January 31, 2010

Beach Birthday


Emma turned 9 years old!

We had a beach themed party in one of our favorite Tokyo locations, Odaiba Bay.  It is an easy 10 minute drive, which makes it priceless in Japan. 

I really enjoy putting together party details, especially the gift bags and the cake.  I found blue spray to make the frosting look like water, and then Emma suggested a lifesavor to look like a life preserver.... super idea!  I also crushed graham crackers to look like sand.


We found coconut drink holders over the summer, in the Target dollar bins.  And, as funny as it sounds, the drink holders inspired our party theme.  They were super cute, but completely non-functional... they kept popping open and spilling everywhere... luckily the mess was in the sand and not at my house :).


Emma chose this material for the "lava-lava"wrap skirts... super easy to make and it gave everyone something festive to wear.  Plus Emma helped make everyone a flower clip for their hair.  Emma is SUPER crafty.


Odaiba is pretty, but the water is pretty gross.  One of our party girls spoke Japanese and she told us there was an announcement over the loud speaker that the water is not meant for swimming.... the girls were having so much fun I just told them to make sure they bathed when they got home :). 







Super Monkey sneaked into the party.... uh hem Jonas.


The party was super easy because the girls just played in the sand and water.  I took photos of Jonas for fun and then let him take one of the party planner...ha ha. 


Happy Birthday Miss Emma!

6 comments:

Smoochie Lady April of Cook said...

All of these photos and experiences around Tokyo are making me miss being there. I was getting comfortable with all the conveniences of America but here we are on a no school day and I am thinking, "What should we do?" I would be in the car headed somewhere fun and crazy with you so our kids could see grass or touch an animal or walk on the beach. Great party... fabulous ideas... nothing new there for you... you are the party bomb. Miss you... Smooches, April :)

Annette said...

Great party planning, Momma! I need to hire you for MY next birthday! ;-)

Glenn said...

You are really awesome for going the extra miles and creating these kinds of memories for our kids. It's one of my favorite things about you.

Kristine Van Buskirk said...

Love your parties!! I love the cupcakes. So clever, and of course, Miss Creative-Emma was involved! Notes to copy for our next party. :) I love that you still played in the water. LOL Reminds me of the time we almost swam in the Santa Ana River. ha ha Memories!

Emma is too beautiful! When did she grow up? Love her!

Lisa Brown said...

Party party! Looks like a lot of fun! You're so good at party planning. My only question is why all the kids are in the water? I guess we're not as picking after swimming in Huntington Beach. (:

Da Woman said...

I absolutely love how creative you ALWAYS are and now Emma too! You are always planning something fun. A fun family with loads of fun memories. Craig and I need to get crackin'! We need fun on a more regular basis in our lives.