Harper's Camping Party

Yall, this little girl is THREE years old!  Say whaaaat?!
The fact that I am now a parent of a three year old simply blows my mind. It seems like only yesterday we were anxiously awaiting our first born's arrival. I can still remember the sheer joy of hearing her first cry; I remember the weight of her being laid on my chest; and I remember counting those ten precious fingers and toes and admiring her olive skin and head of dark hair. It was all just yesterday wasn't it? Yet I look back over my blog posts over the last few years and I see that that wrinkly little newborn has changed into a little lady all right in front of my eyes. Despite the fact that I miss those days of being able to hold and cuddle her in just one arm, I love the lady she's becoming and I can't wait to see what all God has in store for her life. Without a doubt, he's got big plans for our girl. 
Over Mother's Day weekend, we celebrated Harper's birthday with a camping party. When discussing party options with her, she promptly told me she wanted a tent party. I had no idea what she meant until one afternoon we were watching Paw Patrol, her absolute favorite show, and an episode came up where Ryder and the gang headed out to camp. She excitedly started shouting, "A tent party mommy! A tent party!". So from then on, I started planning out Harper's camping party; despite that she repeatedly referred to it as her tent party. Silly girl.
Here's some pictures of her big day!
The Set Up  In the past we have hosted all of Harper's birthday parties outside on our porch but having since given our porch a major makeover, we decided to keep all of the food and gifts inside this year. I set up drinks and snacks in our dining room and we threw up a mini tent for Harper's gifts to be placed in. 

The Food We opted for snacks this year instead of doing a meal. Mainly for the fact that after the guests left the party, we hosted a cookout with our immediate families. In keeping with the theme, guests got to sip on frosty sodas and ice cold water; make their own trailmix; indulge in some dirt cake; or enjoy the delicious tent cupcakes or campfire cake. 

The Fun My  original intention was to host Harper's party in the evening so we could have a bonfire and make smores but since many of our guests had other obligations in the evening we opted for an afternoon party instead. But that didn't stop me from tossing together a mini roasting station on our back porch using a galvanized bucket, sterno burners, and lava rock. It roasted marshmallows like a charm. In fact, we loved the set up so much, we're still using it on the weekends to make smores with friends (:

While guests roasted marshmallows on the porch, the kiddos took turns playing in the camping tent, on Harper's swing set (a gift from last year's birthday), or her new trampoline. 

Guests ate on cupcakes throughout the party, but we waited towards the end of the party to cut the cake and sing Happy birthday. 

The Gifts Following the cake cutting, Harper dove into her presents... quite literally! 

The Favors Before everyone left, the kids got to grab a camping chair and a favor bag that contained child-size binoculars to take home. 

All in all the party was a blast and at the end of the day, our little girl was happy and blessed!