Time Capsule Birthday

Today is my mom's birthday. We got up early and drove 2 hours to help her celebrate. We surprised her with store bought chocolate cake. It was around 9am, but we still had cake with candles. Her little birthday party wasn't complete without a homemade gift from the boys. It was a time capsule.

I took a metal coffee can with a lid and used packaging tape to surround it with paintings by the boys. Then we started adding things to the bucket. I explained that the things they picked should be small to fit in the container and be something that reminds them of Elmo, which is the name that my nephew gave my mom and is what my children call her. The following objects were added to the container:

Tracing of their hands
Drawings of them with Elmo

Recent pictures of the kids with my mom

Printed out information sheet on June 16, 1955

Toy that the boys picked out, which is a small ninja turtle: Michelangelo

The boys enjoyed going through everything with their Elmo. My mom added her hand tracing to the container along with a paperback book she had just finished reading. We put the lid on, and searched the farm for a special spot to bury it. They first picked a spot under a big shade tree, but tree roots would be a problem. Instead, we choose a little tree to bury it next to. We can't wait to do this again next year on Elmo's birthday. It's a great birthday tradition.