Partying With the Browns

Party planning and preparation is not as easy as it seems. I'm the type of person that has to have everything in order before guests arrive. The driveway should be swept, the windows should be cleaned, the floor should be vacuumed/mopped, the sinks and toilets must be washed, the beds must look perfect, the toys should be put away, the counters need to be cleared and spotless, and the food must be good. Try doing all that while juggling two little monsters! Fortunately, I married my dream guy, and he keeps them occupied while I prepare. Most often, he tries his best to get them out of the house. He'll take them to church (if it's on Sunday), or take them to run errands in town, or even drive them to the Oregon Zoo! And best of all, I don't even have to ask him to do it...he just does it! He's so thoughtful =)


I really enjoy throwing parties. I think the first party I ever threw (on my own) was Adam's first graduation party. Being a beginner, living in a small apartment, and being a few weeks pregnant were all factors against me. Fortunately, graduates can only invite a small number of people to OSU graduations, and we were able to cram the guests in. I remember, my family came the day before and I enlisted my mother to help me out with food. That was the weekend we announced to our families that I was expecting. Too bad I felt awful.

My first "big" party was our housewarming/Adam's 3rd graduation. It was summertime (which is always easiest) and we had burgers, salads, and cake.

We were so thankful to have Novie's Greats, and Great-Great's there!

Adam's cake said "So, you're a graduated....Platypus?" (2x beaver, 1x duck)...well, I thought It was funny =)

With 2 parties under my belt I was a little bit more confident. Sometimes it's rough having a big family cause you have to figure out how to feed them all =) Synnove's 1st birthday party went well, but I almost ran out of chili. Lesson learned for next time.

Synnove was a popular little girl from before she was even born.

She was a bit cautious with her cake.

This is after her post-cake bath. Her and Samuel (in high chair) are only 1 month apart. I was so glad that Sarah and Kami were able to make it to the party...although, I think they got lost and were quite late.

Synnove's 2nd birthday party was small...just immediate family...so that was easier. We had a pinata and My sis-in-law made her a sweet cake.

Uncle Henry helping with the pinata...Adam stuffed it with Mexican candies to be "authentic." I guess that's what you do when you live in Cornelius =)

And, the pretty princess cake that Aunt Faith made...

I think my next party was a baby shower for my friend Shannon. I planned this with one of her other friends. She was great to work with and we split our duties to make things a bit easier. We planned games like "guess the melted chocolate in the diaper," and served appetizery food.

Yeah, Shannon was one of those "cute" pregnant people...we all hate her for that...

Let's see...Soren's 1st birthday party was fun. My aunt surprised us with some garden fresh corn on the cob an I set up a potato bar. I would recommend a potato bar to anyone who wants to plan a great party...it was a total hit!

Unlike Novie, Soren got messy!!

That's only 1/2 of the guests...the other half are behind the camera.

Novie's 3rd birthday happened while we were living with my parents. It was nice having a big house to accommodate all the guests. And since we were living in Warrenton, a lot more people were able to make it. However, Adam's family wasn't able to come, I think because of bad weather. I made cupcakes, ordered Papa Murphy's, and had green salad.

Only got a few pics...but here's a cute one with cousins.

Our 2nd housewarming party was totally fab. We worked our tails off during a 90-100 degree heat wave clearing trees and doing stuff around the house. We didn't want any gifts, but asked everyone to bring food. We served the burgers and hot dogs and the guests brought the rest. My sister even brought ice cream from her shop and made milkshakes! We had a FULL house, took advantage of our large deck, and let all the kids play outside.

Often times I'm too busy to take pictures. And unless I designate someone with my camera, I often end up with THIS as the only pic of the day...

The next two parties I hosted, happened while I was in the middle of painting my basement, so I was pretty busy. In September, I threw a bridal shower for my sister. That was kinda fun cause I got to plan games and serve lots of sweets. I decided against a cake and made all of the food myself. The very next weekend was Soren's 2nd birthday. By that time I was feeling pretty burnt out. I was still painting non-stop and didn't put a lot of energy into his party. I only served cake and ice cream. Poor guy, I didn't even have decorations.

Elise wanted a small gathering...but I couldn't narrow the guest list any further than about 20. Here's some of the guests playing the "guess the spice" game...it was quite difficult.

Soren's 2nd birthday was likely the quietest party I have ever thrown. Many couldn't make it, but Soren didn't mind =) Here, guests are watching him eat his cake...

Finally, Synnove's 4th birthday party was yesterday. The Carrolls came from Corvallis the day before and stayed the night. Juggling the kids and party preparations was a challenge, but Jessica was a big help. I'll post pics from the party tomorrow, but here's a couple of pics from the day before.

Before the Carrolls came, I tried to get a bunch of cleaning and prep done. And what better time to get into Novie's play make-up?

I had promised Synnove that we would make cupcakes for her birthday with her cupcake making set that she got for Christmas. Notice, both my kids are still in their jammies.