A Camping Trip to Celebrate the Big 5!

This weekend we went camping at Deception Pass for L's 5th birthday! We invited 2 other families with us, we had 5 boys all under the age of 6 1/2.



Deception Pass

The event started at the crack of dawn. L woke up at 5:30 ready for presents. We held him off for as long as we could, but we all got up by 6:45. I started making some pancake batter while L looked over the table full of presents. He was very subdued while he opened everything, quietly taking it all in. By 7:30 he was already hankering for a birthday cupcake so...





We all sang happy birthday as he donned his birthday crown and he happily ate his first of many cupcakes this weekend.

I had planned many games, scavenger hunts, letter boxing, and crafts for the weekend. My favorite was this web of yarn I thread through the woods behind our campsite. Every boy had to follow his string to the end to find his loot bag. It was pretty hard for the younger 3 boys, but they were happy to get help from E, the 6 1/2 year old, and tromp through the woods.



No camping birthday party would be complete without lots of time at the campfire. The boys cooked hot dogs, marshmallows, and snakes (dough wrapped around a stick and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar).



After a restless night sleep by all adults involved, we packed up our stuff and headed down the road to the Rosario Beach tidepools. With patience we discovered a world of crabs, hermit crabs, sea anemones, limpets, fish that looked like rocks, and a world of other creatures we couldn't identify. It was wonderful to watch the boys just crouch down and wait patiently for something to move and to hear a scream of, "I saw a fish!!".





We had a nice picnic lunch at a table where we spotted a circular rainbow around the sun. I'm sure it has a name but I don't know it. It was beautiful. An unimpressed passerby said, "It means it's going to rain."

We headed home with some very sleepy campers. L enjoyed a short look at his Yogi Bear comic book while he relaxed on his Yogi Bear pillow that his Grammy had made him for just this occasion.



A wonderful weekend that we won't forget, and a little boy that is headed into a whole new stage of his childhood.

It's Thursday!

Welcome to the Thursday blog. I'm trying to be consistent and blog every Thursday night. That way my numerous readers can look forward to reading my blog every Friday morning. So far this schedule has worked for me.

Tonight I finished my embroidery project that I started last month for April's crafternoon. My bunny embroidery has now become a pillow. I plan to make it an Easter decoration, but I'm going to leave it out a while and enjoy it before I pack it away. The pillowcase is sewn like a baggie so I can slip the pillow in and out. I'm hoping to embroider a new pillowcase for each holiday or season. It will add a nice festive flavor to the boys' room. L loves holidays so I'm sure it will be a hit with him!



Over the weekend I was invited to the birthday party of a one-year-old. We decided last minute that we were planning to go so I didn't really have time to make something. My plan was to buy a present and then if I had time I could make something and return the thing that I bought. I wound up at Gymboree where I found a cute little sweater and collared onesie with turtles on them. As soon as I saw it it reminded me of a pattern I had from "Bend The Rules Sewing" of a little stuffed turtle. It was the perfect companion for the gift.

I'm still pretty new at this crafting thing and one thing I always forget to do is to tell the recipient that this gift was handmade. Then I go home bummed because I think they didn't love it. Well this was one of those times. Fortunately this time my friend asked L if he knitted the jumper (she's English) and it gave me the perfect opportunity to say, "No, but he helped me make the turtle!" She was delighted and inturn, so was I!

I'm still not confident enough in my sewing to make it the only gift I give. I usually make something and buy something. But I'm trying to change this. I feel the love I put into it is better than something monetary. Right?



Tomorrow is my next crafternoon! We're stenciling t-shirts. I'm excited to share this cool technique that I learned from "The Creative Family". It's one of my favorite things to do. I'm a sucker for personalizing things. I even had pencils made for K and I's wedding. I love those pencils!