Family

ELI’S SOCCER PARTY

Eli 3rd Birthday Soccer Party

If you follow along my my insta stories you have most likely seen Eli running around in a Chelsea English premier league soccer uniform on. The kid is obsessed. Garrett fell in love with Chelsea soccer years ago and when we were in London last year we got to attend a Chelsea game and it was preeeetty much one of the highlights of his life.

Super Soccer Stars

 

We bought all the boys Chelsea jerseys there and Eli just absolutly fell in love with it. Not just the jersey..the team. He will get up early with Garrett and watch their 5am soccer games. He know all the cheers for soccer and insists on us singing the Chelsea theme song as his bedtime song every night.

So when Super Soccer Stars reached out to me to see if we were interested in having them host a Chelsea soccer birthday party we jumped at the chance! Super Soccer Stars is a soccer program located all over California, Texas, Chicago, Florida, etc  that teach kids as young as 12 months soccer skills. They offer group classes, summer camps, and can host birthday parties! Also, they can cater the birthday to party to any theme you would like. They have done parties with themes such as superheroes, Peppa the Pig, and Tonka Trucks, etc. Frankly, we loved the idea of a Chelsea themed soccer party!

Eli 3rd Birthday Soccer Party Super Soccer Stars

ELI’S SOCCER PARTY

Honestly, they were so easy to work with for Eli’s party. They arranged with the city to have the party at a park that was close and convenient for us. All we had to do was show up! When we got to the park, there were 3 Super Soccer Stars coaches there all in Chelsea blue uniforms. Also, they had obstacle courses and soccer goals all set up with balloons and banners all catered to a Chelsea soccer theme.

I think the thing that most impressed me with the coaches was how great they were with kids of all ages. We had 15 kids there between the ages of 2-10. Every child got a shirt based on their age. Also, they separated them into groups and ran drills and played games that worked with each age range. The coaches were very knowledgeable of the game and made it so fun for the kids and easy for them to understand. Eli felt so special!

 

Super Soccer Stars Eli 3rd Birthday Soccer Party

They ran drills and played with the kids for a little over an hour. All the parents got to sit and chat on the sidelines. It was honestly the most hassle free party I have ever thrown. Every child left with a t-shirt, and they gave Eli a soccer kit with his own ball and water bottle.

Eli 3rd Birthday Soccer Party

Super Soccer Stars

Because Eli loves soccer so much at such a young age, I would love to get him signed up for classes with Super Soccer Stars. I really think he would love playing soccer regularly and I would love him to be coached by a soccer organization that really knows the game and can teach him skills according to his age.

Super Soccer Stars was generous enough to offer a $20 discount code for any of their classes or party options! Just use the code: ELIBDAY at checkout. Take a look at their locations to see if there is one near you!

 

Family

ELI’S 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY

Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party Eli's Banana Birthday Party

Last month I threw a 2nd birthday party for Eli at the Southern California Children’s Museum in Pasadena. It was so much fun to get all our friends together and celebrate him! I have to be honest though, I had been planning on throwing a banana themed birthday party for his first birthday, and that never happened. I felt so guilty that he never got a big birthday party, so I decided to just go for it for his 2nd birthday.

I found the cutest banana print wallpaper from Walls Need Love, and the print was almost identical to some banana print moccasins from Freshly Picked I had seen, and I couldn’t get the idea of a banana party out of my head. To create the banana backdrop, I just stuck the strips of removable wallpaper onto a giant piece of thick muslin (it was about 6×10 ft). It was so easy to apply. I hung it with some string and a few command hooks to the wall, and it made for the perfect backdrop! I found Eli’s cute banana tee on Amazon so he could be totally decked out in bananas. For the food I ordered a tiny yellow cake from a local grocery store, grabbed a giant box of uncrustables PB&J sandwiches from Costco, a big bag of chips and veggies, juice boxes, and called it good! I wanted to keep it very easy and very kid friendly.

