We had the most fantastic party for Anton's 6th birthday yesterday.

I'm so excited to show it to you.

He wants to be in the Army when he grows up so he requested a "KIDRUCK Bootcamp Army Party."

Challenge accepted.

After getting geared up and ready, Ben sat the kids down for a few minutes to talk to them about what it means to be a soldier and how men & women in the military give their lives to protect us. Per Anton's request, he also explained a little about a group called Goruck that Ben is very involved in. Complete with a rucksack full of bricks, these 12-17 hour Goruck Challenges are a slice of what the Special Forces go through in training.

This party's events are a kid version of what the Goruck challenges are like...KIDRUCK

First was the "Welcome Party." Each child that wanted to, came up front and chose an exercise to lead the rest of the group in. They did 6 of each, since Anton was turning 6.

They did burpees, jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, etc.

Though the kids initially thought of it as a race, Ben helped them understand that they needed to work together as a team on several of the events.

They sweated it out as they learned to use teamwork and carry Ben's backpack filled with 6 bricks, from one side of the field to the other...without it touching the ground.

Another of the teamwork events is called a "Litter Carry" {basically a stretcher}. Ours was made using poles placed through the body & arms of 3 t-shirts.

The kids thought this was SO much fun.

The rest of the events were running tires, hurdles, army crawl, and several climbing & balancing challenges.

I was so excited to find fake barbed wire at Hobby Lobby. A few of the kids were a little concerned before I told them what it actually was.

Ben made everything himself. Luckily, he was finishing up just as Anton's friends arrived.

After several water breaks and lots of running around, it was time for snacks and cake.

Every year, I make a very special cake for the birthday-kid. Every year it's been something different. Often it's simply a cake in their favorite color {see this post}.

This time though, I tried something I'd never attempted before.

A camo cake.

Both the cupcakes and the large cake are camouflage inside.

I'll do a tutorial on how later this week {it's actually pretty easy}.

It was too windy for the candles on Anton's cake to stay lit, so we did a little re-do at home later on in the evening.

Wow it tasted good.

I cannot believe my baby is already 6.

You are such a joy to me, buddy. You are incredible inside and out and I am so proud of you and the fun & caring boy you are. You make my heart happy.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Anton!