to celebrate him

The festivities began a day early by stealing him away from school 

for lunch at In N Out

Check out their neapolitan shake.  A very rare treat.

And then the morning of his big day, an early game.

And opening presents.

They were kind of heavy on the dead mau 5 neff theme.

Speaking of themes.

As of last year he informed me that he's no longer

into themed birthdays or cute invitations.

So I'm off the hook.

This is both kind of a relief and kind of sad.

But his parties, are still very much fun.

And they have their own flow of activities.

He's kind of got it down pat.

They go something like this...

Running, jumping, and playing around.

Then an airsoft battle.

In between here and dinner my youngest had a birthday party to attend.

So I left Daddy in charge.

And I was mighty

impressed to come home to eight boys who had all

been fed and the kitchen cleaned up already.

After the jacuzzi, it's time for s'mores.

I joke that all I really need to do is to keep a steady supply of food.

Then they watch a movie, 

with an intermission for singing, the cake,

and a family photo op.

Happy Birthday to our big 11-year-old in the house.

So big he's just three inches away from being as tall as me.

And already has surpassed me in shoe size.

Sigh.

My husband said you know

in ten years he'll be 21.

If this ten goes as fast as the last I'm in trouble.

So I just won't think about that.

And instead I'll cherish the right now. 

on this day

eleven years ago I became a mom.
How this boy has changed me, stretched me, grown me, taught me, loved me.
The list is endless.
We have gone through so much together.
And I'm excited to see where this next year takes him.
Takes us as a family.
He graduates from elementary school in just three months.
Crazy I tell you.
This is a slightly altered version of his dedication page
that will appear in the yearbook.

Later today I'll have nine boys running through my muddy rain soaked yard
having airsoft battles, enjoying the jacuzzi, smores and a movie night.

It should be interesting!

Happy Birthday to our favorite son!

a woodland fairy adventure

My youngest, who recently turned six requested

a woodland fairy hiking party.

You all may not know me that well yet, but I love

making parties happen for my kids.  I love themes,

and I love when they come up with something we can have fun putting together.
I treasure the chance to revel in the magic of childhood.

I also know my window of time where they really

are into these cute girly themes is probably drawing to

a close in the next few years.  So I'll eat it up as long as I can.

This year something evolved with both of their parties.
I decided why worry about the decorations and too many activities.

Instead, let the beauty of God's creation be the focus.

And again, He blessed us with amazing clear skies and warm temperatures on this February day.

But first, let me back up.
As a friend pointed out, you can't

really find a woodland fairy hiking party plan at party city.

So I did some brain storming and let my mind wander.
A trip to Michael's and Target's dollar bin helped too.

Oh and I can't forget the lovely Stephanie Fizer Coleman of

 the fox and the teacup for her lovely stickers. 

And so was born the girl's woodland adventure kit.

Thanks to Target's dollar bin I found this cool bug catching locket with a magnifying glass.

It carried a flower lip gloss, just until a bug was found.

For a short time, they studied this butterfly, but don't worry it was set free.

I wanted to give the girls something that would look very woodland fairy-ish that they could wear.
The wired feather looking base for the headbands were sold in sets, on clearance
in the flower arranging section.  Most chose to keep them safe, so not to lose them on the hike.
But that meant I could borrow one, cause well, I wanted to feel fairy-ish to you know.

The one planned activity would be a hunt to find items in nature that

match each color.  The fact that we've been saving cartons for when our chickens begin laying eggs
was handy.  I remembered this activity from a guided nature hike back when my son was much younger.  You'll see below, they were really into it.  And I loved seeing them looking for matching treasures.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.   Do you know what else has evolved?  I have little helpers who are truly helpful.  They're productive and fast and just as excited about party planning as me.  

So I decided to make fondant mushrooms for the cupcakes.  I didn't want to cover the top with red food dye.  So fondant mushrooms it was.  Only I've never touched fondant and have very little confidence when it comes to baking.  But I decided we'd try.

And again, the assembly line began.

The polka dots, they were a bit time consuming and I was up a tad

late into the night finishing them off.  But it was worth it.

I carefully packed them in their lunch sacks in these protective containers found here, with prime shipping on amazon.  Love prime shipping!  I was determined to try to pack everything we'd need.

These were just the right size, back packs from Oriental Trading Company.

And the day, it couldn't have been more perfect.

And the girls couldn't have been any more adorable.
I said they could dress as fairies if they wished.  My own decided the wings weren't comfortable.
But I love this one sweet winged girl who kept them on the whole day.

No one complained, and they were all ready for the adventure.

We hiked to the tallest peak to stop for lunch, overlooking all sides of the city.

Just as our birthday girl wished.

And it was just so much fun celebrating her, in exactly the way she wanted.

The best part was, the adventure continued all the way back.

With a game of follow the leader.

And she said, it was the best day.

Complete with the chocolate frosting smile to prove it.