We got in touch with Carolina Choo Choo, a fabulous company who was willing to travel all the way from Clinton to make the party extra special. Mr. Joe and Mr. Gene (twin brothers) were spectacular engineers and conductors and were just like part of the family. It made Connor so incredibly happy and all the kids loved riding the real train.
We took advantage of the pool and the very warm (hot!) day and alternated between swimming and riding the train. As usual, Gma & Grandpa (my parents) were gracious hosts and put up with all my party decor and crafting. I made a "3" canvas with photos, party hats using my PSA Essentials stamps, music CD's and cover art using my PSA Essentials stamps, and I purchased a party pack from Etsy (check out OWLIE POWLIE). The awesome cake creation was from Ronnie's Bakery in Bluffton. Thanks to Lou for a beautiful, memorable and delicious cake! Here's the photo recap!
I made a "ticket" booth out of a cardboard box. I painted it red and used an X-acto knife to cut out windows. The printable party pack had all sorts of fun things to stick on like the "ticket booth" sign and "happy birthday connor" bubble. Very homemade but cute, right? We propped it up on two side tables and the kids were able to crawl under and sell their tickets. See the one below of Connor, it's priceless!
Pictured above are Mr. Joe and Mr. Gene. What nice gentlemen! Connor was so excited for his cake.
Obviously I had to put it away until it was serving time! We are so lucky to have my parents who are such close friends with Mike's parents. And Mike's sister, Meghan, who married his best friend from college (and our best man at our wedding) almost a year ago. It was such a family day for us! So blessed.
The kids started arriving and it was time for some train riding fun right away. We wasted no time at all.
My very sweet cousin, Ben, was home from Clemson for the weekend and was nice enough to come to a 3 year old birthday party! He took Connor on a ride inside the train.
It got really hot! So it was time for some swimming in the pool. We feel so lucky and thankful to have this spot to share with friends and family and celebrations like this. Connor loved swimming with cousin Ben.
I love these girls! How sweet that they would choose to spend Mother's Day with us. Now time for cake. I love how Molly's best friend, Parker, is front and center in all of these photos. Too cute!
Time to hop back on the train! I ensured kids wore some party hats for a PSA Essentials stamping photo opp! (I used the "3" from PSA Vanilla Peel & Stick packs).
Awesome, awesome, awesome day. Again, we are so thankful to those that chose to celebrate Mother's Day with us and that we were able to have such a great party with family and friends. Happy 3rd Birthday, Connor-man! We absolutely love you more than words can say.
