A Family Celebration!!!

This sweet little thing is turning 4...yes, 4 years old!!  It is hard for me to believe.  We gathered with family in Wichita to help her celebrate.  I have had so much fun putting her birthday together this year.  She LOVES bubble gum...let me repeat, she LOVES bubble gum.  All types of gum...cinnamon, spearmint, peppermint, strawberry, bubble, and the list goes on and on.  So, I knew that a bubble gum theme was perfect!  I have to admit, I usually cheat when I plan birthday parties by typing the theme in the google search bar.  Well, the results when I searched for bubble gum birthday parties were limited.  But, I did find a few things and actually came up with some stuff on my own...and this birthday theme came together with real cuteness!!! 

Instead of following the regular color theme of gum balls, which is more of the primary colors, I used bright pastels to make it a bit more "girly".  I put together this 'Happy Birthday' Banner and this is definitely something I will keep.  Since we have two girls, I know that these colors will come into the picture of other birthday parties.  I figure I can just remove the gumball machines and Viola!

I found directions for a 'gumball machine cake' that I altered a bit.  To make the top 3-D I baked it in a pyrex bowl.  It was a lot of fun to make.  And, my favorite part...

the tie-dyed colored cake.  I thought it would be fun to have it look like a bunch of gum balls on the inside.  Aunt Livia & Uncle Lance brought the bubble gum ice cream...that brought back tastes from childhood for sure!  Yummy!

I decorated with different types of gum with the main colors being bright pink & green.

Gum balls...Double Bubble...

Packs of gum galore...

and Blow Pops!!!

My sister-in-law, Michelle, started making a scrapbook page for her kids on each birthday so that family can leave birthday messages.  I have adopted the idea the past few years and it will be fun for the girls to look back and see what people said to them.

All of Abby & Aubrey's cousins enjoying pizza, veggies and fruit together.  

Lyndon, Tynan, Ronan, Emily, Abby, Stanton, Aubrey & Chase.

Thanks Aunt Michelle for letting us celebrate in your home.