Wow.. ok I very deeply apologize for anyone who had been following here and suddenly found I had dropped off the face of the earth. I guess with all three kids home, Christmas activities and then a trip to Mammoth to celebrate the new year and for Jackson to learn how to ski things got a bit crazy. Then as soon as we returned I was in full force on preparations for my sweet little Ava's fifth birthday party. She wanted an Alice in Wonderland tea party. I wanted to make it magical. It did turn out even better than I could have hoped for. The girls were completely enthralled with the details and I could tell Ava felt so special. That made all the work so worth it. I actually enjoyed the process and kept thanking God that I was able to do it. I've been feeling good and my hands haven't been aching so I was able to do a lot. It was a blessing and a joy to create this little wonderland for her.
We started with tea sandwiches called "Mad Hatter's peanut butter and jelly," "White Rabbit's Egg Salad," and "Alice's dreamy cream cheese and cucumber" sandwiches. THe girls sipped on pink lemonade and had berries and pirate booty.. I know the pirate booty doesn't go with the theme, but what child can say no to pirate booty. :)
THen Alice appeared and finished helping the girls who hadn't made their bead necklaces, put them together.
Then when lunch was finished she read the story of Alice in Wonderland to everyone.
Then she read the directions for a special scavenger hunt following the footprints of the white rabbit to find treasures along the way.
When they were finished we sang happy birthday to the birthday girl with the most scrumptious mushroom shaped cupcakes from 'Cake Crumbs' for the kids. They were beyond yummy. Most of the moms finished what the kids couldn't eat. I did make "The Queen of Hearts Gingerbread Cakes" for the grown ups. Then before the party ended the girls all got butterfly or ladybug tattoos. Before they left we took a big group picture of all of them in their aprons. I found the most adorable fabric made in Japan of cute Alice in Wonderland characters. I got the idea to use it for pockets on little tea party aprons.
When I realized all 12 girls were coming I knew I had my work cut out for me. But I listened to a lot of podcasts from Reality LA, a church whose pastor I really like. It passed the time and I felt myself really drawing closer to the Lord while I worked. Like I said in the beginning it was something I felt grateful to be able to do. All in all it was a magical day. I enjoyed it just as much as Ava!
