Splish Splash Birthday Bash

On Saturday we celebrated Baylor's 7th birthday and Cooper's 4th birthday at our house with an ocean themed party. Originally we had planned to have the party at our church, but found out Thursday afternoon we had to move it because of a funeral. It actually ended up being a perfect day and the party was wonderful at our house. The weather was amazing and the outdoor space was excellent for the party. We had to work hard in a short amount of time to get ready, but it all worked out and the party was so much fun!

I ordered the boys invitations and other party items from http://www.partyboxdesigns.com/. I loved working with them and the items were so cute. This was how the invite started out so I added it to our chalkboard on the party day.

We had a beach photo booth area to get pictures of the party guests.

The surfboard and rings made for some cute pictures.

It was warm and sunny enough you could almost pretend you were on the sandy beach.

The birthday boys had a wonderful time at their party. Cooper said it was the best party ever and Baylor said he was sad it was over. He wanted to do it again the next day.

We set up all of the food on the screened in porch and really decorated the area. We had "sand"wiches, pb&j on goldfish bread, coral reef pasta salad, treasures of the sea fruit, bite sized bait, crab legs, fish food, and sea anemones. Some of these items included pretzel sticks, veggies, cheese balls, gold fish crackers, and grapes. Pop cut the watermelon into a shark and it was a big hit. I ordered the cake from http://www.thecakehole.net/ and it turned out so cute. The boys wanted a shark cake and I thought it was perfect. I also ordered the ocean cookies from my neighbor. Her cookies are fabulous and her business is called The Cookie Closet. We also had yummy cupcakes with cute cupcake toppers for dessert.

I used sand pails and shovels to hold and serve food. We also had pictures of the boys from the beach hanging up. Mimi had lots of nets that we were able to use for decorations.

We set up tables in the yard and decorated them with nets and balloons.

The crab races were a huge hit with all of the kids and adults. The crabs really raced and were quite active. Tom and I were in charge of the squirt guns to get them moving in the right direction. The red dinosaur crab was the grand champion.

We had six races with seven crabs in each race. The kids all got a ballot before each race started and they had to circle their top two choices for that race. If they picked the two winners they won a prize from the bucket. We ended up making the ballots late Thursday night to make sure all of the racers were till eligible:). The boys took turns lifting the bucket just like they do at Sharky's and Tom led the countdown each time with the kids. He really pumped them up. The kids yelled and cheered for their crabs.

The grand champion race included the two winners from each heat. It was pretty exciting! At the end of the party we let all of the kids take a crab home. They were super excited. Baylor picked out what crabs he wanted to keep and we put those up.

We also had three game stations set up around the backyard. I broke the kids into three groups and we rotated through the games. We played ocean toss, fishing, and flamingo ring toss. At each game the kids got a prize. They even got a real shark's tooth necklace at one game.

It was a great day celebrating our boys with our friends and family. Before leaving all of the kids got a favor bucket with an ocean cuddly, a book, a coloring book, and crayons.

The kids could also get their faces painted and get balloons at the party. Wacky Willbanks came and did an awesome job. Her face painting creations are amazing. It felt just like being at Sharky's.

The face painting was so much fun. Parker loved his fish on his arm.

What a fun time!

Thanks to everyone who helped us get ready for the party at our house in a short time. Mimi and Uncle Joe were a huge help!

After the party the boys came inside and cleaned up and put on comfy clothes to open present. Mimi, Pop, Uncle Joe, Mammaw, and Pappaw stayed and watched them open their presents. The boys loved all of their gifts and were so excited. We have been busy playing with all of their new treasures. Baylor has been crafting like crazy and Cooper is busy saving the world as a super hero.