I posted photos of my daughter’s fifth birthday last week, but just in case any of you have children who love Sound of Music, I wanted to share a post of some of the fun, simple ways I incorporated the theme. While this is hardly a Pinterest-worthy party, I couldn’t exactly find a lot of ideas out there, either. Forewarning: Despite my better judgement, I did pull movie images from the internet.
Of course we had to have “jam and bread” to make peanut butter and jelly! We also had other sandwich stuff.I didn’t think she’d go for schnitzel, so we just had basic pasta salad “noodles.”Most of the other food qualified as “a few of her favorite things.”The birthday girl is obsessed with Gretel – the youngest character. She wore a flower girls dress, which looks a lot like Gretel’s dress from So Long, Farewell. We do not get fancy with our cakes. I designed an image for the grocery store to print on a frosting sheet to put on top of a 9×13 cake. Then, we let her shape some fondant mountains and cut out little cardboard characters for her to place on the round cake. The best part wasn’t the overall design, but the fact that she took pride in helping make her cake.A simple pennant with some of the movie scenesWe had to have “crisp apple strudel”, of course! I found an easy recipe, and it was delicious! Half of our family had to come the weekend after her birthday party due to winter weather, so we made this at the second celebration.My cousin made this gorgeous Gretel dress for her, which she wore at her second celebration! (Again, the weather hindered us getting it in time for her original party.) She loved it so much she wore it two days in a row before we made her take it off to wash it.We copied the Sound of Music logo and turned it into coloring pages. This served two purposes – she got to help with the decorations for her own party, and she included them in the favor bags for her little friends party.To create less work for myself, I carried the Sound of Music theme into her friends party, too. She invited 5 of her friends from school to meet at a frozen yogurt place, so I just brought some of the decorations, and she helped me create these favor bags. The “brown paper packages tied up with strings” included her favorite things: coloring pages, crayons, boxed macaroni, fruit cups, and chocolate!
This weekend my husband and I attended one of our favorite annual events with a group of friends – the KC Irish Fest. This Irish band, We Banjo 3, rocked it! We all loved their show – from their musical talent, to their upbeat music, to their energetic stage presence.
We may have been far from the stage, but everyone around us still had a great time at last Friday’s concert. And tickets were $10 – you can’t beat that!
Fans enjoy the Winter Jam 2013 concert in Kansas City
This is one of my favorite photos from the Winter Jam concert Friday night. I loved everything about the concert – the cheap tickets, the message, the music. More photos to come!
Newsong, a Christian rock band, performing at the Winter Jam concert in Kansas City
Here are a few “street photography” shots from the Kansas City Irish Fest last weekend. It’s one of the best places to people watch.
Green, green, and more green (and a cute baby).The band Millish put on a great show. I’d describe their music as Irish jazz.I’m glad I wasn’t any closer, or I may have learned what they really wear under their kilts.Not your typical Irish Fest spectator. Notice her dainty hat and the run in her hose. 🙂The authentic and the eccentric…together as one.Streets in downtown Kansas City are closed off for Irish Fest, which brings huge crowds each year. Notice anything amusing about this photo?Check out this handsome guy.
I had a semi-relaxing Labor Day yesterday … or at least I didn’t have anything officially planned. After grocery shopping, grilling, and shopping at an outdoor mall, Jerod and I met my parents for the Kansas City Symphony’s Pops in the Park concert. Perfect temps and sunny skies made for a very beautiful and crowded concert. Beforehand kids got to experience the “instrument petting zoo” and try out a variety of musical instruments. After 13 years in band, I’ve never even played a bassoon!
A kid blows on the bassoon at the Pops in the Park "instrument petting zoo" on Labor Day.
… but she’s still famous, at least for Kansas City! Last night we had the pleasure of watching Ida McBeth perform at the Zona Rosa Jazz on the Square concert series. Ida McBeth is a renowned performer at the Blue Room, and I can see why. She has such a strong, full voice, and she’s just full of spirit and energy! I couldn’t pick just one photo. Which is your favorite?
Ida McBeth performs at Zona Rosa Jazz on the Square, Sept. 1, 2011.Ida McBeth and her band performs at Zona Rosa Jazz on the Square, Sept. 1, 2011.Ida McBeth performs at Zona Rosa Jazz on the Square, Sept. 1, 2011.
By the way, I do have a friend who was lucky enough to photograph the president when he came to Joplin this spring after the tornado.
This week I traveled to Broken Arrow, OK to a Drum Corp International show with my parents, my high school band director, and his wife. If you’ve never heard of it, DCI is like a big marching band competition with some of the best brass, percussion, and color guard performers in the country. These kids, just 14-21 years old, work their tails off day-in and day-out all summer long, rehearsing in the heat of the day, sleeping on gym floors, and performing in hot uniforms each night. They certainly have my utmost admiration and respect. If there’s ever a DCI show in your city, GO – you’ll love it, even if you aren’t a musician yourself!
The Cavaliers entertain the crowd when a few of the performers play their instruments upside down.We stayed at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast in Broken Arrow, which had a gorgeous deck overlooking this peaceful pond.