the friend party

audrey picked mermaids for her birthday party theme. i decided to let her help me with alot of the prep work, like using a coloring page for the invitation (she colored it). we also made the banner together and the cupcakes.
for the party we made mermaids with craft sticks. i had seen the original craft in family fun magazine with clothespins but i had craft sticks at home and didnt feel like tracking down those old-timey clothespins.then we let the girls swim in our kiddie pool.then it was time for water balloons. i was so excited because the night before the party i had seen the idea for water balloon pinatas on pinterest. and it was great. nothing beats kids wacking water balloons with sticks and then getting a big splash of water in the face. :)then we did cupcakes and raspberry lemonade in cups with little umbrellas. the cupcakes didnt turn out quite as cute as i hoped but they tasted good. i just took strawberry cupcakes and cut them in the middle and put the frosting inside for cupcake sandwiches.
then it was presents and more swimming and swingset playing.
all in all the party went well. audrey had one meltdown during the party but at the end i asked her what her favorite part was and she said all of it. so that was worth all of the stress.