Kate's Wild West Birthday Party- Yee Haw!

When Kate and I started talking about her birthday theme this year she started out with Hello Kitty, then it was Lady Bug, then it was Mickey Mouse Club House, and then one day I picked her up at school and she said , "Mom, I want a Cowboy party." She stuck with that for a couple of days straight so I figured it was the winner and started rolling with it. Let me tell you this was the best party. There is so much you can do with this theme and we really went for it. Kate had 9 friends from her school come which really made it a blast. These kids are together almost every day so you can imagine how well everyone played together.

I made taquitos (or as Kate calls them Katitos) and  Queso and chips. And then the dessert table consisted of cupcakes (what else??), licorice (a favorite of Kate's) and then her all time favorite, Krispy Kreme donuts! That was my Mom's idea and boy was she right. Those donuts were gobbled up in no time.

We played games which were so much fun with so many kids. Chaos, but fun. :) When I asked Kate about her favorite part of her party she said "definitely the treasure hunt." I made it really simple but the kids had a ball with it. The clues went something like "blue room" and "mail box" and "fireplace". I put the clues in these little linen pouches for them to find. The end of the hunt led them to the "Silver Mine" where they dug for little pieces of "silver" (rocks that I spray painted silver). Once they got those they could trade in their silver for a water gun. My original plan was to have a little shoot out with tin cans,  but the cans were pretty hard to knock over because  the water guns weren't giving out much high powered pressure. But the kids had fun anyway as you'll see in the pictures. :) What a great party! And I got to meet a lot of the Moms from Kate's school which I really enjoyed. And the weather was typical Texas weather. They had predicted 54 degrees but it felt like 65 or 70 which is typical of Texas, beautiful and sunny. And now the zillions of pictures...Enjoy! We definitely did! Oh and by the way, the last 2 pictures in this post?? Yeah, that was MY favorite part of the day.:)

A little pre party fun. They were SO excited. :)

The cow boy/girl hats ready and waiting.

Bags of "Silver"(Hershey Kisses) for every guest

These were so fun and easy to make. I had fun picking out the perfect pictures.

This one was pretty obvious and SO true.

What a turkey!



 



There was a craft table set up for the kids when they arrived. They decorated their party bags with markers and stickers and made necklaces and bracelets out of Pony Beads. This was a big hit with both boys and girls. I even saw some of the Moms making their own necklaces:) Why not?!?!

The best idea! Thanks Mom! I love those pretty red and white paper straws:)

Carso practicing the tin can shoot out. This is when I knew my idea of the Tin Can Shoot out was out the window. :)

Getting geared up!

As always, she rocked those pink cowboy boots and the hat and the bandana.

Here she is saying, "Yee Haw!!"

The cutest little cowgirl ever!

Mommy and Kate's boots. Strangely the most comfortable footwear I own.

Another Yee Haw!

They were getting pretty goofy when it came time for a picture with Daddy:)

A little pre party mischief. Testin' out them water guns.

Kate and Carson crafting with Addison and Leah.

Carso showing off his party bag:)

Leah, Hannah, and Addison having some yummy lunch.

Carso and Dre chased each other in circles for a while.

The group shot. I love Carson in this one.  

The first clue in the treasure hunt "front yard tree" :)

Headed for the 2nd clue.

Mail box!

They found clues in every room upstairs and I quickly saw that everytime they would get a new clue they would get so excited that they would run stampede style to the next room. I saw a sort of domino disaster coming  when we came down the stairs so I made them show me their slow motion walk. It was SO cute....and safe!

Rapt attention. They were all really into it.

Love their little faces waiting for the last clue.

Digging for silver.

In the end they were just happy to shoot at the cans with the water guns.

Opening the presents. Brother bear always near. He has started being very protective of her lately which melts my heart. The other day when we dropped him off in his classroom a little girl quickly came up to Kate to see the toy that Kate had brought for show and tell. Carso put his arm out in front of Kate shielding her bodyguard style:) and said , "stay away from MY Kate!" Rude and sweet and the same time. :)

Singing Happy Birthday....she loved it.

Can't you tell? Love the little folded arms.

Blowing her 5 candle out.