Summer's 8th Birthday

I'm a little late on sharing Summer's birthday party. This past year was pretty low key because we didn't want a "big" party. We just invited a few close friends and it was perfect. The last couple of years Summer has wanted to do a "campout" and sleep in the back yard. I haven't been able to commit to that level of a sleepover just yet so we did a camp-themed party instead. 

It was basic and easy and the kids had fun! 

We decided to do a fun little painting project, painting these little birdhouses that I found at Michaels. They were only .99! And thanks to DecoArt as they provided all of the paint that we used. 

The girls (And poor Tyler, always the only boy!) picked out their paint colors, just adding a small amount to a paper plate. Then using foam brushed they got to paint their birdhouse however they liked. 

After their birdhouses were painted they played a few games outside then came back for campfire cupcakes. Summer found a picture on pinterest that she wanted to recreate so that's just what we did! She was super happy with how they turned out! 

It was a super fun party and Summer had a great time! 
On her actual birthday, she picked to have this strawberry pretzel dessert. I love that she chose this because none of us are big cake eaters! And this is a family favorite! So this is 8 and it looks pretty good! 

Tyler turns 10!

Tyler's 10th birthday party was a fun day! He asked for it to be a "spooky" theme, so his friends came over a few days before his actual birthday and they played spooky games and had a lot of nerf gun wars! 

They ate spooky eyeball jello, and veggies with ranch that was inside a pumpkin, and mummy dogs and they were constantly moving and I hardly took and pictures! 

When the evening was over and his friends went home we played Star Wars Monopoly, which is Monopoly is his FAVORITE, with the new game he just had received from his friend Deacon. 

Then on his actual birthday, he requested homemade Big Macs, like always, and pumpkin pie, like always. He's a creature of habit! He got some super fun gifts too! 

It was a great way to spend a 10th Birthday! Happy Birthday, Tyler! 

Oreo Birthday Cake

This past year for Summer's birthday she decided she wanted to pick her cake from Pinterest. An who I am to tell the girl no when I get to try something new?!? So after scouring for an Oreo cake, she found this one and that is how we ended up with an Oreo Birthday Cake.

This birthday cake was amazing! And really fun to make. But first, I want to share where I found it.  QUEENSLEE APPETIT is the blog I got it from! And I think it is safe to say Summer loved it! (And her birthday was in September, so I am super behind on sharing this!)

It really was a process and I made the cakes on the day before and assembled them the day of her birthday.

This was actually the only picture of the inside of the cake! Darn It! It was already dark in my house by the time we ate cake and by the next day it was falling over because it was so heavy! So this is all you've got! But I promise it tasted good!

I'm not really a chocolate cake fan, but since this one had coffee in it, it worked for me! (Yes, I let my 7 year old have coffee cake!)

There is literally no way for me to share this recipe without copying it word for word because I followed her recipe step by step.  So instead, just go to her blog, QueensleeAppetit for the recipe.

Summer thought this cake was amazing, and she's not wrong! She was so proud that I was able to mostly duplicate it! 

This cake was insanely rich and I'll be honest, after the small pieces we ate on her birthday, we only ate a few small bites here and there. And afterwards, I ended up throwing the rest of the cake away because there is just no way we could eat another bite of it because it was just so sweet! Tasted amazing though!

Circus Animal Cheesecake

Last summer for my sister in laws birthday we had invited her over for dinner and I asked what kind of cake she wanted. She sent me a pinterest picture for this Circus Animal Cheesecake and I was immediately excited to make it! I probably never would have made it for my kids so this was a fun chance to make it. And this way I could send half of it home with her!



Even though there are several steps to get this Circus Animal Cheesecake made, it is completely worth it! Though it is extremely rich! Again.... totally worth it!



I felt like it was so pretty that I kept taking pictures of it and didn't really want to cut into it!



