six? this can't be right...

Late last week, we celebrated Ashtyn's 6th birthday with a Mario themed birthday party! His actual birthday isn't until May 4th but since Grandpa and Grandma were visiting from Connecticut we took the opportunity to have them as guests at Ashtyn's party and did it a bit early! As guests arrived we had them take a picture with the giant (almost 6 foot!) Mario standing in our living room!

Ashtyn had invited 5 friends from both school and church to his party, but being it was a school night only one friend was able to attend! This is Austin and he is in Ashtyn's class at school! It was fun to have him over and Ash was pumped to have a friend at his party!

Once all the guests had arrived we headed into the backyard for a Mario obstacle course! First up, "Save Yoshi's Egg"!! We hard boiled eggs and drew green spots on them and then had the kids race carrying their yoshi eggs on spoons! Maddox wanted to win more then he cared about the rules and so he just carried his egg in his hand and sprinted! HA!!! All the kids did really well at the race, though, and the birthday boy ended up winning the most races!!!

Then we moved on to "Find the Coin" game where a mario coin was hidden beneath a coffee cup and the kids had to guess where the coin was! It was a new twist on an old favorite but it went over well!! They played this one over and over and over!!

Next up, "Pass the Bomb-omb". It works just like hot potato except you pass the bomb-omb from the Mario Brothers games. Aunt Rae worked the CD player for this game and considering the birthday boy won all three games I think maybe she was a bit partial as to when she paused the music! HA!!! But that's just as it should be!!!

As we got closer to battling Bowser, the kids had to walk the "Bowser Balance Beam"...this was a hit too!! I was sort of surprised but they wanted to do the balance beam quite a few times!!!

As we entered Bowser's castle we played "Avoid the Ghost". The kids lined up against the fence and when they turned toward the ghost (who is actually Brandon! HA!) the ghost would freeze in his tracks but when they turned their backs to the ghost he would run toward them trying to attack them!! It was hilarious to watch!!

Last, but certainly not least, the party-goers had to defeat Bowser in the "Bowser Bullseye"!! Blindfolded they had to throw "fire balls" at a target and defeat the ultimate villian!!

Then it was time for cake!! Mmmmmm!! Ash had chosen a 2-tiered Mario themed cake (that took FOREVER for me to make) but it turned out pretty good!! It was hard to believe that I had to put SIX candles on this cake!! Sigh.

And then, the moment every birthday boy waits for...OPENING PRESENTS!! Ash had been asking since the first backyard game when he could open presents and that moment had arrived! Ash got pretty much everything he asked for plus some and, as you can see, he was just a "tad bit" excited as he opened his gifts! HA!!!

Ash had a great birthday party! I still can't beleive he's turning 6 but it was still a fun party! He's growing up way too fast but I couldn't be prouder of the boy he's growing into! He is sensitive, tender hearted, sweet, loving, caring, imaginative, creative, gentle, smart, a deep thinker, curious and surprisingly outgoing! Even though I wish I could freeze time and keep him young forever, I'm excited to see how he grows over the next year and in the years to come! Happy Birthday Ashtyn!!!