Recipe for a Happy Birthday │Jack's 6th Birthday Party

Over the course of the last six years, my idea for what is a good kid's party has evolved. And by evolved, I mean relaxed.

We have done a Trucks Go! Party; a Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Party; a Curious George Jack Party; a S'mores Party; and an Explorer Party; and Jack has had a wonderful time at each gathering.

This year, Jack told me he wanted a Halloween Party. Eleven days after Halloween, I did not want to throw a Halloween Party. His back up idea was Ninjas. I could work with that.

Since I have two boys, and Jack currently loves Ninjas, and Nerf Guns, I decided to combine the two. So we did. Here is my recipe for a fun kid party.

1) Let you kid help you make the cake. It doesn't have to be pretty.

2) Have a simple craft to keep the kids focused on the party (we could have skipped this, but the kids had fun painting Ninjas).

3) Send the kids on a scavenger hunt. Jack specifically requested a scavenger hunt again this year because he had so much fun last year.

4) Include fun props on the scavenger hunt (but NOT WHISTLES – we did that last year and I learned that whistles are a bad idea). This year's props included colorful glasses and mustaches. I wasn't sure if a bunch of little boys would like the glasses, but they did and they looked AWESOME with their nerdy glasses, mustaches and nerf guns.

5) Have a nerf war at the park. WIN. WIN. WIN. Especially for boys.

6) Have a pinata to hit. I don't think Jack believes it's really a party unless there is a pinata.

 

7) Sing Happy Birthday and eat cake. And cheetos. Cheetos are always a good idea for kids. And Capri Suns. That's it. No major planning or prepping of the food.

Done. Balloons and streamers are fun, but not necessary (we minimally hung them his year and they were all black to go with the Ninja theme).

It also doesn't hurt if you have a Flag Football game the morning of your birthday and your coach has the team sing Happy Birthday to you after the game!

After the crazy gaggle of friends left, some of our extended family came bearing gifts. When Jack was two he requested an electric toothbrush for his birthday. When he was four he requested his own kayak (we waited until he was five).

This year he requested a harness so that he can get on the roof with Daniel. I'm having a hard time picturing what he will want in future years!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who were able to come celebrate Jack turning SIX with us this year!

Thirty-Seven

Daniel and I both turned 37 this year. Thirty-seven feels a little anticlimactic. Just a little closer to 40, which is hard to fathom... my brain still feels college-aged but almost two decades of experience as an adult reminds me that I am well past those college years.

We didn't do a whole lot for Daniel's birthday – it was on a Wednesday and he was in the middle of long days and deadlines at work. But one of the perks of homeschool is being able to take the kids to pick up donuts and drop by Daniel's work to surprise him in the middle of the day.

For my birthday, Daniel and I were in need of a night out, so I texted our babysitter and cheekily said that we were due for our "quarterly date." Thankfully she was available on my birthday. Shortly after we made plans to have a sitter come, a college friend invited us to a chili supper at her house. So we decided to drop by as part of our evening away from the kids.

Our date started with being a little too early for the friend party, so we drove up Raccoon Mountain and took in the views of the Tennessee Valley from that side of Chattanooga. The leaves were slightly past their peak, but it was still beautiful.

We arrived at our friend's house in time for chili and visiting. Our friend found a cupcake and "?" candle and had everyone sing to me, which was nice. I honestly can't remember the last time I was sung to by a group for my birthday (my parents and siblings typically call and sing to me on the phone). After my cupcake, we enjoyed a little time around the campfire before continuing our date.

For our third stop, I asked if we could drive up Lookout Mountain to Sunset Rock for a different view of the city. It was a pretty drive up mountain #2, but the Sunset Rock parking lot closed at sunset and we didn't want to get a ticket, so we settled for driving down Ochs Hwy for a beautiful view of downtown Chattanooga. It was dark and the lights of the city were twinkling and the moon was full and stunning over the city.

We drove downtown to get hot chocolate and dessert #2 at The Hot Chocolatier. Thankfully it wasn't too busy and we were able to sip our decadent drinks in one of the booths in the back. When we left the Hot Chocolatier, I requested we make one final stop before heading home to our boys.

So we drove up Signal Mountain (duh), but stopped at one of the parking areas on the Brow to look at downtown Chattanooga and the Valley from yet a third perspective. Three mountains, three views of Chattanooga for my birthday. We live in a special place and feel incredibly blessed to call this area home.