End of Summer Party

Yesterday was kind of totally awesome. Like, totally awesome. Ahhh yes, I just said that. In fact, sounding younger than I am actually has everything to do with today’s post. You see, when we decided to work with Pacific Foods on a great summer party post we knew exactly what we wanted to do, get silly. Our end of summer party was definitely all about letting loose, whether you were a little kid or a grown up. Cade and I felt like summer get togethers are always the same, the kids go play and the adults chat. It’s wonderful. Us moms can especially appreciate that as sometimes it’s nice to not be separating arguing children or talking to a toddler all day, but there’s a time and place for everything and sometimes you need more than just adult talk, you need to get silly. Why? Well not only is it a proven fact that those that can laugh and play actually live longer, healthier and happier lives but it’s also very important for your children to witness. They need to play alongside mom and dad and bond in very real ways. Especially to end summer with a real bang. So that’s what we did. We invited some wonderful friends out to a park and asked them to bring their favorite family side or dessert. I secretly printed all of these great recipes plus the new Pacific recipe (avocado hummus) that I brought for them and I stashed them along with other goodies into a fun summer tote bag (which you can see lined up on the table). Each family got to take one home in order to inspire them to make something delicious and fun for their own party next year. When everyone arrived they had a special surprise from us right from the start thanks to Hasbro toys. Gosh, it was so fun! We had recently had an impromptu water fight after a camping trip and it was so fun. In fact, it even felt like Cade and I were dating again just to be running around, flirting and soaking each other with water balloons so we decided to have a surprise water gun fight! The adults and kids had an equally enjoyable time, but as I’m sure you can guess, the boys definitely played the longest, hardest and got the most wet.  It broke the ice for everyone immediately and you should have seen the kids! I have never heard so many squeals for joy. Can you imagine how much they loved soaking their moms and dads?! We really wanted our party unique and we love to support our local restaurants and food trucks so we teamed up with Surefire Pizza, a fantastic food truck to meet us at the park for dinner. It was perfect! We didn’t have to worry about bringing a main dish, we got to introduce everyone to one of our favorite pizza trucks (one that is inspired by basil and fresh foods for people and families… hello totally fitting) and everyone loved that it was pizza instead of cold sandwiches or a big mess like picnics can end up being. It. Was. Amazing. Everything was from scratch and they even use imported ingredients. Cade and I agreed, we would eat Surefire Pizza every week if we could And you can totally book them for your own parties. The pizzas are made fresh to order and go perfectly with such fresh sides like ours from Pacific Foods. Cannot say enough good things about both brands. Just trust me and have your own copycat party.

Then it was time to bring it all in for a little relaxing, but don’t worry, it wasn’t separation like old parties. Instead we had a bunch of princesses show up from Pirate and Princess Parties.  Oh my goodness!! It was like being at Disneyland without the rides or long bathroom lines. The kids loved it and the parents had such a blast watching the little one’s eyes light up. It totally made a memorable ending to a perfect party. They were all so amazing and stayed perfectly in character. And it’s way more affordable than I bet you think. How fun would it be to hire one to show up at school with birthday treats or to make a surprise visit as a christmas or birthday present?
Parents had such a blast watching the little one’s eyes light up. In fact, kids all over the park started wandering over which was just darling!!! It totally made a memorable ending to a perfect party.  In fact, our girls are still talking about them. Especially our youngest, and you guys, they even told their story and sang the songs. No. Joke. It was stinking amazing. I am an adult and I was sucked in. I want those girls to come to everything!! When they arrived they acted like they were friends with the girls already. It was wonderful. They were all so amazing and stayed perfectly in character.  Anyway, the day was awesome and I cannot thank everyone enough for such a great summer party. And I don’t mean to be pushy, or act like I know everything, but all of these brands were amazing so may I just add that Pacific Foods is incredible, real food that made the party snacks delicious, Hasbro toys and Princesses made the kids laugh and the parents get a little silly too and SureFire Pizza is just darn delicious. You can find them all over Utah or hire them for catering which is just genius and saves you time and money in the long run. In fact, everyone we worked with saves you time in the kitchen or planning activities and saves you money versus going crazy with party planning. I’m just sayin’ celebrating summer can be way more fun and a little silly with just a few killer ideas. 🙂 [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:879]