Six for Emma!

I asked Emma earlier this summer what she wanted to do for her birthday party. Usually this is a dangerous parenting move, but I trusted Emma's ideas would be fun and do-able. She said she wanted to have an Indian birthday party. I was thinking: Indian? Like Bollywood? But she meant Indian as in Native American. See? Like I said: fun and do-able.

The party planning was EASY. Emma's friend Aidan has a birthday the same week so the Moms decided a joint friend party would be most convenient. My neighbor had this mock tee pee made from PVC pipes and a painter's drop cloth. Decorations: CHECK!

I found this darling Indian girl costume on Ebay for $15 which was cheaper than I could make it (plus I appreciated the saved time and effort.) Birthday outfit: CHECK!

Amy found a bakery in Logan that would make a tee pee cake cheaper the Albertson's could make a plain sheet cake. And it turned out WAAY cuter than I could've ever managed! Birthday cake: CHECK!

Amy drove half of the party guests down from Logan (a true example of Indian bravery). The rest were new friends Emma has made in the neighborhood. Here are the first arrivals:
Once all the party guests arrived, they sat down to make brown paper bag vests and feather headbands.
Then it was time to run like wild Indians through Amy's giant sprinkler ball and shark slip-in-slide!
All the little Indians gathered in the tee pee for a harrowing tale of adventure from our special guest: Chief LotsaLotsaWhiteSkin. (yes that is what was a nice brown Sunday skirt) The chief kept the kids riveted with his story-telling and scary face paint (shoe-polish). Then he assigned each kid their own special Indian name. (Amy and I were practically choking with laughter at this point.)
The kids then made special beaded jewelry for a party favor. The boys and the girls really had fun with this craft!
Happy Birthday Emma and Aidan!

It was such a fun birthday party. I'm sure we desecrated everything sacred to the Native American culture, but boy did we have a good time doing it! I love my sweet and spunky Emma. Sometimes I cannot believe she is six years old, but she has grown so much this year. She makes smart decisions and handles things better and her writing and reading are fantastic!

I love you baby girl!