Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Shark Sightings - Swim At Your Own Risk!

I kind-of can't believe my precious first born is FIVE YEARS OLD!!!! He woke up on Tuesday to #5 s everywhere (per his request! As in, "Hey Mom don't forget to put 5s everywhere for my birthday" HA!). We opened a few presents, including a giant inflatable shark of course, and then sang happy birthday over a gourmet breakfast of hostess chocolate chip mini muffins. ;)
Then we were off prepping all the last minute details for his shark party. Thanks to Nannie the birthday boy was dressed head-to-toe in shark gear and ready to party!!
All week as we were getting things ready Stacey kept saying, "Is that for my party? That is awesome! This is going to be the best party ever!" Pretty precious when the birthday boy is SO enthusiastic and easy to please.

The details:
The number five on the sign in table is from the numbers 1-10 that hang in the boys bedroom. The number 3 just happened to be orange and perfect for Wyatt construction party in April and wouldn't you know it the 5 was blue - score!









Those little orange crackers are actually sharks not goldfish. My father-in-law noticed them at Aldi, a new discount grocery store and of course they were a must!
The names and place-mats were all written in chalk an idea I noticed here.



We'd been collecting Snapple jars for the party for awhile, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them when we started gathering them, I just thought the S on the bottle would be cute for Stacey and Sharks. "Stacey's Shark Sippers" was the finished product
The back of each bottle had a fun shark fact.

The kids all got a little bucket with $1 bills in it so that they could "buy" their Shark Souvenirs. I copied this from a party I saw here where the guests bought their snacks.
The Shark Souvenir Shop:
Shark Squirters
Shark Repellent (silly string)
Shark Tank Bubbles
and super cool shades, among other things, were available for purchasing. :)
During the party we swam,
and swam,
and swam,
and swam.
Then we had a little lunch,
and sang Happy Birthday!
After the pinata was thoroughly doused with shark repellent, we busted him open,
and then wrapped things up opening presents.
Stacey thanked us repeatedly for his super cool shark party, so far I'm loving five years old!
His only complaint was that it was too short. But, all good things must come to an end.
This was the first time I've done a birthday party during the week, on the actual birthday and with a fairly small invite list. Stacey specifically requested big kids, more specifically big boys at the party so we invited his three best buddies, their siblings and our families.

As usual our families were a huge help! After the party Mom and Dad took the boys home to Waco for Cousins Camp and Angie and Kacey stuck around and rocked the clean up - seriously those girls are gifted!!
Thankfully no limbs were lost due to shark attacks and everyone returned home in one piece.

11 comments:

Woodbury Family said...

Yay, we have been waiting to see these pictures!! :) Caryn, it is so cute and creative as usual - great job!! So sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate Stacey's big 5!! Brylie is loving all the pictures and keeps saying "I want that for my birthday!" :) We love ya'll!!!

Sarah said...

I can barely handle the fabulousness of your party throwing skills! LOVE IT! And happy birthday Stacey!!

Lisa said...

I love looking at your pictures from birthday parties and showers that you have hosted - you are SO CREATIVE! You could have a business with this! BTW, congratulations on the twins pregnancy!

Katy said...

I mean, just when I'd dubbed Wyatt's construction party the cutest ever, now I see the shark party! May have just taken 1st place! Absolutely love every detail, and I hope you have it all written down so that I can do it for Clark one day! :)
The decor, the food, the favors, the brown paper/chalk placemats, the snapple jars, and finally...the life preserver cupcakes. So stinkin adorable. I only wish I could have seen it all in person! Love you party queen!

shannonmichaelis said...

How do you do it? Seriously, how do the ideas flow in that head, with two babies in your belly and a lake trip awaiting planning. Amazing - the photos on your camera didn't do any of this justice. Love the surfboard with the bite in it, the lifesaver cupcakes, the shark favors and the paper table cloth. Looks like one happy 5 year old!

angie said...

Oh these pictures are fantastic!! I love every single detail:) the gourmet breakfast-hilarious! You really did such a wonderful job on this party---we had a awesome time.
It is hard to believe III's 5??!!!

Jill Garcia (Smith) said...

I'm having some major party throwing skills envy here woman! Absolutely AMAZING!!!! Oh, and you can bet that I will be copying all your ideas as Caleb and Asher grow up! SOOO fun that Stacey is getting so big! LOVE IT ALL!!

Anonymous said...

SO CUTE!!!! I LOVE IT! love it love it.... I especially loved the great snapple bottles. GENIOUS! (umm...and very creative!)

Sarah said...

SO fun!! Sad I wasn't able to see all the greatness in person, but excited to hang with the 5 year old now that I'm back in town :)

Brittany Schwaigert said...

Another really great job! Love the bunting!

Heather said...

Holy moly, I wish I'd stumbled upon this post when I started planning my son's shark party!! Amazing job, such cute details. I'm stealing the shark repellent idea!! (: