A 'Nature' Birthday Party

Saturday was Liz's birthday party. We invited some friends from school and the girls in her primary class, a couple friends from our old ward and her favorite cousin. We ended up with about 9 girls (not counting Rachel and another younger sister). They were all pretty cute girls, very nice and ready to have fun.

To get things started, they all decorated an apron with fabric markers. Then we painted flower pots. While those were drying, we played the "BEE" toss game. They each got three tries, and only two girls even made it! Oh well, it sure made scoring easier. Then we sat on the grass and played 'flower' bingo. After the first round, Liz decided she would rather call the flowers than play the game. We played a couple rounds and then played until black-out.
It got a little messy after that, but the girls made good use of their aprons. We used little soil pellets because it's way more fun to put the water on it and watch it grow. Then we planted our seeds and washed up. Next it was time for musical flowers, which got a little intense by the end. But everyone ended up with a tootsie-pop in their hands when we were done. We let Liz open her presents next. Her friends gave her so many fun things. There were lots of crafting kits, Littlest Pet Shops, Squinkies, some clothes and toys. So fun!
The last thing that Liz wanted to find was a four-leaf clover. So I sent them on a treasure hunt for it. At each clue, they had to stop and each share something: their favorite color, animal, sound in nature, flower. It kept the girls together during the treasure hunt and helped it take a little longer too. They ended up back in the back yard and the mud cups were out on the table with a four-leaf clover and a candle in Liz's. We sang happy birthday and ate pudding. The girls played for a little bit and then everyone went home. We got things mostly cleaned up. Charlotte and Rick stayed for awhile and played, which was fun for Jim and the girls.
I also wanted to add that almost everything I bought and used for this party I found a the dollar store. The cute paper products, the decorations, the aprons, the seeds, the flowers for musical flowers, the bingo markers, the balls for the 'bee' toss, the balloons, the prizes, etc. I had to pick up a couple other things (flower pots, green tablecloths, invitations) at other stores, but I saved a ton at the dollar store!