Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Cailin's 10th Birthday Luau


Everyone agrees that this is the favorite party we have done. We had so much fun we want to have another luau for adults and kids later this summer! The party started with Cailin presenting the girls with leis and grass skirts and teaching them a simple hula. They moved to the front yard for a fun water game of "Tidal Wave" where 2 teams raced to empty their bucket full of water into another using only a sponge. They were hilarious in their skirts trying to race back and forth. Then they played beach ball volleyball, which got a little competitive, so we headed back to the deck for some more dancing and dinner. They also made pillows, did the limbo, smashed the pinata, and danced the night away. Along the way they also opened birthday gifts (playing "hot potato" with a coconut, and whoever had the coconut had their turn sitting by Cailin while she opened their gift) and ate a yummy ice cream birthday cake. The neighbors were wonderful to allow so much noise so late in the evening, but finally around 10:00 we brought the girls inside to watch Freaky Friday and go to sleep- yeah right!
It was a great party, and the girls were all a delight! Truly sweet girls who were well behaved and a joy to have in our home. Cailin is blessed with great friends! Happy Birthday Honey- hope you enjoyed your party!

The pinata. The girls were serious about whacking her with the bamboo, and she split on the 4th hit. We had a couple of softball players- they don't mess around!


Some of the yummy food. The girls absolutely loved the fresh coconut and pineapple, and begged for cocnut milk. Who knew!? OK, I admit... pepperoni pizza wasn't very authentic, so I kept it out of the shot.



The pergola with decorations. Yes, understatement is our trademark. Ahem. (The picture doesn't do it justice, but Rusty went a little crazy with things hanging off the pergola... I told him there is a fine line between fabulous and tacky, and he definitely crossed that line and kept going! Oh well... she loved it and that is what matters:-) )

(No idea why the picture is so small. It is amazing that I am posting pictures of anything. Amazing!)


Coconut cups with the girls' names on them in Hawaiian. The girls loved learning their names, and used them throughout the party. This is from the morning after; cups all washed and neatly lined up by super- daddy. I love that man! He cleans up after the party, and then prepares chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs for 12 little girls the morning after.



I love this picture with my Cassidoodle because she usually isn't a fan of having her picture taken. Isn't she beautiful! (Spoken like a proud Mama or what!)

The birthday girl making her flip flop pillow. These were a huge hit with the girls and a precious keepsake. Way better than I even hoped... when we opened the box up from the store Cailin even said, "Wow, Mom! These are cool! Not cheesy at all!". Can you tell we have had some not so great experiences with crafts from this particular company?


The goodie bags... filled with fondant decorated sugar cookies in the shape of bikinis, flip flops, swimsuits and sunglasses; hawaiian jewelry, luau themed magic washcloths, fruit shaped candy, hibiscus print emery boards, and the leis and grass skirts the girls wore at the party.

Daddy ~ at the girls' service! He mixed up delicious strawberry smoothies, served up in their coconut cups . The girls loved it, and so did Daddy (now known as Mr. Lukei - Rusty in Hawaiian!).

5 comments:

ginny said...

Such a cute party! I'll have to file those ideas away for when my girls get older :) Happy Birthday to Cailin.

Musings of a Housewife said...

That looks like SO much fun.

Susan said...

Wow what a party!!!
Susan

Anonymous said...

Fabulous!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you went all out! The pictures look amazing and I bet all your daughter friends had to be a little jealous:)