Dino party

Brennen is 5!
How did that happen?  My widow ( a nickname his daddy gave him) is not so widow anymore.  He is going to start kindergarten this fall.  That can't be right.  It means I am getting older, and we all know that's not true.  On our way home from Moab I realized I hadn't even started planning his birthday party. So I pumped my mom for ideas. She said since I have that great sandbox why don't I have a dinosaur dig.  What a great idea.  We let our imaginations work on what could go with that.  We came up with making impressions of dino foot prints, and making a dino call.  I could work with that and it would certainly fit within my budget.

dino impressions

I headed to my favorite party supply store (the dollar store) and found some great pith hats (thats safari hats to the rest of you) I also got the typical pary fare of balloons and streamers.

dino foot print maker

I looked on KSL for dinosaurs and found some one selling some great ones for a total of $2.  Then I was off to my next favorite store DI.  Where I found a bag full of Dino's for only .75 cents, score!  I used my new scroll saw to cut out 4 Dino foot prints then tested the plaster for dry time.  It took me a couple tries to figure out the right ratio of water to plaster to make it dry within 10 minutes.

When the party started all the kids got their hats then we headed out to the sandbox to make the impressions.  The kids thought this was really cool.  While we were waiting for our impressions to dry we did the dino dig.  I buried about 30 dinosaurs in the sand for the kids to dig up.  I thought they were going to love this activity but all I got was whining.  How I hate whining. After much encouraging and prodding they dug up 12 dinos.  Oh well you can't win them all.

So we bagged the rest of the dinos and headed over to make dinosaur calls.  To make a call you get a paper of plastic cup this even works with a soup can.  Drill a small hole in the bottom center.  get some cotton string, thread it through the hole  and tie a not on the end.  The string should be hanging in the cup if its held upside down.  cut a small strip of cheap sponge tie it on the other end of the string.  Get the sponge wet and wrap it around the string and pull down. It makes a dino (or duck or chicken call)  If you use a large can and some thicker rope it makes a bear call.

dino call

The kids thought this was next to magic.  I served the cupcakes and juice boxes while Scott hid my dino eggs for the final activity.  I got the eggs from an Easter clearance sale so it worked out great for me.  The whole party cost me about $30 and the kids had a great time.

Happy Birthday Brennen we love you!!