Another Cars Party!

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Talmage wanted a Cars party again this year (he also had one for his 2nd birthday). He LOVES Cars--the movie, the diecast cars, and pretty much anything that has Lightning McQueen's face on it! We took advantage of our last year at Stanford (with a HUGE backyard) and had a big party with some of his friends. It was a blast for the kids and he felt super special so I was happy. We had 27 kids and over 55 people at the party, so you can understand why some of my favorite party pieces were not documented (like the stoplight fruit and the party favors--"I'm wheelie glad you came!" with a matchbox car)...but we still got some good ones! 

 

My friend in Sacramento is so ridiculously creative and talented and agreed to make Talmage's birthday cake (it was a pull-a-part cupcake cake) and the kids went wild over it! I am not joking when I say it was the best money I spent on this whole birthday party. I was on bedrest for most of the week leading up to his party and the thought of making him a cake (like I had originally planned on doing) was about enough to send me over the edge! Summer saved the day and I am so, so, so happy with how it turned out. Seriously though, how cute is that?!

You should have heard the kids all gasp when the box was uncovered. Talmage got just what he wanted, "a big cake wif Wightning McQueen on it!"

 Blowing out the candles. Four, to be exact!

And then he dug right in! I think he remembered Everett getting to stick his finger in his cake on his first birthday, so T went to work! We handed out cupcakes to everyone and this baby was demolished in no time!

The kids decorated their bikes with streamers and playing cards and then we did races around the courtyard. Most of these kids play outside (and ride their bikes) everyday, but getting to decorate them made it so much more special. Not to mention the stoplight and roadsign that my Dad contributed to the party. Doesn't everyone's Dad have a stoplight in the garage? Oh wait, my Dad's the coolest ever? Yeah, I know!

 The starting/finish line. Also, you can see in the first picture that I brought out the boys' cars mat and some toy cars for the younger kids to play with which was a huge hit.

We played throw the bean bag or ball through the tires and the kids really loved it. It was a great shade-game to play when they were hot and sweaty from racing! Our local car shop let me take the tires for free, and allowed us to return them when we were done--score!

We had lots of family come from Sacramento for the party. We are so grateful for all of their love for our Talmage (and you better believe I put them all to work!) They made my job SO much easier that morning!

Like I said, I didn't really get pics of the food. I had the "Nuts and Bolts" chex mix, veggie straws and trail mix like I showed above. I also had stoplight fruit (Stop for Strawberry, Slow for Mangoes and Go for Green Grapes) and our "Re-fuel Station" was juice boxes and bottled waters (I used large oil boxes as ice chests!)

 The bigger party-animals at the starting line. They were so serious about racing!

I was the crazy cheerleader for all the kids as they came around the corner. Talmage-boy and his shark helmet!

I got a picture of each of the kids standing on the podium, holding the piston cup. We also awarded each kid a medal. I'm going to print out these pictures and include them in the thank you cards.

I won't include all of the pictures of T's friends, but seriously? Little Sophia was too cute not to share!

And sweet Evie, of course! He was excited to take his turn on the stand like the big kids (but he thought sitting on it was a better choice!)

Me and the Aviator as the party wound down. I might just throw a party every week if I thought I could see her pretty face at it!

Overall, it was a successful party. Happy 4th birthday Mr. T. Your Mommy loves you more than you could ever dream possible!