Barnyard Party {Part 2}

As usual, this weekend was busy and I didn’t have a spare moment to hop on the computer. So, I’m just now finally getting around to sharing some action shots from the boy’s birthday party! You can check out Part One of the party shots here.

Now, we had planned to keep the party really low key. Just gather our friends and family and head over to our barn for a fun afternoon. Enjoy yummy BBQ and let the kiddos run around and play in the dirt.

Seriously, that was the plan. Let the kids play in the dirt.

I started to worry about a week and a half before the party that the whole “just let ’em play in the dirt” plan was not incredibly well thought out. Maybe we should have another option for the girls??

And, the dirt is truly just dirt. Not clean sand or anything. The parents of kiddos covered in mud and gunk may be less than thrilled with this party plan of mine.

I decided pony rides would be fun. And, unbeknownst to me, The Builder had put on his party planning hat and called in reinforcements. He had a friend who said he’d bring over some of his pet animals {from an honest to goodness real farm not a pretend one like we have} for the kiddos to pet and play with.

We ended up with a little petting zoo, ponies, some of Dave’s “toys” and a sand pit for digging {I convinced Dave that sand was a better option than dirt and he hauled some in}.

Needless to say, the boys were in awe. They didn’t know what to do first. Play with the animals – kittens! goats! bunnies! – or ride the tractors- or dig in the dirt – or ride a pony. It was just too much. Truly. But, I consider it a complete success because the moment their freshly shampooed {they gave a new definition to the word “dirty”} little heads hit the pillow, they were fast asleep.

Sleep = success in our house.

Enjoy some photos from their fun-filled day…

Our little petting zoo:

Ben is never allowed to have lollipops because of the artificial dyes, but I found these organic ones online and he was as happy as he could possibly be. I think he ate four and hid some in his pockets for later.

The rooster and the chickens literally sat on this cage like this the whole day. I couldn’t get over it. I can’t say I’ve ever really spent much time with roosters and chickens but I never really thought they would be so laid back.

Love this facial expression… awe.

Digging in the sand {Nate takes this VERY seriously}:

Ben came out to do a little supervising…

Pony rides were a hit:

Check out Dave in the background in the photo on the left … not sure what he’s doing but it makes me laugh…

Surprisingly, Nathan was a little freaked out by the horse.

 My boys love tractors and construction equipment:

Hayrides with Aunt Katie at the wheel:

The crowd watching the hayride…

And, time for cake!

It was such a fun day and I am so grateful for every precious memory made!