All Aboard for Ryder's 3rd Birthday Party!

Saturday afternoon, our friends and family joined us at a local park to celebrate Ryder's 3rd Birthday.  I had high hopes for a beautiful afternoon.  An afternoon that would allow the kids to make great use of the swings and slides; however, Mother Nature had her own opinions.  Thankfully, the rain held off long enough for us to eat, open gifts, and enjoy the sweet treats Ryder selected for his celebration!  Once the raindrops began to fall, many of the kids were more than eager to continue the celebration under the May showers we were presented with.

The birthday boy ready to get this party started!

Welcome to the party...come on in!

I used Parties by Hardie's Printable Train Collection for the decor.  With a busy schedule her "ready made" party pack was perfect to combine with my desire to create custom decorations for Ryder's birthday celebration!   

I simply LOVE the way the birthday banner I created turned out!  The white buckets serving as bases were found in the Dollar Spot at Target.  I opted to replace the original white ribbon found on them with red polka dot ribbon for a splash of color.  The cupcake toppers...too cute!

I picked up a few additional white buckets to put together these little cuties!

We had goodie bags for the children in attendance...inside were train conductor hats and bandannas!

I was inspired by a "message board" I found over on Pinterest and put together this photo display of our birthday boy!  I scored a piece of free fence from a friend and spray painted an existing frame I had white...super cheap project!  My supporting bushel basket was one I had on hand and for some additional contrast I spray painted it red.  A super simple banner at the top completed my display!  In time, this frame will find it's way onto my kitchen wall and serve as a place to hang photos, invites, etc...

Chew...chew!!!  Love it!

Our boys love mini marshmallows and I thought the train smoke was a nice addition to our cake table...

Train cookies from The Cookie Lady...delish!

Again, Pinterest provided this AWESOME idea.  We will be rockin' this idea at our additional summer gatherings as well!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ryder...we love you!

Garrett happily playing in the rain...

Hudson getting in on the action, too...

The birthday boy and his new bike...

The party has come to an end...time to head home!

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Ryder's special day.  We are blessed with the very best of friends and family!  As we celebrated, my heart was heavy with the absence of my dear friend and her children.  We honored them with balloons released on their behalf and the boys are hopeful the balloons made it all the way to heaven!