Lucky #7

Jacob ended up being pretty lucky in the month of November . . .

*Lucky to go to Disneyland
*Lucky to lose his first tooth (the normal way, the other three were extracted by the dentist)
*Lucky to turn 7 years old
*Lucky to have his first birthday party
*Lucky to be the first in our family to have a boy/girl birthday party
*Lucky to be spoiled by his family and friends
*Lucky to be loved like crazy

I had this great idea to have a Camp-out Birthday Party so Jake was the one I convinced to do it.  We set up a tent in the backyard with a firepit for roasting s'mores, had a fishin' hole (swimming pool), grilled hot dogs in the dining hall, went on a bug hunt in the dark, held sleeping bag relays, told scary stories in the tent, and had a s'mores bar.  Joe and I were the camp directors, Carlee, Clark, and Katelyn were camp counselors, and all of the birthday friends were happy campers. 

Katelyn registered each camper when they came to the door and gave them a nametag.  Then we divided into groups to make up a name and cheer under the direction of the camp counselor.  Each group took turns fishing, doing the sleeping bag relay, and telling stories in the tent.  We then ate dinner on the back patio before starting our bug hunt.  Each camper was given a flashlight to search for bugs all over the backyard.  It was so cute to watch all of them shining their lights all over the ground and bending over to look for bugs.  We only lost one kid in the pool for a brief moment.  Cole looked too closely to the water and slipped in.  He came over to me dripping wet and asked if he could dry off.  Trying to stifle a laugh (luckily, he wasn't crying or too upset and could swim!), we changed him into Jake's clothes and put his into the dryer.  After eating, we went inside to open presents.  Jake was spoiled by his friends and loved all of his gifts.  Then the kids went back outside to roast marshmallows and make s'mores.  They were yummy!  Then we lit the campfire birthday cake.  Jacob was so excited to see the cake on fire as he blew out his candles.  The party was a huge success and so much fun.  Although the weather turned cooler the day before and they had to keep running inside to get warm, the kids had a great time.

Welcome to Camp Stuart!

All of the happy campers

Katelyn was the Camp Counselor for her group, Phoenix

Clark was the Camp Counselor for his group, Lightning Bolts

Storytelling by the fire

Sleeping Bag Relays

Fishin' in the pond

Scary stories in the tent

Grilled hot dogs, fruit, chips, carrots, and bug juice from the dining hall

S'mores Bar-Yummy!

Roasting marshmallows

Hunting for bugs

All of the campers went home with a flashlight, glow-in-the-dark bugs, the fish they caught, and s'mores trail mix