preston's dino brunch birthday party

Preston's second birthday was dinosaur themed.  We threw a dino brunch.  A very wet dino brunch.  It rained all.day.long.

Minus the five minute meltdown (sorry, Gherkin) I had about fifteen minutes before guests started arriving, I'd say that all in all, I kept it together well given the circumstances of rain and a knee injury. 

So here are the details and the picture dump from the party.  Special thanks to Kristy Owens for once again capturing such special memories for us to have and to share.

the invitation

yummy cake by Eggleston's Edibles

Guest book : How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday?
I hope to find a book each year (that fits the theme of his party)  to have his guests sign.

the cute little dinosaurs that threw up on my house

I hadn't had a Bugle in years, but got the idea to serve them as "dino toe-nails" from pinterest.  
Good news is I haven't been missing anything (ignore the fact I ate half of the bag). 

toasted marshmellow jelly beans  =  dino eggs

Using a free printable (see sources below), I made these paper containers and
sent guests home with their own dinosaur eggs (aka toasted marshemellow jelly beans).

What we did:

With the rain, we were forced to set the activities up in the garage. 

I covered a plastic swimming pool we had sitting around in our back yard with burlap and
Mr. Gherkin filled it with sand.  I buried dinosaurs in the sand and let the kids excavate them using
some cheap paint brushes.   Please note that I can not take credit for this idea.  Pinterest, of course. 

I picked up 18 eggs on a last minute grocery store trip after seeing the forecast change
 to include 150% chance of rain.  Ugh.  It was a game time decision but I boiled the eggs
for the kiddos to paint their own dino egg.
Sorry, mommas, that party got real dirty, real quick!

And boys will be boys.  They wouldn't let a little bit of rain stop them.  They were all playing in the rain. 

Sorry to the mommas whose kiddos left wet.  Mother Nature, I tell you, she's a rough one to deal with.

Even the girls weren't scared to get wet.


Guests:

the dad life (which may have included a beer AND a donut while at the party)

family

Make a wish.  Rosa and I let him practice blowing out candles all week.  :)

Unlike last year, this boy was excited about his cake this year.

his nana.

my family.

my two year old.   sigh.

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Sources:

dino shirt:  this Etsy shop 

cake:  Eggleston's Edibles, Houston, Texas

invitations: Shutterfly

favors :  free printable from here

dinosaurs for dino dig: from Amazon, here. 

36 inch balloons: one left over form last year, one new --- both from here.

paper goods:  DIY, by yours truly