Birthday girl

We had a rockin' good time at Alana's 4th birthday party. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so the kids could play both inside and out. Larry and Matt helped decorate the entryway with plastic butterflies.

When the guests arrived, they decorated a bag for the butterfly hunt (later) and could make antennae out of pipe cleaners (I'm wearing mine in this photo). We also had temporary tattoos if they wanted them.

For lunch we had Make-Your-Own-Pizza on Boboli crusts. We had tons of great toppings available, including sausage, ham, pepperoni, 4 colors of bell peppers, mushrooms and pineapple. It was a huge hit. Not surprisingly, Caleb made a meat-lovers special and Alana had plain cheese.

After eating, we went outside to collect the foam butterflies that I hid in the bushes - one area for the older kids and one for the younger kids. I had two prizes, which worked out well - Phillip collected 17 butterflies to win in the older kid category (a dinosaur drawing book) and Nicole collected 10 to win in the younger category (a Hello Kitty book). (Caleb collected 16 and I think he was pretty disappointed to lose by 1.)

Then we went inside for butterfly cupcakes (the idea for which lead to the entire party theme!) I had made strawberry and vanilla, which satisfied everyone but Adam, who wanted chocolate (he's an riot, with his angelic face and devilish spirit, and not just about the cupcake selections!)

Then we had an orgy of gifts to open - gorgeous stuff from everyone, including Polly Pockets, My Little Petshop, a wonderful DoddleBear, a pink guitar, and tons of dress-up stuff. Alana loved everything. Here she's wearing the Snow White outfit from the dress-up set she got from Grandma Bobbie and Grandpa Burt.

Our guests seem to really enjoy themselves and I had a good time too. Another successful event planned and produced by Parties by Danielle.

After the party, our neighbor friend Maddie helped Alana move the butterflies from the entryway to her bedroom ceiling. She was very excited to sleep in her "butterfly room" tonight.