So I started thinking about silly things we could do that would be cheap. My first idea was a birds nest. AJ seemed to like the idea, so we got the ball rolling. We went to the park and collected a bag full of sticks and pine needles to make the nest out of. I got a weird hat at the dollar store that I thought looked kind of like a tree (if you REALLY used your imagination). We used pom-poms for eggs (five of them because AJ is five years old), and AJ picked out a fake bird at Michael's (it's a mockingbird). At the last minute, I glued branches from the tree outside onto it to make it look more "authentic". The end result was a ridiculously hilarious birds nest hat that AJ was completely smitten with.

It sat on the back of the couch yesterday, just waiting for the moment we would leave for AWANA. AJ came up to me at one point yesterday and said all excitedly, "Mommy, I just LOVE my hat. Everytime I think about it, I get a funny feeling inside and can't help but jump up and shout HORRAY!"

Not to be left out of the action, Drew needed a crazy hat too. We decided to make Drew a plate on his head. His was much less complicated to make. I just bought some cheapie stuff at Walmart, and then we glued it to an old hat. He loved it though and couldn't stop looking in the mirror.

The shocker of the evening? AJ actually won the contest. He won a $5 gift card to McDonald's and $5 in Shares to spend at the AWANA store. He was totally beside himself with excitement.

So, without further ado...pictures of the crazy hats...