Trap Team Birthday

 For the second year in a row, my son wanted a Skylanders party.  Last year was Swap Force http://mrsodaniels.blogspot.com/2014/02/swappable-unstoppablecelebrating-shays.html?m=0  This year was Trap Team.  We started the party outside and played a couple games.

In the first game, the kids had to knock down the bottles to "release the trapped Skylanders".  One person had to keep the bottles from being knocked down by the incoming balls thrown by the players in the other ring.  It was exciting.  They took turns being the trapped person and the guard.

This game was inspired by the Trapmaster, Gusto.  The kids had to see who could keep the balloon off the ground the longest.  In the second round, they could not use their hands.
The next game (not pictured here), was Chompie Smash.  We played it last year and had to do it again.  I blew up about 30 balloons and the kids had to smash the balloons, anyway they wanted.  Loud, but fun!

Next was the scavenger hunt.  Each kid got glow sticks as their light element.  Then a map of the neighborhood and clues.  Each location had something to do with an element or character and a goodie to put in their bag.

For dinner, they had " Hot Dogs" and "Small Fries", based on the character names.
  The cake was supposed to look like the portal, but close enough.  When my son blew out the candles, we placed a new trap character on the cake as a surprise.

Finally, they had to Defeat Kaos!  We made the piñata and filled it with bubble gum, chocolate gold coins, and small prizes.  Directions here: http://mrsodaniels.blogspot.com/2015/01/kaos-defeated-skylanders-party.html?m=1
While they waited for their parents, we had a dance party inside with a disco ball.  The party was a success!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Kaos Defeated - Skylanders Party Pinata

The things we do for our kids!  For the second year in a row, my son wanted a Skylanders themed birthday party.  Having to come up with some new, exciting ideas, we decided a great way to end the party was to DEFEAT Kaos (the main villain).  What better way, than smashing a piñata.
Thinking this would be a great bonding experience, I found myself doing the messy part.  The project was simple, just glad I started a week in advance to give the paper mache layers time to dry.  I did one layer a night - 4 layers of newspaper and the final layer was white copy paper.  The pinata lasted 9 kids,  3 hits each before it broke!!

 Here is the punch balloon we covered.  Torn pieces of newspaper dipped in a mixture of flour and water.

 After the final layer (white copy paper), we painted it skin color.

  My husband had fun drawing Kaos' face.  It turned out perfect.  We cut a hole in the top and filled it with goodies.  Then we made two holes and strung ribbon through to hang up.

It was a "hit"...the kids loved it!  More party highlights here: http://mrsodaniels.blogspot.com/2015/01/trap-team-birthday.html?m=1

Ladybug Hike for the New YEAR!

We survived the Holidays and now we are off and running into the NEW YEAR! Having a two-year-old doesn't allow for much downtime. We started our year off with a family hike to find the hibernating ladybugs at the Redwood Regional Park off the Stream Trail.  Luckily I asked a passing family where they were because I think we would have walked right by them!  It was amazing to see all the ladybugs.

 I had read about this before and thought what a fun way to spend the day and let my little one be free to explore.  My soon-to-be seven-year-old loved it, however, my two-year-old didn't want to walk.  Figures...and we didn't even bring the stroller.  We will definitely be going on more adventures together!

 

Here is where I first read about the ladybugs:  http://frogmom.com/2011/11/ladybug-hike-at-redwood-regional-park/

Don't forget to bring some snacks to keep the kids going! ;)