zoe's 6th birthday picnic party

so the reason why zoe's birthday 

was extra extra special this year was because

she had not one but two parties!

yup! that's right....two birthday parties

every year, we hold a pretty large shindig for our little girl

we invite all our aunts, uncles, cousins, friends

neighbors, zoe's friends and classmates 

(hey! we are filipino, we love big parties!)

but my hubs recently changed careers 

and as a result his schedule changed too

with no weekends off and no holiday time (for a short time at least)

so we thought a little intimate party would be best

but when my mom found out, she pleaded with us

to continue the tradition of big parties

and since i didn't want to disappoint zoe and cancel the tea party

i quickly threw together a "second" party

i wanted something casual and fun

zoe has been really into picnics this summer

so i thought a picnic party would be perfect!

the party favors were mini picnic baskets i bought at a local craft store

i covered the top with washi tape

and filled them with goldfish crackers and gummy watermelon slices

i also wanted to do a mini dessert table

 it included mini donut holes

mini cupcakes

mini brownie bites

mini cinnamon buns

and i threw in some oreo cookies for good measure

 i had a vision of some sort of diy lemonade stand

i had some leftover chalkboard paint

so i made a mini chalkboard to write the instructions on

it was a pretty simple concept because i wanted the kids to be able to do it too

the menu consisted of picnic type foods

hot dogs, hamburgers, traditional filipino barbeque on sticks

salad and fresh fruit
(thanks mom for making the barbeque!)

we asked the guests to bring their own picnic blankets or lawn chairs

 and they gathered on the grass to eat

one of the many reasons why i did give in to my mom 

and have another party for zoe

was because there are so many people in zoe's life who love her so much

and who would have been disappointed if they
weren't able to celebrate her special day with her

my baby sister baked zoe's birthday cake

can you believe it was the first time she baked a cake ?! 

(without any help that is)

isn't it gorgeous?! it was also soooo yummy!!!

and then after dinner (and once the sun set a little)

we had a movie under the stars

i have been wanting to do this since zoe was a year old!!

but when 90% of your guests are in bed by 7pm

it wasn't really feasible... but this year i thought it would be!

 we didn't originally include the outdoor movie in our invitation

because we wanted to surprise our guests

but we realized after watching the outdoor movie in portland

that we had to tell them so they could come 

prepared with extra blankets, warm clothes and bug spray!!

i wasn't sure if we could pull it off

(all the equipment was borrowed and we definitely aren't audio visual experts!)

but somehow my hubs did it ! (he is so awesome)

we served fresh popped popcorn and the kids snuggled under blankets and sleeping bags

it was a perfect summer night

even though it was super hectic throwing two parties in one day

it was all worth it because when i tucked zoe into bed that night

she whispered to me

"thanks mommy, i had the best birthday ever..."