Tyson Turns 6

My little guy isn't little anymore; in fact, he is a big boy who turned 6. Tyson wanted a big birthday party this year. Well...this mommy had a heck of a time trying to find a place to host a party that was under $150.00. All the places I checked were $200.00 or above. HOLY COW, for a kid's party? I figured that we were going to have to just have another family party and that would break his heart. Then we went to the YMCA for our daily swimming and I saw a flier about their birthday parties. It was under $150.00 and he could invite 20 people. Perfect! I called and booked our reservation and sent out the invitations. Tyson was thrilled to be having a "real" party.

It was wonderful for me because all I had to do was bring some drinks and cupcakes and let the kiddos swim for 2 hours. Great! Everyone we invited came, and all had a good time swimming and going down the slides. Tyson even coaxed me to going down the slides with him. I probably looked a little silly coming out of the slides, but it was fun.

My little man showing off his muscles. He invited his buddies from school and church and their mom or dad. So we had a gathering of people. The best part of it was that our party was the first of the day, it was nice and warm and there were hardly any other patrons but us. The kids had the run of the pool all to themselves.

After the hours of swimming were coming to a close, the kids were eyeballing the cupcakes and asking, "When do we get to eat?" Here are Taryn and her friend Ella, picking their seats by the goodies.

The YMCA was so good to us. They had these fun signs up for his party and they came and gave him a YMCA party t-shirt, which Tyson thought was so cool. All the life guards were so accommodating and fun. I sure was glad that they were so nice, it made my life a lot easier.

We have never been lucky enough to have grandparents around when it has been the kids' birthdays, but Grandma and Papa Jackson surprised us and came into town on the weekend of his party. YIPPIE! That was a great present for Tyson and for me as well. I had help from Sue with making the cupcakes and frosting them.

I think the cupcakes were a hit. What do you think?

Kids enjoying the cupcakes and Capri suns. Olivia, Rylan, Anna, James and Zack--all kids from church.

Tyson opening his gifts. James gave him a football, just for little guys like him. He was excited. It has been hard to throw daddy's BIG ones. Davis and Brody and Andrew are sitting next to Tyson. They are buddies from school.

More gifts...

And more gifts...

And even more gifts...

Tyson was spoiled by all his friends. We have never had such a fun, big party and so many gifts. We have such good friends!

Taryn enjoyed just eating cupcakes and playing with Ella. The pool party was a success and I was glad Tyson and the other kids enjoyed it. After it was over, the clean up was easy and then we were done for the day. (Other kids that came, not shown in pictures: Noah, Xander, Sarah)

Since we had the party the weekend before his "real" birthday, I decided that he still needed some kind of festivities for his birthday day! So... I decorated his door, like I always do, and I decorated the kitchen with balloons and streamers and Happy Birthday signs. I made pancakes and stuck birthday candles in them.

Tyson had to go to school on his "real" birthday, but he was okay with that. He took party treats to his class and enjoyed the day. When he got home, he was able to open up gifts from Grandma T, Aunt D and us. I think this was a birthday to remember.