{let's go camping! L&B turn 6!}

Well, we pulled it off.

The boys are another year older and we have another party to add to our memories.

For their 6th birthday, I nudged them into a fun camping theme, after showing them all of the ideas I gathered on Pinterest.

This might be the last year I can get them to agree on a theme. We'll see what seven brings. :)

Of course I took this theme as my opportunity to doodle a bit for their invitation...

I reserved a shelter at our local park for the party and that was the best decision...worth every penny of the fee. The kids had a blast running around and finding treasures. Another great thing about the location was that it required minimal decoration. 

I made a camping sign on posterboard and stole the wood slice chalkboard off of their door...

A simple pennant, some balloons and my trusty aqua suitcases {plus a dollar store tablecloth} finished it off...

The real star of the table were the cupcakes my sister-in-law made...how freaking cute are these things?!

She even made two bigger versions for the boys...

The goody bags were filled with gummy worms and bears...

I used the same teepee doodle from their invitations on the stickers. 

{P.S....apparently gummy worms can ooze through paper bags. Who knew?!}

There were compass rings and magnifying glasses for the kids to explore the surrounding area for treasures. 

I had a treasure hunting sheet planned to use, but they were so busy on their own that I skipped it. I love that the kids are at an age where they can initiate their own games!

We also set up their teepee next to the shelter which the kids loved...

Sorry for the photo with my hubby's rear end...this is the only photo I managed to take of it! 

I planned on taking cute photos of the kids in front of it with my instax camera...you know, like a good blogger/crazy mom, but in all of the party craziness that never happened. 

Aside from opening their gifts and singing Happy Birthday, the party was super low-key. We ate pizza and chatted and let the kids run wild. Fun times. 

And now for lots more photos in totally random order...

This boy had his fill of people about two hours in...so much like his momma. :)

And this boy finally got his own camera. He is on cloud nine. 

We were so thankful to all of our family and friends that came to help us celebrate the boys. The past six years have included an immeasurable amount of support and love not only between us and the boys but coming from every direction around us. So grateful for that. 

Here's to year six! :)

XO,

{six birthdays}

The boys are turning 6 tomorrow {!!!}, so I thought it would be fun to share a recap of their first five birthdays. 

I've had so much fun each year with the themes, and you'll see that for #3 and #4 I reallllly got into it. Although I've still enjoyed planning their parties the past two years, I've toned down the amount of work I put into it to save my sanity. 

This year is a camping theme complete with a big teepee, nature scavenger hunt and s'more cupcakes. We're having the party at the park for the first time which the boys are really excited about. I'm excited because I don't have to worry about the house being clean. ;)

Here are their first through fifth birthdays, with links to each post, {or photos for #5 because I was lame last year and forgot to blog about their party}...

First - Circus

Second - Rock Star 

Third - Despicable Three

Fourth - Super Heroes

Fifth - Dinosaurs

Let's see if I can remember to blog about #6!

XO,

{favorite projects of 2012}

Goodness where did the year go? Only a few days from now it will be 2013 and we get to start all over again. Is anyone else a bit freaked out by that?

The past 12 months have really flown by, right?!

I thought it would be fun to do a little recap of my favorite DIY projects and parties of 2012. Looking back on my posts from this year I realized that this has been a really big year for me in my little corner of the blog world. I've shared so many of my favorite projects and parties with you. And going through all of those posts reminded me what a fun and blessed year it has been for me, for our family, for This Girl's Life.

So here are my favorite projects from the past year...

{click the photos to go to each post}

My absolute favorite project of the year, and one I love looking at every day when I leave the house, is my Urban Outfitters knock-off wall art. And I'm amazed at how much traffic it has brought to the blog. Over 80,000 views. Seriously. That just astounds me.

This was by far my lease expensive project this year and one that I used every day. Using a $1 picture frame from IKEA and my cropodile punch, I made myself a sweet little earring holder.

I've made a lot of wreaths in my day, but this summery pom pom covered one has to be my favorite. I can't wait to pull it out again next year!

And the award for most labor intensive project of the year goes to....the boys' 4th birthday party. Seriously friends...I wore.myself.OUT. on this one. But it was SO worth it. I loved all of the fun details, from the candy bar to the city scape photo booth.

And last but certainly way up at the top of my favorite memories of 2012 is the surprise birthday party I threw for my Mom back in June. It is rare that I get to plan a girly party so I went all out with this one. And her reaction was the very best part of the party.

I'm so excited for another year of projects, and sharing them with you!

I also though it would be fun to go back through my outfits from the past year and pick my favorite looks. I'll be sharing those tomorrow, so come back for a bit of fashion inspiration. :)