Come Explore With Us │Jack's 5th Birthday Party

After celebrating Jack's birthday at both preschool and his favorite Mexican restaurant, we also had a friend birthday party on Saturday followed by a family gathering on Sunday.

 

It was a busy, but wonderful weekend celebrating our first born.

For Jack's 5th Birthday I decided we should just go with an outdoorsy theme. The weather has been really warm for this time of year and we have been in a drought, so I was fairly confidant it wouldn't rain.

I brain-stormed some basic ideas from Pinterest, but nothing over the top. I had a ton of paper bags in my pantry, so I decided that the kids could make Safari Vests and then go on a Treasure Hunt. 

I also decided to make a campfire cake, using this tutorial. I kind of winged the cake (from this recipe), nothing fancy (or pretty for the actual cake part) but it was delicious. 

I did feel a bit guilty that our mountain had been on fire for two weeks, but I didn't want to change plans last minute, so wildfire or not, we had a campfire cake! At least it was memorable.

I grew up helping to make (and decorate) my birthday cake every year, so we are keeping that tradition alive with Jack helping with the cake.

The Safari Vests and Treasure Hunt were a hit, but I made the mistake of giving the kids whistles during the treasure hunt. DO NOT GIVE KIDS WHISTLES. Sorry to the parents who got to take whistles home with them!

The end of the Treasure Hunt was a pinata – Jack's favorite.

We had a great time hanging out with our friends on Saturday, and then visiting with some of our family on Sunday for one more mini party. This year was low-key and a lot of fun. I didn't stress about the party and we all had a great time.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come and be a part of making Jack's 5th birthday memorable. Thank you all for the gifts as well (rookie mistake, I didn't manage to write down who gave Jack what), but know that we are incredibly grateful for you, your friendship with us and our son, and Jack is loving all of his gifts. Thank you!

 

Birthday videos can be seen in this post.