Chickadee's 8th Birthday Party

Chickadee's 8th birthday was during a time where things were slowly starting to open up again. So in order to celebrate we decided to go with a Princess party hosted by the dance studio Chickadee attends because they have full party packages. BEST DECISION EVER!!!! On Pointe Dance Studio totally rocked this in so many ways and I am going to show you...You can check them out here along with their party packages On Pointe Too.

They provided us with the invitations, not only electronically but printed with envelopes ready to be passed out and aren't they absolutely adorable. We decided to a princess theme (she turned 8 and I don't think I will get away with this theme for very much longer) and they asked what princess and Chickadee chose Cinderella. You can tell the start of how they incorporated this into the whole theme of the party. 

They set up tables, chairs and decor including a color coordinated balloon arch perfectly set for pictures. There is chickadee with her cousin. They checked temperatures upon arrival and limited the number of people who would be in the room to make sure everything was safe for the girls. It was only Chickadee and a couple of girls in attendance. I was able to stay but I was the only adult besides the attendants provided. 

They set up a gift table with adorable graphics that were Cinderella themed. They also created a thank you card list for Chickadee with the names and presents so that she could thank people properly. 

They had the signage all around with different Cinderella themes and are utterly adorable, like this welcome sign. 

They also provided all of the goodie bags and the items that they were filled with. There were candies, tiara pins, jewelry and stickers. They also had an adorable message of thanks for coming that matched the invitations as well. 

There were two attendants that were there to run the entire party provided by the dance studio. They had a princess tiara craft with the girls and they were sweet, fun and kept the girls busy the entire time. ONE OF THE BET THINGS THAT HAPPENED....

We even had a special guest. Cinderella herself showed up for the party. She came and sang a couple of songs with the girls. 

She read them a Cinderella story about her mice friends at the castle. 

She danced with the girls and play freeze dance with them. Cinderella also took the time to dance individually with each of the girls for a special one on one time. It was adorable and wonderful and I have a full video of Chickadee with Cinderella. 

Cinderall and Chickadee rocking the tiara she made during the craft time. 

Mackenzie loved having here there and was so excited. Cinderella took the time to take pictures with each of the girls. 

And we took group pictures showing all the fun.

Cinderella even sang Happy Birthday to Mackenzie while the girls had cupcakes which were provided as well. 

Up close with the balloon arch. Isn't it pretty?

The cupcakes were delicious by the way. 

 Being able to show up, not worry about anything, see the joy of the kids and have Chickadee super happy with her birthday...Like I said BEST DECISION EVER. The attendants took care of everything including coming up with games and obstacle courses on the spot. The decor was awesome and themed. I mean come on Cinderella. I didn't have to stress or worry about anything. It was the easiest birthday party for one of my kids ever. 

What was the easiest party you have done for your kids? 

Until next time I am just going to keep going on this journey...

Christmas and New Year's 2020

 Christmas and New Year in 2020 was not a typical occasion for us. We separated the days for Christmas so one day was spent with the in-laws and one day was spent with my parents. We didn't take a lot of pictures of Christmas but we did get a few together at home (which was not as decorated as we usually do). It didn't feel truly like the holiday and it was definitely difficult to fully get in the Christmas spirit.  

One of the fun things we did was dye Chickadee's hair Christmas colors. We used Arctic Fox which is an all natural hair dye. Arctic Fox comes in all sorts of awesome colors and will fade and wash out while washing your hair. You can find more about Arctic Fox hair color at this website: https://arcticfoxhaircolor.com/pages/about-us This is a picture of how her hair turned out.

We definitely had some bonding and Christmas snuggles. 

My awesome bugaboo rocking the Santa hat. Every year when we pull out the decorations, the kids love getting the Santa hat and trying it on. 

After Christmas was over, we headed out to Ocotillo Wells for a much needed family filled week of fun in the desert. Due to the open air, each of us having our own trailers and being able to social distance, the in-laws, my parents and a few friends were able to have a great time in the desert. It was definitely the recharge we needed to end the year with. We brought out the side by side and were able to relax and enjoy some rides. 

Bugaboo took a shot at driving around the camp. 

Chickadee took a turn driving around camp too. 

While we were out in Ocotillo Wells, we ran across this awesome organization called Autism MX. https://www.autismmx.org/ They provide day camps and ways for autistic children to ride dirt bikes and go on trails safely. Check out more about them at the link. We got to talk to some of the parents and buy some awesome merchandise such as hats, tumblers and shirts. If you would like to donate or purchase merchandise or volunteer or have an autistic child, please reach out to them. 

My father in law and myself (rocking my new Autism MX hat).

My Bugaboo and I relaxing around the camp. 

My Chickadee rocking my Autism MX hat and my sunglasses. Sometimes she wants to be just like mama and it is definitely flattering when those rare moments occur. Then she goes back to being herself which is awesome. (And can't help but love the red braid and green braid :) )

We hung around the campfire that seemed to have some magic, or a friend had some awesome product called Magic Flame that turns it all sorts of awesome colors. We told scary stories and roasted marshmallows. 

On New Year's eve, we hung out around the campfire talking about things we were looking forward to in the year to come. 

Chickadee rocked some awesome New Year's glasses that lit up. 

I drank some awesome wine from Nocking Point wines. It is a sparkling rose that is called FU Twenty Twenty which was perfect for New Year's Eve. Check out all of their wines, wine club, coffee and apparel at  Nocking Point. They have wines for all occasions, created and designed by various celebrities and a new 2021 wine. 

Our trip was filled with lots of laughs, love, hugs, snuggles and kisses. It was awesome. We went on trails, on rides and hung out. 

We played games, ate lots of food, hung around the campfire and drank some awesome wine. It was an amazing trip filled with relaxation, fun, love and laughs. It was just what was needed to end the year in a way that put us in a better mindset for 2021. 

What did you do for New Years? How was your Christmas? What do you look forward to in 2021? 

2020, was a year filled with turmoil, changes, pandemic craziness and a world full of angst. As happy as I am to see it ending, I'm not sure what 2021 will have in stores. So I am going to take a deep breath and jump with both feet on this crazy continuous journey.