Our Beachside Life: Audrey's 8th Birthday

Well, the Swamp temporarily relocated from Gainesville to Rockledge this past Saturday.

Audrey's 8th birthday party was nothing less than 100% Gators! The whole idea for the Gator Party started shortly after Florida beat Alabama in the SEC Championship game and then the idea became the official party request once Florida became the National Champs! I am not going to tell you that it was easy for me to host a party that was full of gators as well as blue and orange... because it was NOT! I mean the party was all about the Gators, but their colors are the same as our arch rival, Auburn! But as hard as it was, I held my head high as I made the many, many purchases for the party. Smile and nod as people made comments about how great the Gators did last year, etc. But I have to say that seeing Audrey get so excited made it all worth while.

The party was full of fun... The girls enjoyed bouncing in the bounce house and climbing all over the playset, while Brock grilled hot dogs for everyone in true tailgate style.

The Menu
Hot Dogs with all of the fixings
Cheetos
Cantelope and Blueberries
Orange Gatorade
"Go Gator" cookies
Gator Head cake
Ice Cream

Are you seeing the blue and orange theme yet?

The "Gator Head" cake from Enchanted Cakes was a party favorite... everyone loved it, especially Audrey, who didn't want me to cut at first because it was 'too cool'!!! But we did cut the cake and it was very yummy! The girls

played some more and then we opened presents, which included many wonderful gifts. The "Gator Girl" from Mrs. Appolloni was definitely one of Audrey's favorites. It seemed appropriate that she receive a "Gator Girl" from the same person who helped Audrey migrate toward the Gators in the first place! :)

Once the gifts were opened and the party was beginning to

wind down, it was time for Audrey's gifts to her guests. This year we decided (with some help from our friend, Jamie) to forgo the typical party favors and instead created a Candy Bar full of (you guessed it) blue and orange candy.... Yes, there are over 8 lbs. of blue and

orange M&Ms... The candy bar was a HUGE hit with all of the kids. Each child filled their blue Gator candy bag with Reese's, Crunch bars, blue and orange M&Ms, blue and orange gum, orange jellybeans and blue sour belts. The entire party was a lot of fun!

Here are some more photos from the party...

Party Setup from the Gate