Just An Orrdinary Family: Cooper's Carnival Party

I know Cooper turned 2 in March and I still haven't blogged about it, but we post ponded his party until May so I guess that isn't quite as bad ;) We decided to wait until May because that's when Spring decided to show up and then we could do a combined birthday party with my nephew Preston who was turning 2 as well!

Basically I LOVE planning parties! I had bought a bunch of stuff for his party back in November and stored it in my shed for 6 months until we had the party. So I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do and plan too much OOPS! I just get way too into it and had so much fun searching on Pinterest for different ideas. The only thing I forgot to remember to do was get my camera out….It's a really bad habit of mine.

Since we were doing a carnival theme we just had hot dogs and chips for lunch and I put the mason jar cups I'd made for his 1st Birthday Party to good use again. Then we had some carnival treats later on. We had mini doughnuts, popcorn, carmel popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones. Apparently no one likes grape snow cones besides me…..

Then we had some carnival games for the kids to play with and pick some prizes. We had a swimming pool with rubber ducks to pick from, a can toss, a bean bag toss game into a clown's mouth, face painting, a candy claw machine that we borrowed from my parents, and a photo booth (Ironic since I didn't have my camera out haha) I should also mention that we had my little brother dress up as a clown and run around the party for a bit. He was such a good sport cause it was pretty hot out that day and there was no way I'd want to be running around with a wig and full costume on!

Then we had cake and opened presents. Preston and Cooper got very spoiled, but I think they're both still at the age where they don't stay interested in things for very long so the moms and dads ended up opening a few of their presents for them. Then we moved on to my favourite part! Each of the kids for to "go fishing" and get a pet goldfish to bring home! I had a little glass vase with rocks to put in the bottom and a bag of fish food for them each to take home. Cooper LOVED having a fish for a few days before it died…. On a side note I went to check on the price of the fish a few weeks before the party and the girl at the pet store got so mad that we were going to give them as pets for a party and wouldn't even tell me how much they cost. Apparently it's more humane to sell them as feeder fish for other fish to eat then for a kid to have a pet goldfish…. So my sister just went the day of the party and told them she had to get some for her fish to eat and there was no problem. Go figure.

All in all it was a super fun day, but Cooper (and I) were both exhausted by the end. We're so grateful for all our friends and family who were able to make it and for all the help they gave us setting up and taking down the party! It's so much fun to watch Cooper get older and enjoy being around and playing with other kids. They loved being about to drive the Gator around the yard and it was pretty entertaining to watch! Here's a few pictures that other people took at the party!