The Party! No. 5 2012

Warning:  Lots of photos ahead! Grab a cup of something tasty and relax...

Party time!  I love having all the kids here at the house running around and having a good time.  Even though every year I'm determined to have all the planning and decorating done days in advance, and every year I'm up until midnight icing cupcakes or making banners.  It's all for the best cause in the world... 

...this guy!  And no matter what or whom I'm cursing late the night before, I love every minute of it.  With inspiration like that face, planning a fun party for his birthday is "icing on the cake".  I can tell beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will grow to be a wonderful, honorable, special young man.  He has a special energy about him that makes me think that no matter what he does or where he goes in life, he will always be ok.  When he smiles I see such happiness and contentment.  When I look into his eyes I see a pure heart full of goodness.  Five is a really cool age, I'm seeing changes in him that can actually fit in the category of "mature".  I'm catching little glimpses of the man he will grow to be and I just have to be cliche for a second here...it gives me such an inexplicable sense of pride and joy.

But you know what also gives me pride and joy?  Maneuvering through and mastering the scrapbook aisle at Hobby Lobby!  I love me some cool paper, and I had so much fun finding paper for Joseph's Firetruck Party theme.

The Details!

I found a fabulous blogger through googling 'firetruck party' who made super cute decorations for her child's birthday - and she linked up the printables that she created for everyone to use for free!  I used her 'Happy Birthday' letters in circles, and added different patterned paper to make his banner.  The problem that I'm finding with making detailed, cute things like this is that I don't want to get rid of them.  So since my birthday storage box is quickly expanding with these things, I need to make more generic colored and patterned ones in the future that will match a plethora of themes...right?!  Yea, right.  We'll see about that. ;)

 

(Loving the chevron trend right now!)  I was really pleased with the vintage, classic yet fun look!  Perfect with a little boy's love for firetrucks!

Alaina was up during the six o'clock hour that morning so I had a little extra time on my hands that I hadn't originally planned for.  During that time I was able to cut out and glue some flames to paint stir sticks for the front yard.  But I mostly love this picture for the chalk square man in the background.

  

 

The Cheesing!

Bounce house hilarity!

 

 

Let Them Eat Cake!

I couldn't help myself when Joseph said he wanted a fire truck cake.   I really tried to pace myself, plan small, not expect too much so I wouldn't be let down should disaster strike.  But alas, *darn you google*, I found www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com and the idea for a 3-D truck cake was born.  It's a great website to peruse for inspiration.    

It was funny too, because he wasn't grasping that I was going to make it 3-D and as this one was being built, I could tell he was confused.  He was expecting an iced 9x13 cake with a picture of a fire truck on top.  So on birthday party morning I was so excited for him to open the fridge and see it.  He loved it!

Overall it was pretty fun to make and I would totally do it again.  Especially now that I have some suggestions and helpful hints for my future self.  For those curious to know, here is the short list of how we did it.
Truck body and cab:  stacked pieces of a 9x13 cake (I read about using a loaf pan instead and that sounds like a good idea too), and used dowels to hold it all steady.  Even with the dowel support it still had a mean lean to it.  Ooops. (Notice the pickle jar lid 'support' under the edge of the cake board!) The cake board is just a wrapped cutting board. 
Icing: normal grocery store cream cheese flavored, dyed red, and a little dyed black
Outlining:  have to rave about the icing "pen" I bought and used for the first time.  It's a plastic contraption that holds the decorators bag full of icing (with tip and all that jazz already attached), and it has a squeezer/masher thing that allows great control of how much icing comes out.  Love it!
Wheels:  oreos, we left on a little of the white cream center as hubcabs
Buttons and lights:  various candy and m&ms.  This was probably one of the biggest energy wasters about this project...cause I tend to over think this kind of stupid stuff.  I wasn't sure if I wanted the flashing lights to be all red...or red and yellow...or orange not yellow...checked online for ideas...looked at pictures of fire truck lights...try it one way...try it the other...try it back the first way...aghhhhh!  :) 
The windows and windshield:  I decided to try out marzipan.  I've been wanting to play with it and figured starting small (i.e. thinly rolled plain squares) would be good.  It was really sticky but I haven't had much luck getting creative with fondant so marzipan wins this round.  It was super easy to work with.  The big 5 on top of the cab is marzipan too painted with yellow food coloring.
The dalmatian and fire hydrant are candles we already owned from Joseph First Birthday. 

 

The loot!  Thanks to everyone who made this day so wonderful!

 Let's Hit It! Pinata Time:

As darkness fell, the last guests left and we unplugged the bounce house.  Alaina and Joseph were both super kids this year and both had a ball.  Who wouldn't?!  With happy hearts we got cozy to play with new toys and check out all the fun new stuff from his gifts and be super grateful for special friends and family in our lives.  And like I said earlier, with a face like that how can I not be grateful for my little guy.