Say hello to our little man or should I say fisherman? Jaxon turned five on Sunday, but he celebrated a day early with a fishing party. Nineteen of Jax's buddies joined us at the neighborhood pond to try their hand at catching a whopper. I was very worried that the never-ending freeze would put a negative spin on the festivities, but the 33 degree day didn't dampen the spirit. These kids were ready to party!
At the last minute, after seeing that Mother Nature was not going to cooperate, Anh and I made the executive decision to relocate the actual party from the park pavilion to our much warmer house. The game plan was to meet our guests at the pond, fish until frozen, and then return to our house to defrost & continue the good times. To set the stage, I ordered a fishing themed cake for the birthday boy and draped the tables with fishing nets accented with fishing lures (hooks removed, of course).
Plus, Aunt Nguyen and I made fish-shaped rice krispie treats and sugar cookies.
Continuing the theme, Jax filled some fish bowls with Goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish...
And I placed some cute little fishing-themed accessories (like Aunt Glenda & Uncle Robert's antique fishing game) around the house.
We even found coolers that looked like fishing bobbers and filled them with juice boxes for the kids...
Fish coozies doubled as utensil holders...
And, as party favors we gave the kids tackle boxes filled with candy "bait" to pair with the cane fishing poles that Grandfather and Uncle Travis made especially for the party. Everything was beyond cute in my very humble and completely unbiased opinion. Thank you so much for the help, Everyone!
Like I said before, once we gathered at the park, the kids weren't going to let some freezing temps interrupt their adventure. With a quick round of instruction, they were fishing like pros. Sadly, the fish just weren't biting.
There was a moment of excitement when we all thought Jax had a bite, but the big catch turned out to be some pond scum. Yeah, not exactly the "big one" we were all hoping for. Oh well!
We gave it our best shot, and the kids really didn't seem disappointed. Maybe they actually had realistic expectations unlike me. Honestly, the kids were more excited about hooking worms than anything else. Is that a good or a bad thing?
When the wind started to pick up, we called it a day and headed back to the house where the parents could enjoy hot cider and sandwiches around the fireplace, and the kids could celebrate with cake and ice cream. Woo hoo!
Notice Baylor pointing to the giant piece of cake he wanted!
Knowing that the sugar rush would result in a burst of energy, I tried to provide the kids with some activities. Some were structured projects like cookie decorating. This appealed mainly to the girls.
The boys naturally gravitated towards the toy fishing game. I guess it's in their competitive nature.
Of course, both the boys and the girls were HUGE fans of the playroom. That place was a mad house! Only a few parents dared climbing the stairs to witness the insanity, most were either having too much fun in the cocktail party-style environment downstairs to care what was happening upstairs or they were afraid of what they might see. Either way, the kids were having fun while the parents were entertained. It was like two parties in one!
However, all good things must eventually come to an end. Before our guests bundled up to once again brave the elements, we snapped pictures of them with the "catch of the day."
Everyone left with a smile on their face, but the birthday boy's grin was the only one I really cared about. He truly enjoyed his celebration which made all the hard work worthwhile. Thanks again, Everyone, for contributing to the memories!
We gave it our best shot, and the kids really didn't seem disappointed. Maybe they actually had realistic expectations unlike me. Honestly, the kids were more excited about hooking worms than anything else. Is that a good or a bad thing?
However, all good things must eventually come to an end. Before our guests bundled up to once again brave the elements, we snapped pictures of them with the "catch of the day."
Everyone left with a smile on their face, but the birthday boy's grin was the only one I really cared about. He truly enjoyed his celebration which made all the hard work worthwhile. Thanks again, Everyone, for contributing to the memories!
The show did deviate a bit from the classic story because it included some religious content. The director's version incorporated the 
After that excitement, we made our way towards some of the more traditional exhibits. Along the way, Hayden decided she would adopt Baylor as her 2nd little brother. Enjoy it while it lasts, Baylor. Eventually, Hudson is going to be up and out of that stroller too, and he's not going to appreciate you making the moves on his sister.
A trip to the zoo wouldn't be complete without feeding the giraffes. I didn't catch this fella's name, but he's the biggest giraffe we've fed to date. He was a gentle giant though, very friendly and hungry! He couldn't get enough of the lettuce leaves being handed out that day.
After washing up, we stopped to enjoy some the scenery and snapped a few pictures.
Oh, here's a rare event I captured...Elephants and a monkey playing together.
At that point, we decided we should probably feed the kids something besides sugar and took a break for lunch. After refueling we set out for the most anticipated stop of the day, the splash park. Sadly, within a matter of minutes, Hudson went from this...
The other three made the most of the experience, but in a relatively short amount of time, they were ready to move on to the playground. I was able to get a few cute pictures before the ADD kicked in and forced us to move on.
