take some photos...

(We've been to Steep Ravine before... this was our favorite trip and then this time Gardenista used my photos) 


Updating Kid Pics

Way back when my first son was born, I made the lofty goal of posting one photo per day in our Daily Kid Pic album. It was a good run, lasting well over a year, but I've posted fewer and fewer photos as the years have gone by. Although it's not daily anymore, it's still a pretty sweet little archive of our boys. And it was one of the biggest contributors to my growth as a photographer. If you photograph the same subject everyday you will also see better results. You'll start to be more aware of the background, lighting, and placement of your subject. When I was posting everyday, it was tough to just choose one photo for the day. You really have to look at your photos and figure out what you like about certain ones. Looking at your photos is a unique challenge in these times of iPhonography, right?! We take tons, but rarely take the time to examine what we've taken. 

I had some extra time this morning (thanks Mom & Tom for watching the kids!!) so I updated our Flickr site this morning. Have you ever done a photo challenge? What have you learned?

Spring Rain & Blossoms

It's been another dry and mild winter in Northern California. We got a touch of rain about a week ago so we put on some rain "gear" and went into the yard... I know, real far. Here are some photos from our morning. 

 

Star Wars Party

Our Jedi recently turned 6. His favorite thing these days is Star Wars. He loves to dress-up and act out the scenes. He loves asking questions and reading his character encyclopedia. And he love listening to the music. I wanted to keep things pretty simple for the party, but it was challenging! This was the first time we bought licensed character stuff and if you didn't know, they have Star Wars-themed everything!! A few weeks before the party, my son and I brainstormed a few things... Chocolate Chewbacca Cake, Yoda Soda, and Sandcrawler Sandwiches. I also wanted to make coloring books for the take-home treat :)

I think my favorite thing was the Chocolate Chewbacca Cake. We're not really into sweets, but our son loves chocolate cake, so we splurged on one from Mayfield Bakery in Palo Alto. My brother is an all-star, and agreed to try making a chewbacca stencil. He drew it and then cut it out with an exacto knife. We laid it out on the cake and sifted powdered sugar over it (here's an in-progress picture before the sugar). I was so happy it worked! Thanks, Uncle Alan!! 

Next up, Yoda Soda. I made green juice (fuji apples, spinach, and carrots) and added some soda water for fizzzzz... delicious, sweet, and not full of sugar- we saved the sugar allotment for chocolate and PEZ (see below).

We got some Sandcrawler Sandwiches and snacks from Calafia in Palo Alto... oh so conveniently located next to Mayfield Bakery. And also near Trader Joe's where I was able to pick up some beer and wine. 

I think that's pretty much it for food. I try to keep food simple, healthy, and delicious. Ready for the fun Star Wars stuff? I made these sweet little drawings of the characters. And then scanned them in and made invitations and coloring books. I bought R2D2 crayons & Darth Vader crayons from this Etsy seller and downloaded a Star Wars-style font. Everyone got a coloring book and crayon. 

They also got to play with and take home a Star Wars mask and a light saber/bubble wand. I was excited when I thought of using these bubble wands instead of real light sabers or pool noodles. Bubble wands are a bit more flexible and a nice alternative for the kids who didn't want to run around and fight ;)

Another fun Star Wars find was the PEZ dispensers. We're not a candy family, but I made an exception because I knew they'd be a lot of fun. 

It was supposed to rain that day, so I put together a little activity for them to do. Glue and assemble Yoda, Chewbacca, and R2D2!! I saw something similar online and thought it looked so simple! And yes, it was simple, but holy jeeeez, it took many more hours than I thought. Serial (podcast) saved the day! I caught up on the first 7 podcasts while cutting out small shapes of paper. It turned ou to be a lovely & sunny day so the kids weren't interested in this. I've got about 8 sets of each character left. If you're throwing a Star Wars party and want these, leave me a comment and I'll hook it up for you!! Seriously. 

Chris was Darth Vader for Halloween and also got out his costume for the party. The kids took him down lickety-split. 

We had a little Darth Vader Hunt and hid these guys all over the yard (similar). I ordered these and threw out the candy inside, replacing it with a Vader crayon. 

Our birthday boy was as happy as a Jedi 

Eating raspberry PEZ and comparing red tongues with his Ewok pal


The highlight gift was all-star Uncle Alan's homemade Echo Base Lego Set (Limited Edition). He created a set for our son using his own Legos and made the box, too. It looked so legit, y'all! 

No party is complete without an afterparty ;)