I love to make a huge deal of my boys' birthdays. They are the biggest and best things in my life and I want them to look back with fond memories of their birthdays and to always know and feel how special they are. Every year I have to reel myself in from going crazy with goodies...this year, I have made some improvements. I have been doing a lot of baking lately and experimenting with some yummy cupcake recipes. Instead of ordering a cake, I made the boys S'Mores cupcakes. Jax was intent on having a Cars 2 cake...so we compromised with Cars 2 cupcake cups and decor picks....he took it pretty well:)
I am also going to have my first go at making cake pops. I am pretty stoked about it, we will see how it goes.
The hubs and I planned a fun filled day today on a tight budget. In the end, we only spent $40 for a huge day of fun and made some unforgettable memories. Logan had school this morning, but after we picked him up around lunch time the festivities began. Our first stop was Brookfield Zoo. It was a gorgeous day and with most of the kiddos back in school the zoo was nice and quiet and we could get up close to check out all of the animals. I packed a nice picnic lunch to save money at the zoo...the place can be a fortune if you don't plan ahead. We also had our free passes from my Meijer Coke deals at the beginning of summer still hanging around, so we only had to pay $9.00 to enjoy a day at the zoo...stinking parking fee:(
Here are a couple of snapshots of the boys enjoying the day.
The highlight of the zoo had to be the bear habitat and the the polar bear named "Hobson". He was so cool and loved to swim for all of the kiddos. He got up close to the glass and side-stroked by for all of the little ones to see...the hubs and I were just as excited as the little ones. We stood and watched this awesome bear for a good 15-20 minutes.
After the zoo, we made our way to Giordano's for some yummy pizza. The hubs had done a survey and scored a $25 gift certificate to Restaurant.com, so we used it to purchase a $25 gift certificate to Giordano's. We were able to get an awesome meal complete with a pizza just for the boys, our own deep dish, drinks and an app for $24 with tip. Jax was super excited he got to pick his own toppings and didn't have to settle for our choices.
After stuffing ourselves with pizza, it was onto the next fun-filled adventure...the place all parents loathe and all kids adore...Toys R' Us. I dislike Toys R' Us for a multitude of reasons, but I signed my kiddos up for their birthday club so every year they each get a coupon for $3/$3 purchase and they get to go and pick out a small toy for themselves. We also chip in a buck or two to help them out. Jax knows the power of a coupon in this house and was super excited to have and use his very own. We gave the boys a spending limit of $5 each. Logan had no trouble picking out a pack of Matchbox cars...but the decision was a little harder for Jax. he finally settled on a pack of Matchbox cars as well. Our total OOP was $4.96. The boys also each got a birthday crown and balloon too. I think they thought they had hit the jackpot.
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| Could he be any cuter?? |
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| I love the expression on Logan's face |
Our neighbors, Grandpa Dick and Grandma Joan and Lauren, came over to enjoy some cupcakes with us and bring the kids some goodies for their birthdays. The boys had a blast and capped of the night with their newly acquired cars.
It was such an awesome day. In the end, we spent a total of about only $40 for a fun filled day packed with all sorts of goodies. Our q's saved us over $65....we cut the cost of our day by over half! The boys had so much fun, I swear they probably thought we spent a million bucks...lol.
I will leave you all with this...the perfect sentiment for today. It really is a Good Life. Stay tuned as our birthday extravaganza continues...
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