The Big Birthday Party!!

This past Saturday we had the big kids’ birthday party.  They’ve been waiting on their party day for months.  Almost every morning they’d ask me if it was their birthday (which means party day).  Finally, it got here.

I kept things pretty low-key this year, and the preparation wasn’t too bad.  Just some party favors, drinks, cake + ice cream . . . and a bouncy house!

Other than the fact that we were in the middle of some massive June heat wave and that the highs for the day were in the triple digits, we had an amazing time.  I really think that the heat only bothered the adults – the kids didn’t seem to notice it too much.  We jumped and talked and played with our friends, then we had some really delicious cake.  When I picked the cake up, I was initially shocked at how HUGE it was.  I thought I had totally overdone it.  But, there wasn’t much cake left (and there’s almost none left now), so I guess it ended up being just right.

After our party guests left, our family stayed behind while the big kids opened presents and Gary grilled some cheeseburgers.  It was crazy.  There were gifts and wrapping paper everywhere, and the kids were all hopped up on cake and ice cream.  They ran back and forth between playing outside in the bouncy house and playing inside and sometimes outside with their gifts.  Regardless, it was a blast.  Unfortunately the big kids were too excited to nap, but they made up for that on Sunday with a 3.5 hour nap. . . .

I took the photos above before the party, then walked around the party with my camera for about 10 minutes, and finally just gave up and put it away.  I have no idea why I think I can host a party and take photos at the same time, but every year I think I’m going to do it!  Luckily, my friends know otherwise.  A special HUGE thanks to my friend Amanda for taking all these photos of the party!! It is SO NICE not to have to worry about that during the party!!  Without further ado, the party photos. . . .

What a day!!!