Maddie's Princess Birthday Party!

Last weekend, we celebrated Maddie's 5th birthday.  

Usually, I plan these parties months in advance, careful not to overlook any detail.  

This year was different.  

Different was good.

I was literally inviting people the day before the party this year.

I know, classy, huh? 

But it was nice, and relaxed, and our special friends came and shared a great celebration with us!  

Our little celebration actually began the day before with Maddie's cousins Caleb and Grady.  

She was super excited to see her cousins and open up her gifts!  

And afterward we all went out to eat Greek food.  

The boys are studying Greece as part of their homeschool curriculum.

I love that part of homeschooling...a road trip becomes an educational activity!!

Decorations were super simple.

with the exception of this wreath I made for last year's party, I just bought everything the day before at Wal-Mart!  Super easy!!

When our honored guests arrived, we took pictures (of course)

Some friends (including Maddie) didn't want their pics taken :)  

haha...i love this, "if I just close my eyes maybe the camera will go away"

There were cupcakes instead of cake because our awesome cake making friend will be having her little one any day now!

There was play time with her good buddy Nate.

And there was story time...

I wrote a little book for Maddie about what it means to be a princess.  

I wanted her to know that if she wanted to be a princess she would have to be a hard worker, be respectful, wait patiently for things, look for the good in others, etc.  

You can view the PDF version here

Of course what's a party without presents?!

And that was pretty much it for our simple party.  

I enjoyed it so much and I think everyone else did too! :)