4 Weeks of 40!!!

Surprise!!!!

You only turn 40 once (well most people do...I know a few who have spent multiple years at different ages, but who am I to judge since I will forever be 21). My sister, Christa, enjoys holidays & birthdays more than most people I know & she always complains because they only last 1 day. So, for her 40th birthday, we decided to drag the festivities on for a while giving her 4 weeks of 40.

We started off the month with a surprise party! She lives in Clinton so with a little help from her friends we were able to set everything up at the Clinton Country Club without her having a clue! As you can se by the look on her face in the picture, she really didn't suspect that we were up to anything! We even had the party 24 days before her actual Birthday (April 23), just to make sure it was a real surprise!

She really wanted to take a girls trip to Vegas this year, but due to scheduling conflicts we weren't able to grant her that wish so we brought Vegas to her by making the party a Casino theme! The cake was made by her favorite baker of all times, Rama Sola. She is AMAZING & has been making cakes for our family for years (she did my mother's 50th Birthday Party cake & made my wedding cake). She has even agreed to make a cake for my graduation party & for the Twin's Birthday party this year:)

Sorry if I added too many pictures of the cake. I just love Rama's details.....

The body of the cake was half vanilla & half chocolate. The roulette wheel was white cake with strawberry filling (YUMMY)! The dice & poker chips were made out of candy & even the cards were edible! Rama is so incredible (if you aren't on facebook, this link will take you to a bunch of pictures of her edible art! 

What's a Vegas party without gambling? We found a company in KC that agreed to bring tables & real dealers to the party. The real hit was mouse racing! They brought a cage full of mice that were all creatively named after a party guest & had them race. Everyone could bet on which mouse they thought would win. At the end of the night, the winners from each race competed against each other for the Championship title! 

Robert was a good sport & spent most of the
night videoing all of the excitement!

We served a buffet style dinner, cake, and an amazing peach punch (spiked with Champagne)!

The Paper Plate in Clinton helped decorate. They used adorable balloons with flashing lights on them, light up dice, fake money & gold bars filled with candy as centerpieces.

We found some chocolate cards & casino themed favors on Etsy.com 

What's a party without presents? Christa really wanted a girls week, so her friend Kristie surprised her with a week long getaway to New Orleans. She recently broke her wedding band so I replaced it with one that is identical to the one our mother wears (I am such a wonderful little sister...)! I even made her a tree of suckers so that when she is feeling blue about getting old, she can lick her cares away! And her husband got her a spa day at Refresh Health Spa, complete with a little Botox so that she can stay forever young!!!

Overall I think that the party was a huge success. It seemed like everyone had a great time & I think Christa was happy! So for the 1st week she got a surprise party followed by a week long vacation to New Orleans. Next week she will enjoy her day at the spa. I wonder what else is in store for this month long celebration?!?! I guess she will just have to wait and see......

Mom & Kristie = the party planners!!!

Remember how I mentioned that Robert was a good sport for most of the night? Well, KU just happened to make it to the Final 4 this year & they were playing this evening. So, in between his role as a camera man & husband of the year, he & Brian hid out in the bar to keep up with the game!!!