Zoo In My Kitchen!

May 28, 2019
2 min read

Hope Turned 9 Last Week!

Hope requested a surprise party last year, after we threw her first party with friends, so we had a

year to plan.

Our family really wanted an organic, low waste, low cost, presence not presents celebration, so our choices reflected this.

We hired Zoo To You to perform a Zoo Show of 12 various animals we knew Hope would be over the moon for.

Well in advance, we invited Hope's friends. The child guest list was limited due to the Zoo Show requirements. We saved up over months for this show instead of trying to pay for it all at once.

Being handed a Tarantula!
Rose Hair Tarantula
Charlotte the Tarantula
Discovering a Tarantula
Making friends with a Tarantula
Pushing Past Fears
Emperor Scorpion
Learning about Emperor Scorpions
Meeting a HedgeHog
Pets for a HedgeHog
Everyone loved the HedgeHog!
Special Bday Priviledge
Getting to Hold a Real Tree Frog
Treekah the Tree Frog
Discovering a Tree Frog
Ferret Friends
Meeting a Caymen
Holding a Python!
Meeting a Python!
Telling the Group How It Feels
Kissing a Snake Friend
More Snake Kisses
Hope's Fairy Godfather & Snake
Soft Chinchilla Friend!
Petting a Real Velveteen Rabbit
Making friends with a Tortoise!
The Tortoise Was a Hit!
Counting a Tortoise's Sections
Meeting a Rescued Red Tegu
Red Tegu Cuddles
Red Tegu Friend
Loving the Red Tegu
Everyone experiencing the Red Tegu
Meeting a "House Hippo"!

Everyone enjoyed the Organic Menu of Tortilla Chips, Homemade Hummus, Veggies and Homemade Onion Dip and Chocolate Cupcakes that Daddy made ahead of time and I iced the day of.

Party Food Table
Organic Cupcake Cake
All lit and ready to blow out!
Hope blowing out the candles!
First Taste
Delicious!
Yum!

Instead of presents we had a Toonie Party where every family was invited to bring 2 Toonies to place in 2 jars. One for Hope and one for a charity. Our decoration budget was exactly 3 dollars as we used mostly what we already had from years prior.

Pinata & Banner Decorations
ReUsed Table Cloth
ReUsed Bday Decoraitons

We put out our LARP weapons and had chalk to play with as well as our mud kitchen; the kids had a blast!

Playing in the Field
Play Fighting with LARP Weapons
Outdoor Fun!
To Arms!
The Party Has Started!
Visiting River
Barn Time!
Mud Kitchen Fun!
Rock Digging
Serious Play!
Hope's Friends Are All Ages!
Before the Zoo Show
Enjoying the Weather
Daddy and Kevin!
3 of Harts
Hope loves Marlene!!!!

Lastly we had a Pinata that I made and while it didn't last long, lots of fun was had, no one was hurt or fought over the delicious organic candy inside.

Homemade Pinata w/ Organic Candy
Hope Takes the First Swing
Pinata Fun!

Hope opened some beautiful 🎀 presents 🎀 . She was so thankful.

Opening Presents
Thankful For Friends
Beautiful Gift
Hugs
Birthday Card
Tools for a budding artist.
Birthday Dragon!
Surprised!
Hope's Favorite - Animal Stuffies!!

She had an amazing 🎁 birthday🎈. Thank you to all who came out and made this the best party we've ever had! Thank you Zoo To You for a wonderful show!

Happy 9th Birthday sweet Hope. May you have a lifetime more to come. What We Learned Animal Science Nature Studies Respect for Animals Animal Care Fear Management Patience Emotional Intelligence Curiosity Following Instructions Physical Activity Hand Eye Coordination Social Skills Team Work Decision Making Conflict Resolution Reading Math Energy Management Community Friendship Bonding So Much More... The Rest of This Week Hope's Fairy Godparents came for the party and stayed with us. Hope decided to do a workbook and colour outside. We played hide and seek out on the land at 6am and other morning excursions. I did some arrangements for my son's passing, worked the gardens for planting and met some bee-utiful friends.