That time I threw Rio an epic birthday party...

I had been thinking about throwing Rio an epic 20th birthday ever since he came home from Cornell two years ago. I really wasn't sure he would get to see 20, but I thought if he did, it surely would be something to celebrate. As twenty drew closer, I got worried about planning a party. I'm an anxious person in general, and I was terrified I'd be tempting fate if I planned a big shindig for him. But a few weeks ago I finally made the call to the Big Green Pizza Truck and scheduled the party. And then, as I tend to do, I went all sorts of crazy picking out decorations and props for the photo booth. And then also as I tend to do, I forgot to take photos of most of it. Oops. I have plenty of media though, fear not! It's just poor quality media. We keep things casual at this blog anyway. (Also, I stole some photos from my friend Tanya. I shall give props where it's due though.)
Obviously, for a birthday party you need a nice big banner welcoming people to the party:

I really should have cropped the arms out of this photo. But I didn't. 

Honestly, I'm not sure what to do with that enormous banner now that the party's over... it's really heavy duty, seems a shame to toss it. I guess we can use it next year? But I cannot afford an epic party again next year, sorry Rio. Maybe for 30!
I used inflatable unicorns and real carrots for center pieces on the tables which were covered with plastic table clothes printed like hay.

 My favorite thing at the party was the photo booth area. Because Flat Rio.

Photo by Tanya

I had some fun with Flat Rio on Sunday when he was back in the house. You can torture him really easily unlike the real Rio. People had a great time with all the props, but I'm reluctant to post people and their children on the blog. Sorry. Send me a friend request on FB though, I had no problem posting them there!
The main attraction (other than the birthday boy OBVIOUSLY) was the pizza truck.

Photo by Tanya

The trucks they use are all refurbished antique trucks (painted green of course). This company is fantastic. They show up with salad, pizza, gelato, coffees, and lattes. Not only that, they supply the paper goods too! They make the pizza, set it up on their own tables where ever you want them to, and then clean up after themselves when they leave. They're AMAZING! I highly recommend.
No birthday is complete without some sort of cake. I got a special cake just for Rio and cupcakes for the humans.

photo by Tanya

Photo by Tanya

Rio thought his cake was pretty fantastic:

There were also some other goodies floating around like horse shaped lollipops and goody boxes for the kiddos.

The turnout was great, I think around fifty people came out to celebrate Rio. He has a lot of friends.

I was especially surprised that his guests brought him presents! Lots of treats, more carrots than we know what to do with, and even some saddle pads and other goodies.

It was a such a fun day! I wish I had been better with the camera, or had given the job to someone who would have taken more photos of all the things I forgot. But otherwise it went smoothly! The pizza was delicious, and for the most part, the horses didn't mind the chaos. Romey got a little upset when the kids were being noisy. Dinner settled him down though.
Rio had the best time of course. He stayed outside in his walkout almost the entire time. He's such a ham!

Have you ever thrown a party for a pet?