Man, my mom was cool!

We all want our kids to have better than we did, right?  I've sort of made it my life's mission to see to it that my Riley Roo and Landon Boo (Roo and Boo for short) look back on their childhood and think, "Man, my mom was cool!"
With that said, I don't have the "My Super Sweet 16" kind of cash for elaborate parties and such.  I do, however, have one heck of a creative streak and a love for DIY.  I also have a love for reading other people's blogs for inspiration so I thought why not start my own? 
So, round 1 of my great blogging adventure will be dedicated to Roo's 5th Birthday Party we threw a few days ago.  IMO, the party was a huge success and when I looked around my back yard at all the family and friends enjoying "The Lorax" on the DIY outdoor movie screen, I knew I had added another feather to my cool mom cap!

I know some of you have seen the awesome Pinterest post about party lights made from glow sticks and ballooons, right?  Nailed it...not so much.  Apparently breaking the glow sticks and inflating the balloons 4-5 hours before dark doesn't work.  The balloons looked cute though!

We went with a camping theme since Roo is a lucky summer birthday kid and we can do fun outdoorsy stuff.  (Boo, my December baby, is not so lucky.) 

 

 

 

 The banners I made from burlap, used letter stencils and paint all bought at Hobby Lobby.

 





 

The campground signs I made from scrap wood my friend had lying around. Being married to a mechanic means you usually have old tires around to stack and put a trash can inside.

 

I don't know if everyone is lucky enough to have great people at their Walmart bakery, but we are!  The same lady has made Roo's last 4 birthday cakes and they've all been exactly what I wanted.  I took a picture with me when I ordered and a week later I picked up campfire cupcakes for my little man's celebration.  Yes, I'm a do-it-yourself-er but for about 12 bucks I saved myself a couple hours worth of baking and icing!

 

I rented a DVD projector from ATS Rentals for our back yard movie!  I highly recommend this company.  I try to support local businesses when I can, but when it came down to it, ATS saved me about 75% when compared to renting a projector from our local party supply place.  Not to mention, I got to keep this one for 4 days...the local rental was 4 times the cost for only 2 hours!  Anyway, we used a white vinyl tablecloth attached to the PVC frame of my son's soccer goal to make a screen, set up a popcorn machine, threw out blankets and chairs, and enjoyed "The Lorax" under the stars!

 

After the movie, we spent some time by the campfire, and then I crawled my tired butt in a tent full of pint-sized wild animals who were all jacked up on S'mores!  Might I add that my husband and adult friends wimped out on me and slept inside!  Oh well, they might've been more comfortable, but I got my feather in my cap!