The Party Chronicles- Episode 4: SPLASH PARTY!

I didn't make up a price list for this party for a couple of reasons. 

A) I borrowed pretty much everything I used, from the gorgeous pink umbrellas and the food bar to the wiggly water sprinkler and the slip'n'slide. 

B) A lot of the treats were made from things I pulled out of our food storage and I don't remember what I paid for them. 

C) I honestly just didn't keep track. 

Do you still love me? Can we still be friends? 

Okay thanks. :) Onto the party planning! 

Sunshine Oreos- I just dipped the Oreos in yellow chocolate and used fondant to add cute little faces

"Seaweed Skewers"- Grapes + Skewers= a darling and easy way to make sure the party guests eat something other than sugar. 

Fish Cupcakes - decorated with M&Ms and gummy fruit slices

Flip Flop Cake- my first experience with marbled fondant, and I love how it turned out. The top of the cake is covered in gold sprinkles and sugar pearls.

Watermelon Whale- this is a project my husband wanted to tackle, and I think he did an incredible job! 

Wading pool full of dollar store squirt guns and some awesome water bombs I made using sponges and zip ties (Also from the dollar store.) 

Cooler full of popsicles 

Water Bottles- Nothing more important that staying hydrated on a hot afternoon. I just printed some cute paper labels I found here and taped them to the bottles. 

"Nutty" Flip Flops- Nutter butter cookies dipped in chocolate and decorated with fondant to look like flip flops. 

Starfish Biscuits- I just whipped out my handy dandy star shaped cookie cutter and baked up some yummy biscuits. 

Slip-N-Slide- Nothing brings back awesome memories of my childhood summers like a slip-n-slide! I didn't get pictures of most of my other water toys, which is a shame. I also had a blow-up pool and a couple of fun sprinklers. 

Octopus Suckers- How cute are these? Tootsie pops, googly eyes, and colored pipe cleaner. Adorable. 

Macaroni Coral Reef- Another attempt to make sure the kids ate something of nutritional value. I just used a mini cupcake pan and my favorite baked mac and cheese recipe to make this fun bite sized version of America's favorite food. 

Caprisun- Again with the hydration! This time it's flavored! I just tossed a box of these into a clean sand pail full of ice. They disappeared FAST!

Under the Sea Candy Bar- Goldfish crackers, sour grapefruit and watermelon slices, gummy fish, gummy sharks, and Sweedish Fish. You know... cause there wasn't enough sugar already! 

And because I'm discovering how hard it is to be the hostess and the photographer at the same time- there are a few things I didn't manage to get pictures of:

*Ocean Jell-o- Blue jello with sweedish fish swimming inside

*Jellyfish Pull-apart Bread- Rhodes rolls cooked in the shape of a jellyfish and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

*Chocolate seashells and chocolate fish- My mom had some fun chocolate molds laying around and thought - why not?! 

So, how about you? Are you planning on throwing any fun summer parties this year? If so I hope this helped get those creative juices flowing. You may be thinking, "Sure, but I don't have giant pink umbrellas and a super darling food bar just sitting around." My answer to that is- No problem! Just use what's available to you! Picnic tables and card tables will serve the same purpose as a fancy food bar, I just happened to have access to one. :) No table cloth? No biggie- just throw down an oversized beach towel and you're in business! There are so many fun things you could do at a water party. If my daughter and her friend had been a little older I would have planned some water relay games but it was pretty dang fun as it was. The adults lounged around in their beach chairs while the kids ran willy-nilly through the sprinklers. It was a picture perfect day!

Here's my final thought of the day:  

You don't need a birthday as an excuse to throw a party! 

Life is something that should be celebrated! I know it's hard to find the time. We all have lists of things to do that seem to get longer and longer every day. There are always going to be dishes in the sink, floors to scrub, and piles of laundry that reach the sky... but sometimes don't you just want to do something FUN and break out of your day to day routine just because you can? Do it! Grab your friends, and neighbors and celebrate life. It doesn't last forever. 

Soap box over.
Happy party planning!