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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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November 13, 2014

A Lewis and Clark Birthday

Lewis and Clark themed birthday party from atthepicketfence.com

Last year, while on a family vacation near Astoria, Oregon, we stopped by Fort Clatsop where Lewis & Clark spent the winter months after reaching the Pacific Ocean. It didn’t take long for my kids to get hooked on Lewis & Clark–wandering the grounds with historical interpreters, getting to dress up in replica clothing, writing with quills, and the one that sealed the deal for my son: a live musket loading and firing demonstration.

Lewis & Clark title photo2

That Christmas all he wanted was a replica musket like the one from Fort Clatsop and a coonskin cap. When it came time to choose a theme for his 6th birthday, Lewis and Clark was the perfect fit for this Oregon boy and his adventure-seeking friends.

Camping and adventure birthdays are a popular theme this year so there was no lack of inspiration when it came to planning. What was lacking in the busyness of back to school schedules and fall sports, was time. So with a few simple decorations and store bought treats we enjoyed a fun afternoon adventuring, discovering, and learning about history.

fort haworth

The birthday invitations, which set the theme for the party, were made a little more special by printing out a map of Oregon and using it to line the envelopes.

invitation

The bunting above the table was made from a digital art print, which I resized and printed on photo paper at Costco. I wove that slogan into other elements of the party by printing it on the place cards, trail mix bags, and as a little print-out card in the favor pouches.

banner

trail mix

A few bags of pine-cones, a framed print of evergreens borrowed from the birthday boy’s bedroom, and a large lantern kept the décor simple but outdoorsy and foil pie pans from the dollar store made the table setting, cheap, easy, and rustic.

treephoto

lanterntable

I’m a huge fan of scouring the internet for beautiful, free printables and there were many featured at this party. A Costco enlargement of a “Let’s Be Adventurers” print welcomed guests at the front door and connected the theme of the Lewis & Clark expedition with its graphic U.S. map.

door sign

A beautifully illustrated nature scavenger hunt became an easy party favor as did a sweet print out of America the Beautiful where you could color the entire country or map out the expedition.

scavenger hunt

america coloring

Blank journals from the school supply store were easily personalized and Oregon pencils were a perfect addition.

pencils

The birthday boy’s number one request was for a piñata at his party and since I was pretty sure I wouldn’t find one to fit our theme, I decided to try out a diy piñata tutorial and designed one that was supposed to resemble the state of Oregon (luckily the birthday boy thought it did!)

pinata

Inside the piñata were mini flashlights and pouches of candy rocks.

pinata goodies

All of the food at this party was store bought and it was for sure the way to go.  It saved so much time and energy and nobody noticed the difference! The kids loved the Costco chocolate cake and once I spruced it up with a few rosemary evergreen trees and a plastic bear, it looked perfectly celebratory.

cake

A platter of chocolate covered s’more bites from Trader Joes went with the outdoors theme along with a make-your-own trail mix bar. The kids roasted marshmallows during the party and with all the sugar coursing through their systems we made sure to plan a few activities to wear it off.

smore bites

After cake, we divided the guests into teams: the Corps of Discovery team and the Native American team. The Corps of Discovery, led by Sacagawea, took off immediately for their adventure, uncovering hidden packages along the way that pointed them to a mystery destination.

sacagawea

Each package that they uncovered contained an item that Lewis and Clark may have used on their expedition or may have carried with them to trade/exchange with the Native American tribes.

clues

I’m pretty sure the highlight was discovering a cap gun rifle and taking turns shooting it.

explorers

zac & william

The Native Americans, who decided to be the Nez Perce tribe, worked on a few crafts before heading out on their adventure.

arrowhead

bracelets

Their hunt had them finding artifacts, tools, or re-enacting Native American traditions. Some of their discoveries included beaded necklaces, woven fabrics, arrow heads, reading animal tracks, uncovering faux animal pelts, and finding food that may have been shared with the Corps of Discovery to aid them in their survival.

indian walk

indians

Their destination was a thicket of evergreen trees where they quietly hid awaiting the arrival of the adventurers.

hiding

The adventurers arrived eager to exchange peace medals, American flags, and other items with the Nez Perce. With the boys running at full speed through the trees, guns waving in the air, it looked more like a war party than a peaceful one but it was so much fun to see a little piece of history come to life for them.

After returning home we made bows and arrows out of branches, roasted marshmallows and shot arrows at targets.

roasting smores

s'mores

And after successfully destroying the piñata, it was time for the adventures to end.

pinata bash

The guests left outfitted for their next adventure with their own coonskin cap along with a pouch holding a compass and a few arrowheads.

favor pouch

All in all it was a perfect day for discovering, learning, and celebrating our Oregon boy!

oregon boy

 

Thank you for letting me spend time with you today at the Fence,

Julie Signature

If you like this party idea we think you might also like these!

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11 Comments Filed Under: Celebrations, Crafts, Good Ideas, Kids Tagged With: birthday parties, kids, kids parties, parties

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Comments

  1. Nancy Sharp says

    November 13, 2014 at 5:47 AM

    What a terrific idea for a birthday party. Thanks

    Reply
  2. Darrielle Tennenbaum says

    November 13, 2014 at 7:11 AM

    What a brilliant idea and I love all the details you put into it! Lucky Boy!

    Reply
  3. barbara says

    November 13, 2014 at 7:27 AM

    It is clear that the whole family is creative – how wonderful! I think that is always a reason to have a party and a birthday with this theme is extra special – thanks for sharing it with us. Kids seem to be having a good time too. A lot of work went into it as we here all know but it is was the great theme you produced!

