carnival on the creek

For Berkley's 5th birthday party, we had a carnival on the creek. Berkley came up with the idea of having a carnival for her party after looking through an old photo album at Marmie's house. I had a carnival party when I turned 7, and after Berkley saw the pictures she decided that is what she wanted to do as well. This was several months ago, and I figured when her birthday finally rolled around she would have forgotten about it... but not Berkley, my little planner. She never stopped talking about it. I knew she had big plans, and as her birthday got closer, she got more and more excited about her carnival. When it did come time to make plans, Berkley made her own list. She sat down with Marmie and wrote down all of her ideas for the carnival, while also making a list of all the supplies we would need to get. (I told you she was a planner!!!) We really did have fun planning and preparing for her party. Finally, the big day arrived, and Berkley was so excited to get everything set up.

We set up a ticket booth near the gate where Berkley's friends would be entering the "carnival." Berkley was ready to greet her friends! (And give them their tickets of course!) Berkley also made treat bags for all of her friends so they had a special place for all of their carnival treats! As Berkley planned her carnival, she made sure everyone would have a job. My assignment... the pocket lady. What is a pocket lady? A lady who has pockets full of treats!!! Berkley's friend, Carlee, loved the pocket lady! She came back to "pick my pockets" several times.The Go Fish game was definitely a big hit. Berkley assigned Matt to work this booth since he "loves to fish at the lake."This was definitely Beckham's favorite game too. He even practiced before the party... over and over again!!!By the end of the party he had taken over Matt's job. He decided putting the treats on the fishing pole was more fun than actually fishing for them!Amy & Chris were recruited to help as well. Amy was put in charge of the face painting, and she did a fabulous job. We were thankful to have her artistic talent!Those designs look good girls!Chris was a great sport and volunteered at the bowling booth. He definitely had to work the hardest since he had to reset the "bowling pins" after each carnival participant tried out their skills. Not to mention that his booth seemed to be in the direct sunlight! Thanks so much Chris for your help. Did you teach Nic his bowling moves? He has great form!

After all of the carnival games, birthday singing, and ice cream eating it was time to open gifts. Berkley specifically asked for 2 things for her birthday: a game player and a new bible. Mimi & Papa got her the exact bible that she wanted. The look on her face is priceless!
After opening presents, Berkley did a great job of thanking all of her friends. I think they all received a bear hug!

As the party was winding down, JT noticed some of the girls had found the face paint sticks. They were pretty much "tattooing" each other and having a big time. JT decided he would let the girls put a design on him. The minute JT squatted down, the girls attacked him like a swarm of bees. They had no intentions of "face" painting. No... they went straight for JT's head. Once his head was completely covered, then they moved to his face. JT with the swarm of busy little bees!!! Thanks JT for being the hit of the party!

Berkley's birthday carnival ended up being a lot of fun. I think all of her friends had fun as well. Leave it to Marmie & Berkley to throw a good party. Thanks to all of our family that helped out. We definitely couldn't have pulled off the carnival without you!