I decided to have the boys' birthday party a little early. I knew I could do more and enjoy the party more if I had the party before the baby. The theme was, what else?, dinosaurs.
As favors, I made paper mache eggs and filled them with a few dinosaur goodies that the kids got to "hatch" out.
For the younger guests, I snatched up hats in the dollar section at Target and painted them a paleontologist tan. I added a dinosaur patch, "Digging for Dinosaurs," and the child's name.
The main activity of the party was the fossil dig. I had shovels, brushes and magnifying glasses ready for the little paleontologists to use.
A simple banner hung over the site, showed the kids where to dig.
Clayton couldn't wait to get his hand in the dirt. He'd been waiting days knowing about the fossils and hadn't been able to get into them.
Levi really liked the magnifying glass, though he wasn't quite sure what to really do with it.
Ashley loved the tools, but not the dirt.
Digging, digging, digging...
found! To make the "fossils" I bought a dinosaur bone sand mold kit and used quick setting concrete that I then painted white. I did three full sets of bones and not all were found!
After all of that hard work, we needed refueling. Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets were for the carnivores of the group, while french fries and veggies were for our herbivores. We also had "Swamp Juice" (lemonade poured over Pop Rocks) to drink.
What's a birthday party without a cake? A dinosaur party wouldn't be complete without a cake featuring a volcano, some footprints and dinosaurs. (I cheated on the dinosaurs and used these really cute little dinosaur candles my mom sent me.)
The boys got to pick the flavors - chocolate for the top two tiers was Clayton's choice and strawberry for the bottom was Levi's.
Blowing out the candles was lots of fun...
...but not quite as much as eating it. Clayton couldn't resist while waiting for a fork.
Levi ate every morsel off of his plate. It's a wonder he took a nap at all! Thank you to all of our friends who came to help us celebrate! It was a great party!
Yesterday afternoon, Clayton decided to "camouflage" himself with markers. He didn't want anyone to be able to see him while he was playing at the edge of the woods.
After many hot, hot days, Clayton decided to build a swimming pool for himself and Levi. After he dug a hole (started by Cyle, worked on by everyone at the party digging for bones, and finished by Clayton) he lined it with some plastic and filled it up bucket-full by bucket-full.
Levi helped with the bucket filling and carrying.
Then it was time to enjoy!
It was a little slippery.
It was a little muddy.
It was very cold. But lots of fun! They had to be hosed off outside and take a shower after playing in their "pool." It was all totally worth it, though.