    Reply
  4. barbara says

    November 13, 2014 at 7:32 AM

    PS: What a great looking kid, Birthday Boy! Also, I appreciated your bringing in the Native American history here too.

    It is a family that when my niece was studying about Lewis and Clark and just couldnt remember their connection for the explorations and trading, my brother helped her with this answer: for fur! or fer fur!

    Reply
  5. joanne roth says

    November 13, 2014 at 12:11 PM

    Hi! Great party! So good to see a really clever idea for a boy party! One question – I love love love the lighting fixture over the dining table. Can you share a source for where you found it or where there might be one like it?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      November 13, 2014 at 1:46 PM

      thanks so much, joanne! i’m happy to share the lighting source…the brand is Quoizel and the model is called the Downtown. we had a local lighting store order it for us but it looks like it’s easily available online.

      Reply
      • joanne roth says

        November 13, 2014 at 6:09 PM

        Thank you so much — I really appreciate it!

        Reply
  6. Richella Parham says

    November 14, 2014 at 6:21 AM

    This is all kinds of awesome!!! Makes me wish I’d had the internet as a resource back when I was throwing birthday parties for little boys. Oh, wait, it’s probably good that I didn’t have the internet as a distraction back then. But when used well, what a great resource! I LOVE this! Pinning to my hospitality and entertaining board–maybe I’ll do this for a grandson one day! 🙂

    P.S. I love that the Native Americans chose the Nez Perce. Love Chief Joseph!

    Reply
  7. laura@lulasbasket says

    November 14, 2014 at 8:53 AM

    Love the idea! So original! Great for this time of year as well!

    Reply
  8. Judy Ramirez says

    May 24, 2016 at 7:01 AM

    Come September, our book club theme is The Corp of Discovery. Thanks for the inspiring ideas.

    Reply
  9. Megan says

    September 9, 2017 at 8:19 PM

    My boys, turning 6 and 4 in November, want a Lewis and Clark party! Love this post! Do you happen to remember where you got some of the printables?

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake a I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake and grabbed a banana out of the freezer and was about to put it into my shake before I realized it was a frozen egg roll. Sooooo that's how my day is going so far! 🤪How about you?

It's honestly fairly representative of my state of mind these days as I can't seem to make the date on the calendar match the date in my spirit because it feels like it should be January 45th. Every year this month drags on and every year it seems to surprise me for some reason. In addition, my heart just feels heavy as I witness a lot of darkness and sadness around me. So, I'm choosing to control what I can control by making my house feel as cozy as possible, relishing the sunshine whenever it dares to peek through the clouds, gathering inspiration for warmer weather projects and, most importantly, resting in the comfort of the sovereignty of my Father.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work..." Job 37:5-7
What if you could do something at the beginning of What if you could do something at the beginning of your day that would be a gift to yourself later on? That’s what we’re talking about on this week’s Tip Tuesday! #tiptuesday
The sun decided to make another appearance today! The sun decided to make another appearance today! It’s been such a lovely Sunday. Chocolate croissants for breakfast followed by church then naps/football/reading/etc and soon we’ll be heading out to dinner with friends. These are my favorite kind of weekends. Hope yours has been lovely too! 🌿
Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshi Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshine is breaking through the fog and my house just seems happier. We definitely needed to see that light streaming in through the windows and it’s a gift I don’t take for granted.

And yes, there are still twinkle lights on my mantle because those help when the sunshine goes away again. ✨
Happy weekend! The rainy and gloomy weather here i Happy weekend! The rainy and gloomy weather here in the Willamette Valley has me feeling less frustrated about my migraine forcing me to just snuggle up indoors and these flowers in my kitchen are lifting my spirits. What are you up to on this holiday weekend?
It’s time for TIP TUESDAY! This week, I’m offe It’s time for TIP TUESDAY! This week, I’m offering a gentle reminder from my own parenting experience after feeling my heart pricked with conviction about what was waiting for my daughter every day after school. I hope it will encourage you! 🌿#tiptuesday
The day after Christmas I found myself laundering The day after Christmas I found myself laundering and folding all of the linens we used the previous night as we hosted my husband's side of the family for dinner and other festivities. As I laid out each cloth napkin and folded them one by one, I couldn't help but be struck by what a simple, yet meaningful, task it was. It's such an honor and privilege to be the hostess and, at this stage of my life, I realize that this has almost one hundred percent become my role now. Our parents are in their 70's and have either downsized significantly or simply don't have the energy to take on hosting duties for a large group. I could resent this. I could feel overwhelmed by it. But, instead, I'm choosing to embrace it knowing that, someday, I too will pass the hosting torch and I hope that I will be welcomed with love and attentiveness. So, I fold the linen napkins, taking pleasure in the way all of the creases line up and how neat and tidy they look in the drawer of my dining room buffet. These seemingly simple chores are part of the lifeblood of homemaking and my attitude towards them can either be one of gratefulness or grumbly-ness (yes, I'm making up words now). 

And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

“This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.” (Elisabeth Elliot⁣)
Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kic Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kicking off the year with a brand new series! Each weekly installment will feature a tip for everything from your home to faith to parenting to family life and so much more. My goal for 2023 is to have far more personal interaction with this community while continuing on with the mission of weaving together all things heart and home. I hope you enjoy this first tip and I’d love to hear from you about whether or not you decorate for winter! 
#tiptuesday #organizing #winterdecorating
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. H “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” 

Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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