Invitation photos courtesy of my BFF Shana of Shana Cawley Photography. The barnyard bash lawn sign was placed at the corner where you turn into our "neighborhood" directing guests to "Bragg Family Farms." And the John Deere signs were located at either end of the circle driveway welcoming our farm-favorite friends. These were a real find! They were the ends of a bookshelf that was on its way to the dump from the kids' school. I used some 2" and 3" mailbox letters for personalization. Napkin rings were hand-cut from a cow print design I printed. Party shirts for the birthday boy & Abi-girl were made by my friend Sweetie over at MiTy Sweet Monograms & Embroidery here in Milledgeville. The "thanks-a-doodle-doo" party favors were homemade cowboy cookies & the "Drew is 2" photo magnets. I also had cow print name labels for the cups. And the oh-so-cute personalized banner came from 62 card etsy shop, but we didn't get a photo of it - the banner was moved quite a few times through the party to keep up with the ever-changing weather.
What's on the menu?
Ranch Chicken Cheeseball/Dip with Cracker
Caesar Pasta Salad
Corn & Black Bean Salsa with Chips
Butterfinger Apple Dip with (you-guessed-it) Apples
Awesome Fresh Fruit "thrown together" by my Jama
Party Mix
For the kids
Sandwiches - Turkey, Ham or PB&J
Cheetos
Apples, Grapes, Cheese Cubes & Carrots
CapriSun
The chicken feeders were supposed to house candy corn, but apparently it won't be available in stores for another few weeks...SO I improvised with a last-minute substitution of Corn Pops cereal, peanuts, M&Ms, raisins, and chocolate morsels - not a bad fill-in! Kids' lunches were pre-made & served in individual "fish & chip" baskets I found on clearance post-July 4th.
I'm pretty sure if you asked her today, my sister Ashleigh would tell you that she never dreamed she would be making cakes almost every other weekend & gasp - working with fondant! It is really remarkable to look back at some of her first cakes from just a few years ago, and then see the incredible designs she is able to execute. She's the best & apparently loves me & my kids very much. I'm pretty sure there were multiple moments she wanted to kill me during the process of executing my design for this cake, but she can't argue that the end result wasn't worth it...love you Shash!
And a "Barnyard Bash" just wouldn't be complete without farm animals. Many of you know that I grew up on a farm...it's much more of a farm now that when I lived there, but it was a farm none-the-less. We raised cows, had a horse or two along the way, and always grew a garden. I learned to drive when I was about 11 or 12 when my granddaddy left me in the truck in the pasture one afternoon as we were checking on the cows, and he got out to look at something & the hollered for me to "come pick him up." I may not look or act like a farm girl, but I know how to fish, have baled hay (not that I would do it now), and have even helped birth a cow. Anyway, back to the animals. My sweet daddy, Abi & Drew's Papa, came up early Saturday morning with a 10 foot trailer that was as loaded down with "farm" as it could be - a rooster & a hen, bunnies, natural wicker furniture, hay bales galore, gorgeous fresh-cut zinnias in shiny tin cans, and more washtubs than you could do a week's worth of laundry in. All of the finishing touches to really transform our home into the "Bragg Family Farms."
I also had the great fortune of being introduced to Sharon Varner of Follow That Dream Ponies & Farm. They live in Gray, and were incredible to work with & equally patient with my weather woes on the morning of the party. I must say that Buttercup was an even bigger hit with the kids than I imagined, and Sharon & her family felt like family to us!
I don't think the Birthday boy or Abi-girl ever thought for a second that the rain was going to slow down this party train & it didn't. As you can see, we were surrounded by good food, good friends, good family & good down-on-the-farm fun!
Thanks-a-doodle-doo for being a part of Drew's special day!
Ya'll come back now, ya hear?
