In keeping with family tradition, she selected a theme (camping!), we went NUTS with the decorations, and made a massive day of it, on this Saturday prior to her official bday. :)
Why on a day prior to her official birthday, you might ask???
Welp.
Because I t takes a heckuva lot of time to set these things up, the kiddos want to enjoy the decor for a whole weekend day, and it’s hard to manage all this on a weeknight:
I’m not gonna lie: I’ve tackled more than two dozen of my kiddos’ insane-in-the-membrane, themed birthday extravaganzas, and this particular one was a major bit of fun to assemble. :)
And it looked pretty darn magical at night!
So magical, in fact, that we were tempted to wake our girl at 10 p.m. and let her enjoy things immediately (instead of waking up like a Christmas morning) because the darkness really cast a spectacular spell.
However. We squashed that idea pretty stinking fast when we realized: a) we were exhausted from set-up, and, b) we’d never get her back to bed! Ha.
It was a riot to create the “river” for this, and it ended up being a real highlight of the scene—and of the day!
Ironic, considering I expected the tent to be the focal point. Just goes to show, you never know what will tickle the kiddos the most!
See. In the light of day, it was still incredible, but—as with real camping!—had a totally different vibe. More adventurous than moody.
We greeted our girl in the morning with one of her requested birthday gifts: walking sticks!
For years, the kiddos have created makeshift versions with sticks they find in our yard, but we spotted a ton of these official ones during our Sedona trip, and it was an easy, last-minute purchase that brought a lot o’ smiles.
Holy goodness, is it fun to see their faces when they come downstairs for each birthday. :) Worth the effort!
No joke: our Chicklet spent a very large portion of the day in this raft. And paddled nearly the entire time, as well! Ha.
Triple trouble, right here:
Chicklet wisely used her walking sticks to fend off the bear… ;)
And the second biggest hit of the day (no surprise): the tent!
Our water girl also asked for a kiddo “scuba” mask…
Needless to say, we spent a decent chunk of time just enjoying the decorations and being silly.
See. In the light of day, it was still incredible, but—as with real camping!—had a totally different vibe. More adventurous than moody.
We greeted our girl in the morning with one of her requested birthday gifts: walking sticks!
For years, the kiddos have created makeshift versions with sticks they find in our yard, but we spotted a ton of these official ones during our Sedona trip, and it was an easy, last-minute purchase that brought a lot o’ smiles.
Holy goodness, is it fun to see their faces when they come downstairs for each birthday. :) Worth the effort!
No joke: our Chicklet spent a very large portion of the day in this raft. And paddled nearly the entire time, as well! Ha.
Triple trouble, right here:
Chicklet wisely used her walking sticks to fend off the bear… ;)
And the second biggest hit of the day (no surprise): the tent!
Our water girl also asked for a kiddo “scuba” mask…
Needless to say, we spent a decent chunk of time just enjoying the decorations and being silly.
Then, eventually, we transitioned to a fun round of playing with kinetic sand (one of Chicklet’s fave) while Daddy went to fetch the birthday girl’s demanded breakfast (Chick-fil-A). :)
More rafting…
And then dining whilst binge-watching a fun little fairy show (again, the birthday girl’s demands):
Followed by…cake!
Again with the demands: this time, she was dictating the size of her slice, tehe.
I’m really not kidding…every time I looked over today, my girl was in her raft. :) She even brought down a magnetic fishing pole, offered chartered rides, and set up a whole scenario where she escorted people down the river and checked them into the camping grounds before showing them to their tent. :)
After more rafting and binge-watching, the bday girl demanded video games upstairs—and directed all the details, from the specific game to the players to the prizes and challenges. I just lurv it when they get all hyped up on being the boss for their special day. :)
Our girl requested pizza—and a tea party in the living room, ha—for dinner. Such simple and happy requests!
And then we capped it all off with the best way to end the day: a family sleepover in the master bedroom, complete with our girl sleeping in her relocated tent!
It was a pain in the arse to move that thing at the end of a long and accommodating day, but…worth it to see her joy and hear her contented sighs as she looked up at the roof of her tent that was covered in stars from her lantern projector.
It was a pain in the arse to move that thing at the end of a long and accommodating day, but…worth it to see her joy and hear her contented sighs as she looked up at the roof of her tent that was covered in stars from her lantern projector.
When I talked with Chicklet about her special day after her shower this evening, she reported it was her “best birthday yet.” And though I’m sure there’s some recency bias, I do think it was a banner birthday for her. :) It was a pretty awesomesauce set-up this round, and I think she marinated in all the adventurous fun. :)
These things take a lot of effort, but I know—I know, I know, I know—we’re making incredible memories with our kiddos, and that is worth it ALL.
Another day—perhaps on her actual bday (Thursday) I’ll get all emotional about how in the world my beloved middle born can already be NINE YEARS OLD.
But for now…a sound sleep! With my babies in the room, and the joy of a solid birthday, well done.
Happy Chicklet’s 9th Birthday, peeps!
Over and out.
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