Messy Party

Easton turned 3 in July and we thought it very fitting for him to have a 

"Messy Party" since he is our own personal Mr. Messy. 

Seriously, no matter how many times I tell him that his shirt is not a napkin and offer him a real napkin, his shirt still ends up looking like he lost some sort of battle after a PB&J lunch. Not only that, he goes straight for the mud, the puddles, the dirt and the sand when given the opportunity 

(or really, when given a second out of my eyesight, to be more accurate). 

So, here's our recap of the Messy Party:

 First off, Spaghetti Relay! 

The kids split into teams and had to grab handfuls of oily spaghetti and run with it to the other side where there was a bucket to measure which team got the most without spilling. These little ones could not have cared less about winning, as a matter of fact, there were some putting there noodles in the wrong bucket. We called it a tie (if anyone cared!).

 Next up, Conquer the Donut!

We hung powdered donuts by string and tied them to a low tree (with varying heights). Each child had to put their hands behind their backs and attempt to bite the donut using only their mouth. This was actually hilarious. The older kids really got into the this. The younger ones just grabbed their donuts and started eating them. Several did that before the game even got under way!

Cheerios Face-Off: We spread icing on their faces and they had to (without hands) stick as many Cheerios on their faces as they could in 30 seconds

We had several stations that kids could help themselves to, such as 

Painting, Rock Painting and Body Painting (made with shave cream):

   

   

 

   

 And, the Dirty Dig = kiddie pool filled with dirt, play snakes, trucks and shovels

 

Can't forget the Washing Station (some kids didn't want to stay quite as messy as my Mr. Messy)

Messy Cake-Eating was the highlight for my little man! 

 

The kids had a fantastic time and the adults agreed that next time, 

we want to have a grown-up messy party! Now, that will be truly fantastic!

Camping Party

When Taylor Joy started talking about her birthday party months ago, she was coming up with some strange ideas ("animal" party, My Little Pony)... I quickly realized that my job as a Mom was to redirect her to some cute ideas from Pinterest and fortunately she fell in love with some of the "camping" parties that I showed her.

Since she is only turning 6 and has many friends who are younger, we decided to do the camping party at night, but not as a sleepover. Truth be told, I don't think I'm ready for that either. The day will come, I'm sure, but it doesn't need to be this year. She is already growing up so stinkin' fast!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Simply playing in the tent was big fun!

Watermelon Lemonade

Making S'mores, of course! They also dipped the sides in sprinkles to make them pretty!

 Campfire Cake

(fitting and super yummy! I made a cinnamon frosting instead of chocolate like the link shows)

Our birthday gal

Blowing out her candle...

 Pinata Time!

(Mine was NOT cute, but they were smashing it into pieces anyway, right?)

Gifts for the birthday girl!

We also enjoyed:

Making our own Trail Mix (and letting the girls take their bags home)
Modge Podging Time Capsules (and sending home questionnaires to do with their parents and be able to look back on)
Bubble blowing
Nature Scavenger Hunt

Ice Cream Party

When pondering what kind of party to have for Beckett, it was pretty simple. One of his favorite places in the world is Spoons (a frozen yogurt place in town) and he pretty much talks about it everyday, so our thought was to re-create Spoons for his party!

My mom had given me her ice cream maker to use and since Beckett usually opts for some sort of Cake Batter/Birthday Cake ice cream, I made this one, which turned out oh-so-yummy.

We came up with lots of different toppings to enjoy such as: crushed oreos, snickers, andes mints, cookie dough, marshmallows, coconut, granola, m&ms, nerds, gummy bears, red hots, strawberries, blackberries, and bananas. Plus many syrups, whipping cream, icing and sprinkles to put on top. Our little boy's paradise!

After we filled our tummies with pizza and ice cream goodness, we let the kids play some games. We put together some fun themed games, such as:

1. Pin the cherry on top of the ice cream 
Spin the kiddos around with a bandana covering their eyes and then once you get them confused enough, get them going in the right direction and let them place the cherry on the paper. Whoever gets closest to the top and center wins! 

2. Ice cream bean bag toss 
Each scoop of ice cream had a different point value, with cherry having the most value. Person with the highest score wins! 

I also used some ice cream coloring and learning sheets that I found here. 

Beckett loved opening his gifts. 

His favorite gift was made especially for him by his sweet daddy. A new sand table to play at. I knew they would love to play in sand but didn't particularly want a "box" for them to sit in so Allen made this one. It's perfect for them and the boys adore it.

Such a fun day celebrating our big boy.   

Thanks to Aunt B for taking all the pictures and to Mom for all your help!