Recipe from Life, Love and Sugar

CRUST

2 1/4 cups frosted animal cookie crumbs
2 tbsp salted butter, melted

FILLING

24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 cups chopped frosted animal cookies, divided

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

6 oz white chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Pink gel icing color
Sprinkles

WHIPPED CREAM

1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

CRUST

1. Preheat oven to 325°F


2. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.


3. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl.


4. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan.


5. Bake the crust for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.


6. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in.


7. Set prepared pan aside.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

1. Reduce oven to 300°F


2. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar and flour until well combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.


3. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract, mixing on low speed until well combined.


4. Add the eggs one at a time, beat slowly and scrape the sides of the bowl after each egg.


5. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of chopped animal cookies just until mixed, so the colors from the sprinkles don’t mix into the batter too much.


6. Pour a small amount of batter into the bottom of the crust in an even layer, then add the remaining 3/4 cup of chopped animal cookies.


7. Pour the remaining cheesecake filling into crust, over the cookies, and spread into an even layer.


8. Place springform pan inside another larger pan. Fill the larger pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.


9. Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes.


10. Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 30 minutes.


11. Crack oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for about 30 minutes.


12. Remove cheesecake from oven and chill until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight.

TO FINISH OFF THE CHEESECAKE

1. When the cheesecake is cool and firm, remove from the springform pan and set on a serving plate.


2. To make the white chocolate ganache start with putting the white chocolate chips in a bowl.


3. Microwave the heavy whipping cream until it just begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. If it doesn’t melt completely, microwave for 10-20 seconds, then whisk until smooth.


4. Color the ganache with a little pink gel coloring.


5. Pour the ganache onto the cheesecake and spread into an even layer.


6. To make the whipped cream, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl. Mix on high speed until stiff peaks form.


7. Add dollops of the whipped cream on top of the white chocolate ganache.


8. Top the cheesecake with frosted animal cookies and some sprinkles. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The only thing I was bummed about it not getting a well lit picture of it sliced! It was already getting late by the time we cut into it, but it is still pretty and I was pretty darn proud of how it turned out!

If this Circus Animal Cheesecake sounds amazing or if you love cheesecake as much as I do, check out The Perfect Cheesecake, Caramel Toffee Crunch Cheesecake, Caramel Apple Cheesecake, and Mini Snickers Cheesecakes.

Summer's Mermaid Birthday Party

Last weekend my little girl turned FIVE years old!

We went back and forth a little on what type of party she wanted, but ultimately settled on a "Mermaid  Birthday Party".

Thankfully Pinterest is always my friend and guides me to the best of the best crafters with awesome ideas to create a great party.  Here are some shots from the day. And by "some" shots, I mean, I am sorry for an extremely picture heavy post.



Welcome Mermaid sign for the front door.



Summer helped me "design" her very own birthday shirt. She did a pretty good job.



One of my favorite things in our house has always been our chalkboard wall. The kids play on it all the time and it always gets used for birthdays and holidays.



Our party was mid day so we just did some finger sandwiches, and snacks.





I was going to make my own rock candy, but for real, after reading how to do it and that it can take a couple of weeks for the crystals to grow I decided to bag it and just buy them!



How fun are these marshmallow pops? They are super cute and the were really delicious!



The clam shells were also a big hit. It is just frosting in between two nilla wafers and a sugar bead for the "pearl"



Love my sweet birthday girl!





Everyone loves mermaids-- What is your mermaid name? Mine is Mara Aqua Rain



I got these hula hoops on clearance a while back so I grabbed them for "party gifts" for the girls!



Last minutes I decided I didn't want to make cupcakes myself. I was swamped with other things and was just running out of time. Walmart to the rescue and the colors were exactly what I wanted. I made these adorable little cake toppers to go with them.



A pinata was really the only "game" I planned and the kids all left with bags of candy!



Look at all these sweet girls (and one boy!)! I am so grateful for all of our amazing friends that gathered around my girl to celebrate!





After presents and some cake and lots of playing with friends it was time to wrap up our day of fun!



This little Mermaid was as happy as a clam! Happy Birthday sweet girl!