5...4...3...2...1... Blast Off! Jackson's 5th Birthday

 

We celebrated Jackson's fifth birthday last weekend. 

It was very rainy here, so we had to keep it inside. 

Jackson has been really into outer space and planets lately, 

and was certain that was the type of birthday party that he wanted.   

So, we took the theme and ran with it.

Some of the decorations ...

Made this to put in the front yard, but it just sat next to the front door because of the rain.

We had given Jackson the Lego space shuttle while he was in the hospital.

He was so excited to use it for the party!

He and Cooper LOVE to play with.

I painted some letters from JoAnns, and added some stars.

Then pinned on some planets that I bought in a little mobile kit. 

 

 I ordered the invites from a wonderful shop on Etsy, Olive and Star.  

Broke out the cricut to make some stars and rockets ...

And we hung some inflatable planets from the living room ceiling.

We bought them from Amazon, ...

hung them  about a week before.

The boys LOVED them, and were disappointed when we finally took them down.

We had planned some activities for the party (it's funny how as they get older you actually need some more structure ... Jackson was asking through the party, "can we do something fun now?")

Anyway, we made the most of it inside - and just did what we could.

 

We had bought this at CVS around Christmas - I think it was $12 or $13.

The boys had colored a house at Mawmaw and Pawpaws house during our Thanksgiving visit, and loved it.  

 I had envisioned them all coloring it calmly, and playing inside as they did.

Pawpaw was called in for repairs after the birthday boy somehow tore off the front.

It seems that everyone got a little excited about it.

 

 

The cardboard shuttle didn't stand a chance.

 We had a planet toss.

Made some beanbags, and bought buckets for $1 at Hobby Lobby.

Inspired from Martha Stewart.

Adapted to the stairs : )

This was actually a hit.   Some of the kids got a little rowdy trying to get to the front of the line.

They loved seeing how many points they could get 

(not that they won anything... but it didn't seem to matter)

I stood on the stairs and tried to "monitor" the game by standing the buckets back up and yelling out how many points they got.  

It would have been easier if I wasn't SO PREGNANT!

The little astronauts also did sticker sheets.  

Found at Oriental Trading Company.

We made "moon rocks."

We were planning to hide them around the yard, and then let the kids break them open to find a surprise inside.

We did this for Jack's third birthday - as dino eggs.

What's more fun than swinging at mallet at a rock?

Inside: a super-ball with stars inside.

 

Recipe:

 2 cups sand, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water.

You can also add food coloring.

Shape it around the ball (or whatever you want to put inside) and then let dry ... for days.

The final activity - a GIANT space shuttle.

Colin bought it at a little place down in Dallas near his work.

This is the "small" size.

They will custom make anything you want.

Had a hot air balloon made at Cooper's 2nd birthday.

Colin hung it in the garage.   Did you know that broken dumdums can create a REAL nasty mess on a garage floor?  It's true.  

But it was totally worth it.

All the kids took turns beating it.  Not even a dent.

So, finally the dads took some swings and we finally got some candy!

We handed out these shuttles as party favors.  

Not sure why my kids never have clothes on.

I took this a few days after the party.

We made lots of food, and Colin helped me come up with all the "space" names for everything.

Turns out that I had a lot to learn about the planets, etc.  

I don't remember much.

Just, "My very excited mother just served us nine pizzas"

in order to remember the order of the planets.

Jackson knows way more than me.

 

 Sweets.

 Planetary Popcorn.

We started to  make our own.  

Burnt it in the new ovens....

(becoming quite a trend here - burning things in our ovens).

So we bought some caramel corn at a little store near our house.

Cosmic cookies.

Shaped like rockets (per jack's request).

Used candy buttons.

Somehow in the move I lost all the rolling pin guides.

So, they weren't as thick as I would like... but they turned out okay.

Burnt at least 2 dozen in our darn oven.

Jupiter Jigglers.

Added some red dots of jello to make the "big red spot" on them.

I'm not a huge fan of jello, and jigglers are even more concentrated in flavor.

I tried one.   

They tasted just like the orange "glucola" you drink for the gestational diabetes test.  

(shudder)

The boys liked them.

Milky Way, Starbursts, and Saturn's Rings (Fruit Loops)

Mars-mallow pops.

Just very quickly (and messily) dipped them in red candy melts, 

and added some sprinkles.

Astronaut Icecream!

So yummy. 

I was so glad there were a few pieces left over.

Blast Off Brownies.

Drizzled some icing, added a few star sprinkles.

Planned on cutting out space shuttles, but my plan didn't really work.

And, Moon Rock Rice Krispie Treats. 

Light Year Lemonade, and plenty of beer.

As for "real" food, we had ...

Meteorite Meatball Sandwiches,

PB&J sandwiches for non-meatball eating kiddos,

Supernova Salsa,

Quasar Queso (don't ask me what quasar is).

 And Galactic Grapes and Nuts from Neptune.

 

I baked a cake.   1/2 yellow, 1/2 chocolate.

Lots of blue icing.

Some fondant planets and stars.

 Jackson wasn't so sure about the candles.

Actually, I think he was terrified.

Love the look of concern.

 

Love this boy. 

 

He opened his presents.  

Had a little help from his friends : )

We had such a great time, despite the yucky weather.

A little rain can't keep us from celebrating a birthday!