I was really excited for Lily's Birthday party this year. This was her first year having a friends party and we went all-out Wild Kratts.
Each of the kids got a Creature Power Suit to wear during the party. These shirts were easy and fun to make--iron-on vinyl that I cut by hand and then sewed velcro on the front to hold the power disks. The idea was to use a special creature power for each activity, like Chris and Martin do in the show.
My friend Sara Knight stayed up the night before with me to help decorate the gym at our local church building. She did an amazing job!
I ran out of time for the cake, but managed to pull of a sort-of Tortuga cake. We had little figurines from the Wild Kratts show, so Lily was happy.
She got to decorate her cake before everyone came:
Birthday girl!
Ready for friends!
We are so lucky to have family close! Grandma came and brought Mason and Grant with her, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Stephen came too.
Our first game when kids arrived was a bug hunt with BAT POWER!
We learned a little bit about bats (who eat bugs), then everyone got a paper bag and a bat power disc to wear while they hunted like bats for the bugs.
Amy and Stephen hid hundreds of plastic butterflies and other insects before the kids came while I was setting up (poor George had worked over night and was trying to catch a few minutes rest before the party).
The kids thought it was tons of fun and loved showing each other which bugs they found.
We had a couple tables set up with coloring pages for kids to work on between activities and a TV with some of our favorite episodes from Wild Kratts going.
Our next game was a tag-like race with CHEETAH POWER. Each kid got a cheetah power disc and a cheetah tail that they attached on the back of their shirt to a little velcro patch I had sewn. We had them all stand up and race around trying to pull the tails off of other cheetahs while trying to keep their own tail on.
I think this was the favorite game! We made sure everyone got a cheetah tail to take home, along with their power discs from each activity.
We brought our bounce house, too! Bouncing off some energy between games:
Birthdays are hard work!
Game #3 was a fishing game with SHARK POWER. I got some cheap rubber lures that looked like real fish from WalMart, cut off the hooks and added paper clips. The kids used magnetic fishing poles to try and catch the lures I scattered brightly colored plastic fish in the pools as well, just to make it a tiny bit more challenging.
We divided the kids into two lines and they each took turns catching a fish. Once they caught a fish, they had to hand the pole to the person behind them. The first team to all catch a fish won!
The fishing pools attracted kids all throughout the party. They got so much usage, three of our four poles broke by the time the party was over!
Our final activity was going on a Creature Rescue to destroy a couple Zac Bots! (Zac is one of the "villians" in the show who uses his Zac Bots to capture animals.) Inside each Zac Bot was tons of candy and tiny animal figurines that we had to rescue.
The kids each got tennis balls that they used to try and knock the Zac Bot over. I had wanted to use a remote control car to pull around the Bots, but I couldn't find one big enough, so I put them on our little scooter boards and pulled them around while the kids tried to destroy it.
Thank goodness we had two! I pulled the first one and promptly tipped it over (much to the kids' delight), but Amy was able to race hers around the gym for a minute or so while the kids pelted it with balls. Lily had really wanted an piñata, but since the kids were all 3-5 years old, I figured this was a good alternative.
Time for cake!
Happy Birthday, Lily!
With a "It's my Birthday, I do what I want" air about her, Lily decided the head of the Tortuga was hers to eat:
Yes, I can never keep clothes on my kiddos... I think she must have gotten cake on her shirt.
This girl had a super fun Birthday surrounded by family and TONS of friends. I think we had 18 or 19 kids come!
Enjoying cake! Cole's recently discovered the "forced smile" look and this is the best I can get when I ask for a smile.
Sweet Grant. This kid is such a sweetheart.
Thank goodness for Grandma who manned Lexi the whole time!
My cousin Eliza (Christensen) Lyons came with her kiddos, too!
A shout-out to George! He was amazing to have worked all night and then come and be the photographer. He is amazing!
And another shout-out to the Sam and Sara Knight who watched the kids and helped me set up the night before while George was working. I couldn't have done any of this without you guys!
Lexi and Henry Knight hanging out together while we cleaned up.
Sneaking more cake?! Busted!
Happy, happy Birthday, Peanut! You are wild and crazy, loving and loud, emotional, smart, and strong. I am so excited to watch you grow into a young woman, although the thought of you as a teenager scares my completely. You are not afraid to stand up for yourself and you don't let anyone push you around. I love the true fire that burns so bright inside your tiny, busy little body. You are our firecracker, our princess, our drama queen, our peanut, and our love. I'm so grateful you are ours. We couldn't possibly love you more!
