Giddyup!

Paige's birthday was last Sunday, but we held a birthday party for her on Friday at our house. My parents came to town for it and stayed for a few days which made it extra special for Paige.

This year Paige wanted a Cowgirl/Cowboy themed birthday party. I was so excited to move away from princesses (thank you Toy Story), that I kind of went overboard. I don't think it was extravagant, just that, considering my amateur skill set, it kind of set a precedent I cannot possibly keep up if I plan on having any more kids and plan to treat them all equally.
Paige invited 8 friends. As each guest arrived they were given a cowboy hat and a bandanna to wear, before having their picture taken here:

Luckily it was a beautiful day and we were able to have most of the rest of the party outside. We played pin the tail on the donkey:
Then each of the kids got their own stick horse (which my mother and I made) before heading to the driveway for stick horse races (the best part of the party, imo):
After which we headed inside for drinks and snacks (of which I have no pictures) and then proceeded to every child's favorite part, presents:

Paige was mostly gracious although she broke down for a moment after receiving 3 Veggie Tales DVDs from my parents, throwing them down and declaring, "I didn't want these! We already have these on Netflix!". Sigh. My mother laughed and caught the pouting moment on camera:Everyone knows that cake follows presents (or is it supposed to be the other way around?) and the kids were no exception, following quick on my heels as I went to the kitchen to light the candles. Paige requested the piece with Woody sitting on the block.
Then once again we headed outside; this time to bash a pinata. Paige went first and then the kids lined up by height. We didn't bother with a blind fold.That brings our party to a close, ending right on schedule! The children also received a little goody bag (that I didn't take a picture of) to take home, filled with cowboy themed stuff like stickers, silly bands, sheriff badge, little plastic horses. . . and Paige spent the rest of the afternoon playing with her gifts and having mini-meltdowns as any little girl is wont to do on her birthday.