Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Scenes From a Birthday Campout

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Over the weekend, beneath a harvest moon, our sweet Clover turned five! We celebrated with a birthday campout under the oaks… family, friends, and neighbors came bearing gifts, much to her delight, and good food to share. Sausages and hot dogs were on the grill. I also made a huge salad and a few batches of THESE… so good! Perfect for a campout, and it was great not having to frost that many cupcakes.

Spring Lake campground, just a hop skip and a jump from home (seriously, like a ten minute drive) has the most magical group campsite (accommodates up to 75 campers) nestled in a grove of oaks. It’s quiet (well, not including the screaming children we supplied) and picturesque, totally secluded from the rest of the campground (especially nice for not worrying about said screaming kids disturbing other campers), has lots of sweet spots for tents, winding paths, its own private parking lot and restrooms, an AWESOME firepit, and did you see that big wooden table that wraps around the trees?

I’ve had a big bag of thrifted vintage fabric scraps in a closet for years now and I finally put it to use by cutting and tearing the pieces into strips to make some of these as decorations. I thought it would be a fun craft for the kids too, so I brought along extra supplies and some rainbow scratch-off cards as well. When they weren’t busy running around like wild woodland creatures, those kiddos got all kinds of crafty :)

We also borrowed a gigantic tent to set up as the designated kids tent. It was HUGE and the kids loved it. Once it got dark we busted out the glow sticks, also a big hit, and the kid tent turned into a wild rave of sorts which went on well into the night as the grown-ups kicked back with beers and laughter around the campfire. It was a fun night and Clover had a blast with her friends and cousins.

The next morning, fog hung in the trees as puffy-eyed kids (and grown-ups) emerged from tents. The coffee flowed, fresh bagels were topped with cream cheese and slices of homegrown heirloom tomatoes and, with 9:30 am as her time of birth, our little sprite was officially declared five years old!

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Welcome to five sweetie, we are so very proud and you are so very loved!

12 comments:

Sadhbh @ Where Wishes Come From said...

Missa! What an amazing party and I adore the decorations!Looks like a really cool campground. I can't believe Clover is 5 already, she's such a beauty (hardly surprising!). My girls were born at 9.30 and 9.33 am too - sweet little morning people. xx

Milla said...

Wow! I cannot believe Cloverkin is five! Happy Birthday Big Little Girl and Happy Birthday to Mama and Papa too!

What a lucky gal for having such an awesome birthday party. Looks like so much fun. Celebrations where camping is included are the best and that campground looks amazing. Your decorations make it all the more magical. A perfect place to ring in the big 5!

Whew! It feels like in the last year she has grown so so much, even just between my two visits. She is just the dearest lil' sprite and I look forward to seeing her grow and bloom and shine for years to come.

moonshinejunkyard said...

okay this is my favorite kids' birthday party ever!!! i can't lie, that it is a lot more appealing due to being so fun for the adults too! and this camping spot RULES. my favorite is the huge picnic table around the tree, what fun to gather there. our group of friends needs a place like this especially as the amount of little ones grows :)

the kids' rave party in the huge tent makes me laugh right out loud, especially the image of them coming out bleary eyed in the morning! so adorable. they will remember that forever as the perfect kind of true FUN. clover's friends and cousins are really lucky she turned five!

and those little ribbon flags are SO ADORABLE. i want to make some. the way you had the whole camp spruced up is just perfect. mama, you throw quite the right kinda party i must say. i admire every tiny detail from the glow sticks to the camp-y cupcakes to the fire pit and beer drinkin adults!!! sending clover lots of love for her birthday. can't wait for her to meet my babe and hopefully inspire lucy with some costume love :)

Anonymous said...

Wow. Best birthday ever??? I think so. I'd love to do something like that but there are no good camping grounds around here unless I drive an hour away. oh well. That really is a great way to put old fabric scraps to use!! Nice job!!! I hope Clover had a wonderful birthday!!!
+Victoria+

Janet said...

WOW!! i agree, i don't see how a birthday could be any better than this at all!~~ absolutely perfect!!! it is making me want to go camping, now! lol joe and i will be going again, hopefully, next spring or summer. i will be so ready!! i am hooked on cam,ping, now!! :) the pictures are so good. i can tell that it was such an adventure for the little ones. :) i know the adults had just as much fun as the kids did, too. :) the decorations, food, everything is so wonderful!! it makes me smile, looking at this wonderful celebration for your little clover!! it looks like it was a hit, for sure :) :)

sally said...

hi missa, this party is adorable! love those homemade flags!

5 was my favorite age so far for my stepson. things got markedly easier after the toddler years are finally over. they are gaining a bit of independence and they still have that incredible sense of wonder at the world. i am sure it will be a beautiful year for all of you!

xo

Nichole said...

Fun fun fun! And that MOON! You're a great mama for hosting such a fun party! Happy birthday, Clover!

Elizabeth Carrington said...

Happy birthday CLover, little Libran : ) loves lots of fun.
Its a wonderful idea to bring them out for some wild time, and they love nothing more then just that kind of freedom and crafting too. These guys loved your pretty scraps bunting- thats a lovely idea!!!!!!

Each birthday to me seems like a great time to acknowledge what we as parents do too. So happy days to you guys aswell.

xx

Alexa said...

Happy birthday Clover!! What a sweet idea to bring the kids in on the bunting creation.

Andrea said...

Missa-- this is such a fantastic children's birthday idea! What could be better than getting to have a giant sleepover with all of your best friends? I'm filing this one away for the future :)

I've said it before-- your photography is beautiful! Seriously. The moonlight through the trees and these fantastic live oak images are marvelous. So beautiful!

MC said...

I love the birthday camping idea! What a wonderful night. Happy birth day!

Mrs. Habit said...

that looks like the best birthday ever. seriously.

happiest wishes to your sweet gal.