a mermaid party ~ Kennedy's 5!

Kennedy requested a mermaid swim party this year and I was happy to oblige.  Having the party at a location other than our house sure makes things easier!!!  Of course, I had a ton of fun searching for ideas on Pinterest and putting together cute little details.  I love this kind of thing and really get so much enjoyment from putting on a cute party.  I hope my kids look back and know that I did my best to make their birthdays special.

I loved this theme...loved the colors and the simple ways that I was able to make it fun.

I also loved that it incorporated one of Kennedy's most favorite things ~ swimming!!!

The cake!

My friends, Kathy and Shannon, had both made ruffle cakes like this before and then my other friend, Trisha offered to help me make one too.  With tips and tricks from Kathy and Shannon and the talent of Trisha, we were able to create such an amazing cake.  I LOVED it!  It came together more easily than we had thought...it was time consuming but not overly difficult.  The hardest part was getting the fondant dyed the right shade...it took a lot of kneading and squishing and arm strength!  And bless Trisha's heart, she came down with the flu two days before the party...we ended up working on it Sunday morning and finished it in about three hours.  Again, so grateful for truly talented and generous friends.  I could not have been happier with the end result.

I made some white chocolate shells in candy molds and used those and a starfish to top off the cake.  The inside was gorgeous too...it was six layers of tourquise ombre' cake.  

(Kathy took lots of pictures at the party, so hopefully we got one of the inside too)

another simple craft that I had a lot of fun putting together

the dessert table

There is only so much you can do to make a room at the community center look party worthy.  But in less than 30 minutes I thought it had it looking pretty cute.

Sugar cookies 

Again, my uber talented and generous friend, Kathy, helped me frost these four dozen cookies!  I attempted a few and actually baked the cookies, but they wouldn't look at all special if it weren't for Kathy's decorating skills.  I couldn't be more grateful that she always gives of her time and talents to help!  Thank you, friend! 

sweet friends

Gracie, Katie, Kennedy and Delaynee

The whole crew

Such a very sweet group of girls!

Grace, Delaynee, Lyla, Kaitlin, Gracie, Kennedy, Estella, Lauren, Keela, Audrey, Ainsley and Emery

Getting ready for cake...

love you, sweet girl

happy birthday to you...

happy birthday dear Kennedy....

happy birthday to you!

I hope all of your wishes come true!!!

And then our little mermaid was ready to swim!!!

She had so much fun swimming and sliding, splashing and playing with her friends.

Such a fun way to celebrate our special girl.

Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help pull this off...my mom is always an invaluable assistant, crafting away into the wee hours of the night, cutting fruit and preparing food ~ couldn't do it without her!  And as usual, Kyle helps and puts up with all the craziness.  My dear in-laws helped in the mad rush of setting up the party space and my sweet friends, Kathy, Shannon and Trisha helped so much in the planning and execution.  I certainly couldn't do it alone!!!