The best decision I made for the party was to have it at the Southern California Children’s Museum. It’s super close to us, and I love taking the kids there on hot summer days. I reserved it for a big group of friends, and it was the most stress free party I have ever thrown! They had two amazing workers there to help me with set up, take down, and anything the kids might have needed while playing. The play space is huge, and they have so many fun play stations for the kids. They have a giant slide, a big ball pit, a “lemonade stand,” a small stage with buckets full of costumes, a pretend grocery store and dinner table, pretend snow to play with, and so many other fun kid stations that let them have fun and use their imaginations. If you are in the LA area and want a fun place to take the kids on a hot day, or are looking for a great party venue for a lot of kids, I highly recommend this children’s museum.

Family

A FRIENDSGIVING BIRTHDAY

Garrett’t 30th birthday was last week, and I had so much fun helping him celebrate.  We had some friends over for a black and white “Friendsgiving”.  Each couple brought a different Thanksgiving side dish, and we feasted the night away. 
I will never tire of having these lights strung across the backyard. They have become a permanent fixture, and its an instant party once I turn those bad boys on. 
And no party is ever complete without a photobooth.  This one from Minted was perfect!  You better believe I’ll be busting it out every chance I get.  
A few weeks ago, TOMS sent me over the most hilarious “together sweater”.  We got to experience it at the TOMS for Target launch party, and it is a fantastic piece of clothing.  I presented Garrett with this “gift” at the party, and wouldn’t let anyone leave until they enjoyed the pure joy of a double headed sweater.  Move over Snuggie.  

Table Runner, Place Cards (with free guest name printing!), Photobooth Backdrop: Minted c/o | Gold chargers: Michaels

Stay tuned this week as I roll out all of my top Christmas shopping picks.  Black Friday is coming and I’ve been working to find you some of the best presents out there.  
Lifestyle

Moms Best

Emily, me, Leah, and Erin
me with Anna Rose from The How-To Gal
photos courtesy of Heather Telford Photography
I had so much fun at Mom’s Best holiday party.  I got to catch up with some great blogging friends and make some new ones.  We got to review some awesome products, eat a yummy meal, and take part in an auction to help spread awareness for the Utah County Children’s Justice Center.  That auctioneer was one fast talker.
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Click here to see if you won the Tripp Boutique giveaway.
Lifestyle

three

Bradley turned three, and I am having a hard time comprehending that age!  Three just seems so old so me.  I have entered the world of pre-school and lots and lots of the question “why?”  We got together with our weekly play group and ran those kids to the ground at Provo Beach Resort.
So we are obviously building up an army.  There were 9 boys at play group that day.  Add the 2 cooking in their mommies tummy and that makes 11!  It is so great to have a group of moms that can all recite every word to Thomas the Train along with me.
Bradley requested a “Wighting McQueen” cake for his birthday.  He had a little bit of a hard time with the fact that he couldn’t play with Lightning or Francesco until we blew out the candles, but other than that he was thrilled.
Complete with a Lightning backpack and he was one happy kid.  I tried my darndest to talk him into one of these adorable ones, but I caved in and got the character backpack.  Against every fiber of my being.
Lifestyle

soel

Last week I hit up the blogger meet and greet over at Soel Boutique with Merrick and Kayla.  It was PACKED.  Kayla and I showed up with our babies in their car seats.  We immediately ditched the car seats and just held our babes because there was seriously no room to move around.  Pretty sure my arm is still sore from holding my arm in a constant curl for two straight hours.
don’t be jealous of how great this lighting is
It was fun to see all the gorg outfits and great bloggers.  And I can’t even tell you how many red statement lips were in that place.  It was fun chatting it up with friends (Rachel, Annie, Alycia) and making some new ones (Bri, Liz…quite possibly my sister from another mister)
  
The blogging community can be a funny thing, because you feel like you are friends with people that you’ve never actually met, so it was great to be able to connect with people face to face.  Then you can be like, “hey! I know pretty much everything about you already, so hopefully that doesn’t make me a stalker!”
Family

Birthday Boy!

My little man turns TWO tomorrow!  So I am busy prepping for a little birthday shindig and excited to spend the weekend spoiling Mr Bradley!
Have a great weekend everyone!