Tangled (Rapunzel) Birthday Party

When I asked Lily what type of birthday party she wanted to have this year she was quick to respond with a "Rapunzel" party. I wasn't really surprised since she has loved this movie since the first time she watched it. Which was actually just a couple days after Avery was born. It was part of her big sister gift. 

I got most of my ideas off of Pinterest. You can check out my board for ideas. I will also try to tag all the original sources I have too. This party was pretty easy to put together since there is a lot of Tangled/Rapunzel stuff in stores still. 

Cake- Walmart Bakery/ Banner- Recession Home -- Etsy/ Snuggly Duckling Sign- Drawn by Nathan and painted by me / Tower - Made by Nathan--Inspiration found on google. 

Rapunzel Art- Drawn by us and painted by me/ Rapunzel signs are from here.

I served braided pizza bread, fruit, veggies, chips and dip, chicken nuggets, pigs in a blanket, cheese and crackers, jello boats, taco dip and this punch. 

The kids swam and played with water balloons. We also had a pinata. 

I think the birthday girl had a blast and that is what is most important! Thanks to everyone who came and helped out with the party! 

California Adventure-- Disneyland

Going to Disneyland has always been a dream of mine. When we knew we were heading out to California it was a must that we had to go to Disneyland. In one word it was AWESOME. So fun, and my sis was the perfect person to go with for the first time! 

We went to California Adventure the first day. 

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. 

We really didn't know there were 2 separate lines for the ferris wheel. We got in the swinging gondola line and it definitely was a wild ride we weren't quite expecting. 

Cars Land was pretty cute. I recommend getting the fast pass for Radiator Springs Racer which is the big attraction here. We did single rider and still waited probably 30 to 40 minutes, which was probably the longest we waited for any ride in either park. You have to go immediately to get the fast pass though or they will be gone. 

We are so mature. :)

After riding/seeing a ton of stuff in California Adventure we used our park hoppers and went over to Disneyland. 

The first site of the castle was crazy. It is so small compared to Disney World. We were a little shocked. We knew it was smaller but the difference is crazy. The first day we just hopped on Pirates of the Caribbean since the line wasn't too bad and got the lay of the land for the next day since we would be heading there first thing.  

We dinner at Carthay Circle in the evening and then had priority viewing for the World of Color show that evening. 

We had a great day exploring California Adventure and Disney Land. We saw and rode everything we wanted and really enjoyed our experience. 

The next morning we were up bright and early for the park opening. We planned to spend the whole day at Disneyland. 

Walt Disney had a personal apartment for his family above the fire station on Main Street. Pretty amazing to know that he actually walked around this park. 

We got fast passes for Indiana Jones then went to Fantasyland. We were able to ride and see pretty much everything in this area since it wasn't packed yet. 

We had lunch at the Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square. It's neat because the Pirates of the Caribbean ride runs straight through the restaurant. We also had to get our pictures taken outside of the secret Club 33. 

We had so much fun and pretty much rode every ride we wanted to. The only thing we missed out on was the Nemo submarine ride. I think the key is to definitely get there when the park opens and get fast passes for the rides you definitely want to ride. We didn't have to wait in very many long lines and were able to walk on to stuff in the morning that had super long lines in the afternoon.

And for your entertainment, a super unflattering picture of me. I'm not sure if it's getting older or what, but I can't seem to stomach the roller coaster like I used too. 

After eating dinner in the park we had to head back to our hotel and pick up our luggage to head to the airport. We took the red eye and that was definitely an experience.

 I missed my sweet girls so much and can not wait to take them back to Disneyland! 

Avery's Disney Party

This past weekend we had Avery's birthday party. My recent trip to Disneyland really inspired me with our theme. Lily had a Minnie Mouse party for her second birthday so I was able to dig out some of the decorations from that party and reuse them, but I did make quite a few things just for this party. I really didn't want it to be centered on one Disney character so it was a mix of a bunch of different Disney stuff. 

I found a lot of ideas on Pinterest, including the character letters below. 

They were pretty easy to make. I bought the cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby and printed the bows and Donald's hat from here. 

I got the ideas for the mason jars from Etsy. I just used glitter paint on the insides and found some images online to add to a couple. I really like how they turned out. 

The large Mickey picture is actually a puzzle that a friend gave us a while ago, and the Minnie decorations are leftover from Lily's party. 

I bought the pennants for the banner at Hobby Lobby and spray painted them. I found the Disneyland font for free online and added the different character cut outs with mod podge. 

I think her party turned out great! 

Lily has decided she wants a Tangled/Rapunzel party so the planning starts now for that! 

Below are some pics from the rest of the festivities surrounding Avery's Bday. 

The gifts set up for birthday morning. 

She really likes the basketball hoop. I had to order the pink from Toys r us. 

Grammy and Pop Pop got her a playhouse. She really loves it. 

Blowing out her candles on her actual bday with a little help from sis. 

We got Ave this trampoline for her first birthday. She has really started enjoying this Spring. 

and a couple of candid shots from the party. 

Her cupcake. 

She was interested in opening the first present but then got a little distracted. 

She had an awesome birthday. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Disney On Ice

For as long as I remember, I have loved all things Disney. With me and my sis, some people might think we are sorta Disney obsessed, but I'm okay with that! Lily has already had her first Disney World visit, and we are just waiting for Nathan to finish school to take our next trip. But while we wait, we can go to Disney on Ice! 

I bought tickets to the first day they were in town. Lily was so super excited. The show was cute and she loved it. It was pushing Avery's bed time so she only made it until the intermission. Luckily we had two cars since I met Nathan there. So he was able to take her home. Lily and I stayed for the whole show and she was amazed. She sat in awe the whole time. She really loved the Little Mermaid and Tinkerbell parts of the show. 

Excuse the phone pics but I really wanted to get these up here to document this fun outing we had as a family. 

Before the show at Panera for dinner. 

Lily got the snow cone. I probably ate most of it. 

Super excited. We stopped at Target before the show and got the cheap glow sticks. Those spinning glow things they sell inside are thirty dollars. Um no. 

I love her face in this one. 

We did let her pick out a toy. She picked one that was only $10. Thank goodness. 

Avery did enjoy the part that she saw. She was just super tired. If I could do it again I probably would have picked a day time show. Ours didn't start until 7pm. 

I loved it just as much as she did!

If you have the opportunity to take your kids, I highly recommend it! They had Cars and Toy Story parts so there is something for boys and girls!

Linking up here for the Life Lately Link up.