Submarine Party

The Nugget treated a few friends to fun at the waterpark this weekend.  We got very lucky with the weather (thanks, St. Clare of Assisi).  At first, I was wishing we'd had a bigger budget to include more friends, but it was a blessing in disguise.  Relaxing instead of overwhelming.  I didn't take as many pictures as I'd hoped, but captured a few sweet moments.  The Nugget turned to me several times and declared, "This is such a special fun day!"

I showed you the party favors and invitations.  I tied the rest of the theme together with Rice Krispie subs, yellow and white striped paper cups (and an aqua Sharpie for writing names on them), blue and yellow polka dot napkins, cupcakes in yellow papers, orange sprinkles, and the blue and white striped flags, and orange fish table scatter.  The food was sort of themed too, though I worried more about keeping it cold and fresh vs. making it pretty:  orange shark shaped crackers, orange cheddar cheese, yellow lemonade, blueberries, etc.

One of the best things about this park is that you can bring in your own food.  We borrowed a big cooler from a friend and toted in our own cherries, blueberries, watermelon, yogurt, cheese, ham, crackers, Pirate Booty, pasta salad, Rice Krispie submarines, cupcakes, and drinks...it all fit in 2 large coolers and 1 medium soft-sided cooler bag.  I chose very grab and go food that was mostly utensil-less for kidlets who wanted to just fuel up and get back in the pool.  Instead of trying to deal with toting ice cream, we called ahead to find out how much cash we'd need to treat each little guest to a popsicle.  No organized games, just fun in the water, and the lifeguard whistle breaks provided the perfect times to do food/cake and gifts.  I love creating mellow kids' parties, so it was all fun and no stress (except that I misplaced the first batch of toothpick flags the night before, so I had to make a fresh batch - but no worries because the second batch was cuter!).  So grateful for the friends who were able to help us celebrate the Nugget!

Rice Krispie Subs - inspired by these Twinkie subs
1.  Prepare Rice Krispie treats according to instructions.
2.  Instead of pouring them into a pan to cool, quickly butter your hands and grab a handful.  Shape into a sub - a potato shape, with a flat bottom.  Set each sub on a Silpat-lined cookie sheet to cool.
3.  Squish 3 m&m's into the sub to create windows.  I did windows on just one side.  If I'd had more time, I might have used Royal Icing to glue them on - the marshmallow did hold, but I had to restick them several times.  If you don't like the idea of m&m's or are allergic to chocolate, you could use large quins.
4.  Trim bendy straws and push into the tops to create periscopes.