Bowling Party

Ahhhhh, the party is over! We had a great time celebrating Jansen's 7th birthday with his friends and family.

So here is the recap of the things I made to prepare:

Of course, there have to be invitations sent out.

There was a banner to be made

A cupcake stand for cupcakes and a little cake for the birthday boy

Lollipop favors for the kiddos

And finally, a cupcakes and a cake for everyone to munch on...

But my favorite part, is seeing how it all came together!!! Here we go!

Linking to: Keeping it Simple, Stay at Home Nation, Under the Table and Dreaming, Homemaker on a Dime, My Girlish Whims, Ginger Snap Crafts, Tator Tots and Jello

Reading Team Party

Our school provides a reading enrichment program called Accelerated Reader, and as each child earns enough points, they earn prizes. The ultimate prize is to earn a spot on the Reading Team, a shirt, and participation in the end of year Reading Team Party.

This was Jansen's first year to be eligible an in February, he came home wearing his 1st Year Member shirt. Last week, Caleb came home wearing his 3rd Year Member shirt. So Wednesday was party day!!!!

My boys were so excited! Actually, every child out there was excited. This is such a great motivator for these kiddos. What could be better than big water slides on a hot day in the middle of school?!

Bowling cake and cupcakes

In preparation for tomorrow's birthday party, I made a little 6 inch cake for my monkey and cupcakes for the rest of the kiddos. Totally at his request of course. I would have loved to just bake a cake, but it was not to be. Jansen just HAD to have his own cake...and why not? It IS his birthday after all.

Looking forward to putting it all together tomorrow at the bowling alley!!!!

Bowling cake sneak peek...

The fondant accents for Jansen's mini bowling cake are underway!!!!

Here is a quick sneak peek...

Now for the baking of the cake, baking of cupcakes for his class on Friday, and baking of cupcakes for the party.

Lollipops are finished, cupcake stand is finished, bowling banner is finished, Jansen's birthday present has been ordered, and it is now down to the little details. T-minus 4 days until Jansen's birthday party!!!!!

End of Year School Prizes....

Each year, the PTO at our school sponsors a prize ceremony on the last day.

As each child earns perfect attendance, A Honor Roll, A/B Honor Roll, etc, their name gets put into a bucket. Then the principal will draw names for prizes until we run out.

Today, we purchased all the prizes and got them set up at the school for the kids to walk by every day in anticipation. This was totally fun. I can't wait to see all their faces as their names are called!!!

Volunteer Appreciation Dessert Bar...

Our school is awesome. In the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week, they held a Volunteer Appreciation Candy bar in our workroom just for us. It was so cute!

I think I ate my body weight in Starburst, Twizzlers, and Yorks.

They totally spoiled us today.

*****Photos taken by Crystal Lucero*****

Polka Dot Pinwheels

On day #4 of Teacher Appreciation week, we the PTO had a local Italian restaurant called Bella Roma, cater a delicious meal for the staff. We had a trio: fettucini alfredo, lasagna, and chicken parmesan, in addition to salad and bread. Delicioso!!!

Yesterday, while at Hobby Lobby getting supplies for Jansen's birthday party next weekend, I saw these cute polka dot mini pinwheels. Since our school is the Polk Pandas, and our mascot is Polkie Dot the Panda, I thought they would make really cute and simple centerpieces for the tables in the lunchroom.

Add some white northern beans, and stick those 99 cent pinwheels in...and voila! Cute :)