Preparation: Camp Jack

Hi Campers!  Counselor Paula here.  I imagine you are wondering just how Camp Jack came to be since my last post was Jack's actual birth date.

It just so happens that I'm here to give you the low-down on the set up and planning of this "camp-tastic" party.  Let the rustic planning begin...

Each of the campers received this invitation in the mail complete with an agenda.  I wanted to make sure they knew what was in store for them and what equipment they would need for Camp Jack. 

When the campers arrived they were greeted by a counselor at this check in table.  Each received their tent assignment and an official Camp Tee {that I made on my circuit!}.  From there they set up their supplies in their tent and changed clothes.

The camp site consisted of three tents with a fire pit in the center.  I split the nine boys between two tents and then Counselor Clay and Counselor Maggie bunked in the third.

I had a couple gracious neighbors who let us borrow their tents for the night.  As much as I'd like to say we are a camping family, it's just not so.  We only had one {and it just so happened to be the one that matched the party perfectly}.

There were a few official camping signs posted around the site to let the boys know exactly where each event would take place.  I scored these from Oriental Trading.  I never in my wildest dreams imagined they were going to be life size.  I had to get creative with placement on a few of them.

To the left of the tents was the canoe dock.  Here the campers had a grand time foe-fishing with the props.  It made for an awesome photo booth.  {again another borrow from a friendly neighbor}  I saw it on the side of their house and just knew I had to have it for Camp Jack.

Somewhere around there is another one of those fun camping signs with the fishing symbol.

Other than the actual campsite itself, the main hub was under the covered patio.  This is where the food and craft tables were set up.

This picture pretty much embodies my Cricut obsession...the tee, the Camp Jack banner, and the table banner...all from my beloved machine.  I'm not really sure how I ever lived without that thing.

I got this rustic idea to eat out of tin pie pans when I was roaming the Dollar Store one day.  Yes, I do frequent the Dollar Store...always an idea waiting to happen in that place.

All of my green and orange platters, bowls and containers also came from there.  The campfire center piece was off of Amazon and the glass orange and green lanterns were from the dollar bins at Michaels.  I put battery operated tea lights in each of them.  The campsite was filled with flickering lights come evening.

I set the menu tents up in these cute wooden place card holders by Kate Aspen.  I'm seriously obsessed with her creative place settings.

The menu consisted of...Campfire Dogs...

Campfire Flames...

Firewood...

Trail Mix...

Canoes...

and Sleeping Bags...

The dessert table was located under the covered porch as well.  I had a variety of rustic sweets.  Of course, we had to have cupcakes.  I found these trees on Amazon and popped them in to Publix cupcakes.

The campers also satisfied their sweet tooth with "Camp Jack" lollipops and river rocks.

The river rocks were actually chocolates that looked exactly like real rocks.  And they were delish!  I found these at a local candy store, but I know they can be found online as well.

The table also consisted of Bug Juice and camping mints.  Those must of missed the photography session?!?!

I also set up the craft table on the same porch.  I tried to leave the campsite as open and clear as possible for the campers to run free.  {it served to be a good thought on my part}

I found great camping balls on Oriental Trading for the boys to color with Sharpies.  These were actually a success with active boys.

However, most of the crafts were "wood" related.  I had name plates with magnets on the back.  The boys used the small circle wood pieces to spell out their name and went home with a nifty little magnet.

I also had wooden door hangers, thinking the boys would do something similar.  To my demise the majority of them wrote, "DO NOT ENTER" on theirs and called it a day.

All the wood craft materials came from Michaels.

I set up a little table for the boys to have space to put their creative genius.  Needless to say, it got used for a brief session and then they were off.  I can't lie I definitely foresaw this.  Hence the reason I only allowed 30 minutes for crafts on our schedule.

Trust me, it was more than enough.

And speaking of schedule, I posted it in plain sight for the campers.  They always knew what was coming next.  It was either from the sign or my whistle {which I blew regularly}.

I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday.  I knew what I had in store with 9 boys...I was well prepared with a no-down time action packed agenda and a very loud whistle.

See what I mean, wild boys, vandalism at it's funniest....

We sent the campers home the next morning with these favors.  I personalized the camo back packs with my Cricut and then filled them with camping essentials.

I got the backpacks, first aid kits, water bottles {which I personalized}, flashlights, wooden pencils, and compasses from Amazon.

The bookmarks were from this nature website.   They have some really fun bookmarks.  The small composition books were from the Dollar Tree {pack of three} and I made the stickers for the front.

I got the individual bags of trail mix from Trader Joes and just added Camp Jack stickers to the outside.

I can just visualize all the boys hitting camps and trails this summer with their new bags.  {or at least I'm hoping so}

I would have to assume that after all that, you would like to see some of those wild boys campers.  Don't despair, plenty of action shots coming up next post.

But, before I end, the prep for Camp Jack was certainly a collaborative effort.  I have to give a sincere thank you to Tracy at Sweet Peach Paperie.  All of the signs, food tents, and invites were her doing.  She has an amazing way of bringing my paper vision to life.  Adore her.

And thank you to the fab neighbors who let me raid their garages and yards for just the right equipment and pieces of nature.

{I feel like I just wrote an acceptance speech...but I must give credit where credit is due.}

Get ready for active, sweaty, adventurous, happy campers up next...

Good Morning NINE

Oh my, I know I say this every year, but how in the world did my baby boy turn 9 years old?  Can't the Growing-Up madness just stop?!

Although, I was just about sick to my stomach over Jack turning another year older he has been beyond excited.  The countdown has been on and come this morning it finally HAPPENED!  Jack really turned 9 big fat years old.

