Ice Cream Party Time!

So last week Aniyah, our eldest child, turned 10!  I'm honestly still trying to cope with the fact that she's getting older - I woke up in the middle of the night because I had a dream where she told me she wanted to sell her clothes so she could buy new ones because she wanted a boyfriend.  Talk about a nightmare!

Anyway, the last time she had a real party for her birthday was when she was 4 - the year before she started school.  Since then we've just been having small celebrations (Chuck-E-Cheese's, family dinners, etc.) because I told her that her next "party" won't be until she turns 10, so she was really excited for her birthday this year.

As you may have seen in my last post, she chose to go with an Ice Cream theme.  It kinda took a while for her to make up her mind about it, but in the end it was a really great choice - so much more original than a character themed birthday.

I found some free Ice Cream party printables on Pinterest and customized them on Pixlr.

I also ordered some Ice Cream themed goodies from Oriental Trading Co. to use for party favors and decorations.

These pink and blue lollipops were from Oriental Trading Co. and I just printed the cupcake toppers from the printable pack on sticker paper to stick on the lollipops.

 Aniyah and some of her friends before all the fun and craziness started.  The weather had been horrible all week and places of the island were flooded due to heavy rains so she was very excited when some of her classmates were able to make it.

 I saw this image on Pinterest and decided to recreate it.  But instead of using real ice cream cones (which may have gone to waste), I used these cute polka dot paper cones that I got from Oriental Trading Co.

Simple pink and blue paper bags are so much easier and cheaper than using those favor boxes.  I just attached the customized printable treat topper and they looked awesome!

Our menu was simple, with our Mongolian grill station being the main food item.  Guests were able to pick out their own vegetables, meats, and seasonings and watch it while it was being cooked by our awesome family chefs!

 Another Pinterest idea was put to use in our 10-foot ice cream sundae.  The original pin was a 10-foot banana split which used a carpet tube and some handmade stands for it to be lifted off the ground but we put our own twist on it.

Instead of a carpet tube, I just cut, folded, and taped the cardboard box from our Oriental Trading Co. order and created a trough which I then covered in tinfoil.  Instead of lifting it off of the ground, we put it on a tarp and had an ice cream eating contest!

 They all had to kneel down with their hands behind their backs and finish all the ice cream in their section as quickly as possible.  The winner got to choose a prize from the prize box.

It was so much fun for the kids and their families because we were all cheering them on and everyone got a kick out of it.  And thankfully the rainy weather was on our side because it helped to wash away all the stickiness!

 After the ice cream eating contest and the ice cream war, the kids rinsed off and sang happy birthday to Aniyah.  She not really a cake person - she prefers cookie cake instead.

Afterwards we continued with the rest of the games and I'm so glad that the kids weren't "too cool" to participate because they all had a blast.

They played musical chairs, had an egg toss, water balloon relay roll, and a water balloon toss as well.  It was really so fun just to watch them all enjoy themselves.  Some of the adults even got involved by throwing water balloons with the kids.

In the end, it was a very messy, very sticky, but very AWESOME 10th birthday party!  I'm so glad that the stormy weather didn't put such a damper on everyone's spirits and that they were able to celebrate Aniyah's birthday with us.

Thank you to everyone for all your birthday wishes in comments and shout-outs!  She was really surprised to find out how much love and support she has from all of you!

And I know I've been absent from the blog world for most of the month but October starts tomorrow and I'm really excited to share some of my DIY costume ideas with you again this year.  Last year's costume posts were such a hit that I figured I'd try to put together some requested costumes this month - so comment below with a request!

A Little Bit of Family Fun.

And the common way to have a little family fun here on Guam is to have a barbecue at the beach!

The day before my sister left, we packed up the kids and the barbecue grill and headed to our favorite spot, Tanguisson beach.

It is a pretty secluded area that very few tourists know about.  The first time we ever went, there were only two other families there.  The water was calm and clear, shells lined the sand, and the weather was spectacular.  We all fell in love with that beach immediately and it is one of the spots we frequent often.  (I've posted about it previously here)

 Since winter, the beach has become littered with coral, shells, and rocks which makes it a little rough on the feet so it was a little harder to find a soft spot of sand to stand on in the water on our last visit.  The surf was also a little rougher and even though my kids are pretty adept at swimming in the ocean (they get it from me), I still warned them to stay closer to shore and keep an eye on each other and the ocean.  As all ocean lovers know, the sea is constantly changing - the tide, the season, the phases of the moon, etc.  What may be an ideal place to swim one day, may not be as safe a month later.

After swimming for a bit we all took a lunch break and refueled with red rice, bbq'd ribs, fried chicken, and chicken kelaguen.  We decided to go and explore the trail we found on the rocks while our food digested in our stomachs and of course we took our camera along to have a little photography fun with the kids!

 The kids love exploring new areas!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Roxy needs to sponsor my daughter!!!  She can't wait to go back to Hawaii this summer so she can surf again!  (Mom, send my boards here so she can practice, please!)

 

I'd say sponsor this daughter too, but it took a LOT of coaxing to even get her to stand next to this tree.  And fuhgeddabout trying to make her put her hand on it!   "There's ants on it!...What's that green stuff?...I don't like moss!...This tree is gross!"

With her gold ballet flats again.

This kid...if he had a choice, he'd be at the beach all day, errday.  He already told me he's running away to live in Hawaii.   (Again mom, just send the boards already!)

This was supposed to be our "lost in the wilderness" pose...yeah, I don't know either.

 And my super tattooed sister.  I'm a pretty great photographer, huh?  If only I was great at self portraits I'd have better outfit pictures!

 And to pay homage to my awesome pose, my sister does THE SQUAT.

Happy Friday, everyone!  Have a great weekend!

♥ Duckie.