Zachary's 3rd Birthday Party

Zachary was blessed to have two birthday parties this year....one in Iowa and one in Virginia! When trying to decide what theme I wanted for his party, I knew it had to have something to do with letters as he was very interested in the alphabet at that time. After digging through my books, I came upon Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! What a great way to tie in the alphabet theme!

Here is his invitation:

The guests were greeted with an alphabet line in the driveway. (I wanted them to stand up, but the tape I had didn't work) Another Chicka Chicka Tree in the kitchen.

And one more coconut tree outside.

Zachary says "let the party begin!"

The best part about this party was that I got to plan 26 different activities: one for every letter of the alphabet!

A is for Alphabet

The kids used alphabet stamps to make their name on their party bags.

Prize: Alphabet Stamps

B is for Bowling

Coconut tree bowling pins & coconuts for the bowling balls

Prize: Bubbles

C is for Coconut Cups

Use foam stickers to write your names on a coconut cup.

D is for Duck

Spin the ducks, pick one up, if it has a "D" inside you win a prize

Prize: Rubber Ducky

E is for Elephant

Toss rings onto the elephant's trunk

F is for Flamingo

Stand on one foot like a flamingo Prize:

Flamingo Straw for the coconut cup

G is for Giraffe
Dig through the Grass to find somethings giraffes don't eat

Prize: Gummies (alphabet shaped)

H is for Horse

Toss horseshoes

Prize: Horse notepad I is for Insect

Look for an insect in the garden

Prize: Insect House

J is for Jump

Jump in the bouncy houseLily & Zachary Jumping in the bouncy house: K is for Kick

Kick the ball into the goal

L is for Lollipop & Lambs
Pick a Lollipop out of the lamb's meadow

Prize: Lollipop

Zachary loved the lambs M is for Mini-Golf N is for Name

Hop to the letters in your name

Prize: A smaller version of this foam puzzle O is for Octopus
Toss rings onto the octopus P is for Paint

Paint on the sheet with alphabet stamps

Q is for Quarter

Toss a quarter onto a star

Prize: Quarter

R is for Rabbit

Feed the rabbits some lettuce

Prize: Chocolate Rabbit

S is for Sand

Dig through the sand to find a "Mama/Papa" uppercase letter and a matching lowercase letter then hang them on the coconut tree

T is for Truck

Race two monster trucks down the ramp

Prize: Truck

U is for Upside down & Under

Draw a picture under the table while lying upside downV is for Valentine

Mail a valentine in the mailbox

Prize: Valentine pencil W is for Wagon

Count the worms in the wagon

Prize: Alphabet stencil to "Write" with X marks the spot

Follow the map to the find the treasure box

Prize: Ring Pop Y is for Yellow

Follow the yellow yarn maze

Prize: Yo-Yo Z is for Zebra
Use the zebra squirter to wash the mud off the zebra At each letter station, they placed a foam sticker on their coconut tree party bag. After collecting all 26 letters they got their final prize: A magnetic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree filled with alphabet letters. (I made these with magnetic paint and a pringles can)

All their prizes:The menu with foods from A-Z

I used three pineapples and alphabet letters on toothpicks to make the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree centerpiece:

Celery Trees with Alphabet Cereal

Palm tree platters I found this cute bowl and matching pitcher which I added alphabet stickers to.

A very bad picture of the alphabet pasta

Zachary's favorite food of the day was the alphabet jello jigglers

Alphabet Cereal & Coco Puff (coconuts) Bars

Alphabet Tator Tots

The Cake!!!

As you can see from this video, Grandpa's "candle blowing" lesson from Zachary's party in Iowa didn't have much influence on his ability to get these three blown out:


The cupcakes:

Earlier in the morning Zachary enjoyed his present from Grandmommy & Granddaddy.
Present time

Zachary really enjoyed the zebra umbrella that Rowan gave to him. In the photo below, you can see the shirt we had made for him.

He loved the umbrella so much he had to have it open while he opened the rest of his presents.

The BIG present from mommy & daddy.....a trampoline!

Mikie wanted a chicka chicka 123 shirt but of course he wanted it to go to 100!

And none of this would have been possible without our Super Boagie!!!!

My happy three year old! CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM!!!!!!!!!!

Iowa - What we did the rest of the time

Visiting the farm is always an adventure in itself, but it is especially fun when my father is "in the field" and the boys get to help him drive the tractor. We've been home for spring planting and for harvest, but this year we were home in the dog days of summer when it was hay makin' time. This year, Zachary got to help Grandpa drive the tractor and make a big round bale of hay. The bale of hay that Zachary and Grandpa made together.
Growing up on the farm:

Zachary even caught his first fish at Great Grandpa & Grandma's pond with a little help from Aunt Trisha.

Mikie and Daddy try, but the fish aren't biting anymore.

The obligatory "bubble bath at Great Grandma's house in the heart shape tub" picture. There is a picture of me and my sister that is almost identical to this floating around my parents' house soemewhere.

And finally, THE REASON we flew back to Iowa in the middle of the summer was for one of my best friend's weddings. Congratulations Tina & Michael!

The Four of us (high school BFF's!)

Julie, Gabriele, Tina, and Me.

The 4th of July in a small town always revolves around the parade:

We enjoyed a brief family swing time at the city park.

Placing flowers on the grave of Frederick Magus (his Great, Great, Great, Great Grandpa who served in the Civil War).

Thank you, Aunt Doris, for the historical account of our ancestry.

Later that evening we were going to take the boys to their very first tractor pull, but the event got rained out. Instead, we went bowling and watched the fireworks from the back of my parents' mini-van. Happy Independence Day!

Zachary's 3rd Birthday Party in IOWA

Zachary enjoyed two birthday parties this year. We were going to be in Iowa on his July 1st birthday so my mom volunteered to throw him a horse birthday party. Waking up on Grandpa's farm to birthday streamers.

Birthday breakfast

Getting his present from Boagie & Grandpa: (video)

Of course, this party lived up to all the expectations my mom and I have set over the past 5 years. We make a great team, but this time she did most of the work!

Activities:

Shooting cans with a water gun

Hunting for the hidden horses and candy filled carrots

Throwing a snake in the boot

Hunting for treasure in the hay. (there were so many kids we had to have 3 piles of hay for 3 different age groups)

And the highlight of the party was getting a horse ride!

Boagie & Grandpa with Zachary on the horse. He really did enjoy it, although you can't tell from the pictures because he was squinting into the sun. These two videos prove that he did like it:

Horse Shoe Breadsticks

Sheriff cookies

The cake

Very cute video:

Grandpa isn't trying to push his face into the cake; he's trying to teach him how to blow!

Zachary really enjoyed opening his presents! The rest of us didn't enjoy the pesky gnats that were flying all around.

My little 3 year old! (all 23 pounds of him)

And of course, none of this would have been possible without our SUPER BOAGIE! Thank you for making my little guy's special day a wonderful memory! Your hard work, time, and energy are all appreciated! We all love you very much!