the turkey hunting party

wow, i cant believe it but 5 years ago we were sitting in a hospital room amazed at the life of our first son and now we are having archery birthday parties for him. this was his first official birthday party with guy friends from pre-school and church. in the past we had just done a family party. when we asked him what kind of party he wanted, he said he wanted a "camo turkey hunting party with bows and arrows" so that is what we did. dave and i always have so much fun planning stuff like this and coming up with creative ways to do things. sometimes we get a little carried away and have to keep eachother in check :) i actually found camo plates and napkins at kmart! dave set up his hunting tent and turkey decoys, we blew up balloons and stuck them all over a large target, and we made little wooden fish and fishing polls so the kids could "fish" in the pond. it was so much work, but SO MUCH FUN!

we love having people over and enjoying our backyard with them. when everyone got there we played in the backyard on the tree fort and zip line. then we did the fishing. after fishing, we had pizza, crazy bread, watermellon, and salad for dinner. after dinner, dave helped the kids shoot the bow and try to pop balloons on the target, the kids all did really well with it. we were so pleased. we knew garret would love it, but didnt know about the other kids. they all seemed to have a great time.

then garret opened his presents. he was so kind and appreciative for everything, and that made dave and i so proud. you never know how kids are going to be sometimes. :) all he asked for was this cool fishing poll that shot the line out like a rocket. he had seen a commercial for it and wanted it for a while now. my parents got him that and sent it up for his birthday. he LOVED it and was so excited. he also got a more advanced bow from daves parents. it is a childs compound bow. i tell you what, the kid did pretty good on presents.

after gifts, we had cake and cupcakes for dessert. i made a turkey cake and bunch of little target cupcakes. it was so fun working on it and i was so pleased with how it turned out. when garret turned two i made a sail boat cake and ever since then i have been making creative cakes for our kids and for their cousins. it is a fun thing for me to do so show them how much i love them by making something super special that no one else has.

so here are some pictures of our fun party. this sure has been a busy week. garret starting school and then turning 5! i am pooped. :)