Happy Tuesday, Everyone! We are right in the middle of birthday season around here, and it has been a busy and wonderful time! Yesterday, we officially added another teenager to the family, and I'll post about that soon. First though, I'd like to share with you about the *Birthday Party* we had for the kids this past Saturday. It was a lively and LOUD time, but I'm so glad we were able to do it!
We abandoned the idea of big birthday parties several years ago because it just got to be A LOT. Part of that is because I was allowing it to be bigger than necessary, but it was also because we have four kiddos who all have birthdays within 15 days of each other. At the party the other night, one mom (who doesn't know our family well) commented about how brave I was to throw a party for four kids at once. I told her that it's either throw three separate parties or one big party, and I decided one big party would be easier than three separate ones!
Anyway, we haven't thrown a big birthday party in eight years, so why this year? The simple answer is that I wanted to do something special this year because it was Brenson's 13th. However, when I started thinking of kids we could invite, so many of them are mutual friends of both Bren and Bri. I didn't like the idea of inviting some of Bri's friends and not others, so I thought maybe we could just do a teen party. But then, I completely lost my head and decided we should do a big party for all the kids!
I talked to Chris and the kids individually about my idea, and they were all on board with it. We basically planned the whole thing in about 10 days because last Saturday was the date that worked with our schedule. I also called Tia and asked her to help me chaperone. Overall, though, my goal was to keep things simple and fun for everyone!
We quickly got a guest list together, and I sent out this invite to parents:
The week before the party was packed with something every day and each evening. We were thrilled that Lisa and Chloe came into town and were able to attend the youth devo with us the Friday before. The day of the party, Brenson had a basketball game that the girls and I didn't attend. We stayed home to get the house ready for our guests and met up with Mom, Lisa, and Chloe for lunch.
Just before 5:00pm, our guests began to arrive, and our house quickly filled up and got LOUD. I knew the weather wouldn't likely be conducive to being outdoors (and it wasn't), so we had set up tables in the living room for the teens. Most of the younger kids ate in the dining room, and many of the adults just had to stand. We served pizza, veggies, lemonade, and water . . . I tried really hard to keep things simple, and it worked out great!
Blake, Zach, Harvey, Oliver, Jaxen, Brianna, Easton, Gavon, Allen, Brenson, and Jordan
Deon, Julia, Koda, Caroline, Brecklyn, Sadie, and Brooke
Several adults joined us, including Grampy, G-Jo, Lisa, Ross, Tia, Jen, and Jenny. Like I've already mentioned a few times, it didn't take long for the house to be just roaring with noise. I think this wore Grampy out a bit as he asked me to go ahead and cut the cake so he a G-Jo could leave 😂.
Before we cut the cake, though, we had to sing!
The kids were not thrilled to have all their friends singing to them, haha.
We got the cake from Costco, and it was delicious!
After eating cake, it was time for some games! I had told the kids that I wanted the youngers upstairs playing (with Tia supervising). They started with a game of Catchphrase.
Sadie, Julia, Brooke, Jordan, Deon, Blake, Caroline, Brecklyn, and Koda
Meanwhile, downstairs I had told the teens that I wanted a group pic before starting games. It wasn't an easy task, but we got it done!
Reese, Allen, Brenson, Gavon, Jaxen, Oliver, Chloe, Zach, Easton, Harvey, Bri, and Adelyn
The teens started with a good old fashioned game of Spoons! I had them take down the tables and sit in a circle on the floor because I wasn't trying to have broken tables, chairs, or otherwise in my house!
Once the games got started, the volume in the house somehow got even louder, and Grampy and G-Jo decided it was a good time to make their exit. We are grateful they were able to come!
G-Jo and Brecklyn
Other games the upstairs crew played included Mastermind, Scrabble, and Headbandz. At one point, we had a group upstairs, a group in the twins' bedrooms, and a group playing in my bedroom. The younger kids were definitely here, there, and everywhere.
Jordan, Blake, Deon, Koda, Julia, Caroline, Sadie, Brooke, and Brecklyn
So silly!
Meanwhile, as teens were eliminated from the Spoons game, they migrated into the dining room to join the Apples to Apples game going on in there. The teens were much more focused on their games than the younger kids, and they had a blast! So much laughing and chaos!
You may notice in the photos that the teen girls were outnumbered by the teen boys. We had invited several other girls, but they couldn't make it for one reason or another. We were thankful for each person that came!
Brianna, Chloe, and Adelyn
Bri and Chloe
Right about 8:00pm, parents started arriving to pick up their kiddos. Even though we asked for no gifts, several brought cards or small gifts for the kids which we opened once everyone (other than Lisa and Chloe) left. While the party was certainly crazy, several of the teens helped pick up trash and clean up the kitchen before they left. And then Bri and Chloe started cleaning once the other guests had gone! Of course, I stopped them, but I thought it was so nice of the guests to help with the mess. They were all polite and a pleasure to have in our home!
Lisa and Chloe stayed for a good bit after everyone else left so we could visit. Brianna and Brenson brought us this stack of cards from Apples to Apples that they (along with their friends) had deemed inappropriate for one reason or another. Lisa and I laughed so hard looking through these cards!
It was such a fun night, even if it was crazy and a little deafening. We were very pleased with the turnout and just grateful to be able to host friends.
Now, I don't have to do this for another eight years, right?!?
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