Digging the Dinosaurs
It was that time again - how quickly it came - when I don the party planning hat and set out to throw my child a birthday party to remember. The theme chosen this year, by Wesley himself, was a dinosaur dig. That seemed easy enough, right? Sure. And thanks to this wonderful thing called the Internet, it actually wasn't too bad. My biggest obstacle was time - which is really hard to come by with two kids - so I'm so glad that I began a couple months ago. The wonderful ideas I found all needed prep time, but amazingly we pulled it off
. My first step, of course, was the invitations - always one of my favorite parts, being such an avid scrapbooker and picture lover. My invitations always have a picture of the birthday boy included so I can see how he grows from year to year. Next step was coming up with activities for all the kids, which posed more of a challenge and I'm so grateful for the wonderful dino birthday party idea website that I found because I more or less just stole a bunch from there - and they were fabulous. We hunted for dinosaur eggs (homemade, of course) around the yard, then cracked them open at the hatching tent to find the little dinos inside. We dug for fossils (again, homemade) in the dirt. And the highlight of the party - we erupted a volcano using t
he simple ingredients of dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda (who knew, right?) It was a huge hit. Wesley's birthday party has always served as our end of the summer picnic for friends and family as well, and this year was no different. We had lots of yummy eats - burgers, hot dogs, chicken, pasta salad, potato salad, and veggies from our garden. And lets not forget the sweets. Besides the cake and ice cream, we were treated to unconventional Smiley cookies from Eat-n-Park, a notable Pittsburgh item, that were sent to Wesley by his cousin, Olivia, Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Michelle. And because of a big dino promotion for the Carnegie S
cience Museum, the cookies were shaped like a Triceratops head - how perfect! The kids (and many of the adults) loved them. Thanks, guys! The weather was perfect - warm during the day and cooler in the evening - and we finished the evening off with a campfire. However, the strangest thing happened. Shortly after the last guests left and we put out the fire, the winds picked up and we thought for a minute that the fire reignited because the blowing air was so warm that it felt like the heat of a fire. After putting the very exhausted birthday boy and his baby brother to bed, Steve, my parents, and I enjoyed some quiet time outside under the summer night sky. It was fabulous! Now it looks like a bomb went off in our house, but that is okay, because I have all next week to clean up - so I'm going to take a few days off. That is, after we check in our new guests arriving tomorrow - Yikes!
It was that time again - how quickly it came - when I don the party planning hat and set out to throw my child a birthday party to remember. The theme chosen this year, by Wesley himself, was a dinosaur dig. That seemed easy enough, right? Sure. And thanks to this wonderful thing called the Internet, it actually wasn't too bad. My biggest obstacle was time - which is really hard to come by with two kids - so I'm so glad that I began a couple months ago. The wonderful ideas I found all needed prep time, but amazingly we pulled it off
. My first step, of course, was the invitations - always one of my favorite parts, being such an avid scrapbooker and picture lover. My invitations always have a picture of the birthday boy included so I can see how he grows from year to year. Next step was coming up with activities for all the kids, which posed more of a challenge and I'm so grateful for the wonderful dino birthday party idea website that I found because I more or less just stole a bunch from there - and they were fabulous. We hunted for dinosaur eggs (homemade, of course) around the yard, then cracked them open at the hatching tent to find the little dinos inside. We dug for fossils (again, homemade) in the dirt. And the highlight of the party - we erupted a volcano using t
he simple ingredients of dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda (who knew, right?) It was a huge hit. Wesley's birthday party has always served as our end of the summer picnic for friends and family as well, and this year was no different. We had lots of yummy eats - burgers, hot dogs, chicken, pasta salad, potato salad, and veggies from our garden. And lets not forget the sweets. Besides the cake and ice cream, we were treated to unconventional Smiley cookies from Eat-n-Park, a notable Pittsburgh item, that were sent to Wesley by his cousin, Olivia, Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Michelle. And because of a big dino promotion for the Carnegie S
cience Museum, the cookies were shaped like a Triceratops head - how perfect! The kids (and many of the adults) loved them. Thanks, guys! The weather was perfect - warm during the day and cooler in the evening - and we finished the evening off with a campfire. However, the strangest thing happened. Shortly after the last guests left and we put out the fire, the winds picked up and we thought for a minute that the fire reignited because the blowing air was so warm that it felt like the heat of a fire. After putting the very exhausted birthday boy and his baby brother to bed, Steve, my parents, and I enjoyed some quiet time outside under the summer night sky. It was fabulous! Now it looks like a bomb went off in our house, but that is okay, because I have all next week to clean up - so I'm going to take a few days off. That is, after we check in our new guests arriving tomorrow - Yikes!
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