Seeing as how it was a school morning, Daddy and I popped in belting "Happy Birthday to You" only to find a snoozing birthday boy.

It didn't take long before he was up and at 'em showing of his new #9.

I carted the kiddo off to school to celebrate his big day with his classmates.  They were headed on a field trip so it wasn't such a bad way to spend a school birthday.

However when he got home the party started.  {and if you are wondering why he has the same shirt on as when he woke up, don't bother asking, it's not even worth the explanation}

So as a preamble to his real birthday party, the girls showered Jack with gifts.  {his gift from mommy and daddy are always his over the top parties, because let's be honest, we know they aren't cheap}

Somehow the girls knew just what he wanted {couldn't have been that wish list he wrote, made 10 copies of, and spread through out the house...hmmm} and he was mighty grateful for it all.

Come dinner I cooked up his requested Birthday dinner.  Get ready for this...fried shrimp and cantaloupe.  So believe it or not, that's what we had for dinner.  I have to admit, he made it pretty easy on me.

We sang to the big boy again {this time he was awake} and devoured the chocolate cake Lucy had made him earlier in the day.

Another year down and a lot more to go...

xoxo to my smart, energetic, artistic, loving, passionate, and strong birthday boy!  we love you more than you will ever know...smooches!

Spring Break Reunited

I've always been a big fan of Spring Break {most especially since we started big kid school}.  It's seems to arrive right when I'm in the need for a little R & R with the kiddos.

We spent Spring Break twenty-sixteen reuniting with family and friends that we just don't see nearly enough.  Too many things keep us apart from all these special folks...distance, school schedules, and life in general.  It was so lovely to slow down and enjoy a few of our fave peeps for a week.

We started our break with a few "stay"-cation stops.  The first being the zoo with the Miccas.  Oh, how I adore this sweet family. Cristina and I met when our first borns were only a wee 4 months old.  Since then we went from seeing each other daily to weekly and now sadly only every once in a great school break.

Our oldest are major Zoo fans and the littles enjoy it just as much.  What better place to reunite?  Not too mention Maggie was chosen to bring Little Hootie home from school for Spring Break and she just HAD to take him to the zoo.  I mean where else would you take an owl?

Clay and I followed the trend of reuniting, only adult style.  We took a day trip to the Masters with some dear friends.  Again, another girlfriend that I used to see at least weekly until  Elementary School got a hold of our kids.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and a great way to celebrate my hubby's birthday.  Definitely an experience to remember...golf fan or not.

From there, we hit the road for the remainder of our Spring Break.  We had a lot more reuniting to do.  We basically got two for the price of one considering our family and friends live on the beach.  Can't beat that.  I have to admit, it wasn't such a bad place to grow up.

My lovely Grandma afforded her beach condo to our family for our stay.  It was super convenient and such a treat.  Makes me wonder why we don't take advantage of it more often.

The little beach directly behind the condo is perfectly quaint and quiet.  We even had Cosby out there with us with the entire place to ourselves.

We could hardly believe the plethora of marine life.  We saw everything from blue crabs to hermit crabs to herons to turtles and ducks.  It was an endless adventure.

I personally thought the kids were nuts for even stepping a toe into the water...it was freezing!  They didn't seem to mind a bit and just kept plunging right in.

There is no place like the beach {or like home} especially when you've got family there too!  Grammy, who is just coming off of foot surgery, graciously wheeled down and enjoyed some sun and sand with us.  I'm pretty sure she should have been resting so we were overjoyed with her sacrifice.

She even made the visit with us to one of our favorite beach dives for lunch.  What a trooper.

Uncle Matt and cousins Whit and Larkin popped in to see us too.  {And their sweet pooch, Maisy.}  Before I could even get my hands on my camera my kids had dragged their big cousins to the pool.  Another ice bath, but sounds like they had a good time.

Now get ready for some serious reuniting...the kids and I met my BFF from high school for a beach dinner.  Sadly, we had not seen one another in 2 years!  How does that happen?  I've missed her dearly as we have been friends for over 20 years.  Yikes...we are getting old.

The kids had a great time on the play set in the sand while "Al" and I did some serious catching up.

There was no way to pack two years into one dinner {and constant kiddo interrruptions} so we will definitely have to plan on reuniting again.  love you dear friend...

Quite possibly my FAVE part of Spring Break was when this little jitter bug joined the band.  Seriously this girl could not get enough of the instruments, the singer with the "beautiful boice (voice)" {I kid you not, she really said that}, and the booming speaker.  She may truly be deaf after her performance.

Lu was in complete awe and over the moon when the band invited her to join them with a tambourine.  She was pulling out moves I have never seen before.  Oh my, I love this spicy girl of mine.  Life is always an adventure full of smiles with her.

The sugary sis was more into trying out new beach hair dos than performing.  This is her new go to.  I thought maybe post beach she would be over it, hardly not.  I've had to get up an extra 5 minutes early this week to double braid her hair before school.  I talked her into letting me put a bow in the back which was a huge score for me.

We are at a bit of a crossroads with wanting to be a stylish big girl and me still wanting her to be a SIX year old.  So we are both learning to compromise.

Before heading back home I, of course, braided maggie's hair for the umpteenth time and then we tidied up GG's condo.  Each kiddo got a chore and they were like little work horses before we were back on the road for the long trip ahead of us.

We are back home again safe and sound and smiling about the special reuniting we got to do.

Now the countdown is on for a birthday celebration for a little guy very near and dear to my heart!