What??? How is it possible that these boys turned 11? That seems quite impossible, yet somehow it happened. We spent their entire birthday celebrating them. The festivities included breakfast from McDonald's, swimming as a family, going to see Rogue One (the newest Star Wars movie) with mom, and dinner as a family at Buffalo Wild Wings.
A few months ago we made a deal with the boys that we would pay for them to have a big birthday where we would rent out the indoor sports complex and invite all their friends, but only if we didn't buy them any birthday presents. They did have a few gifts to open from grandparents, but instead of gifts from us, they got to open heartfelt letters that Bart and I wrote each of them. I'm not sure they thought the letters were better than gifts, but they did agree that having a big party was a good deal.
Instead of cake, they requested brownies with the most delicious peanut butter frosting.
I'm dying to know what his wish was, because it looks like he was taking the whole thing very seriously!
I sure love celebrating these two great boys of mine. It's heard to believe that they are already 11, but I'm so happy that we've already had 11 years together.
Here are some pictures of their birthday part at the sports complex. They played everything from dodge ball to flag football, capture the flag, soccer and probably some other games that I don't remember. They had about 15 friends there, and everyone had a great time.
We ordered some pizza, had some Gatorade, and the boys all seemed content. This was the first birthday party I've thrown for them outside our home. I usually love planning and hosting birthday parties. I love coming up with themes, and then making invitations, decorations, party favors, games, and food that all match the theme. I love that. But last year we had twelve 10 year old boys in my brand new house and it about drove me insane. It take a bit for me to let go of the idea of matching everything to a theme, and I even let Ky and Kade create and deliver the invitations themselves.
I even purchased the birthday cake from Costco, which is the first time I've ever ordered a cake from a store before. (It was yummy, by the way). I have to say that although this birthday party was totally different than how I usually throw them, it was way less stressful and the boys had just as much, if not more, fun. I guess there really is more than one way to do something ;).
One thing that I thought was strange was I just discovered that (at least around here), it's not normal to open the gifts at the party. When I was growing up, we always watch the birthday child open all the presents, but that's not how things are done anymore. As weird as I thought that was, it was kinda nice to watch Ky and Kade open all their presents from their friends with just our family. Plus, there was no pressure for them to act like they loved each present exactly as much as all the other presents. And the other kids didn't have to feel bad if their present wasn't as big or expensive as ones the other kids brought. Plus, I know those boys enjoyed the extra 20 minutes of playing sports instead of watching Ky and Kade open gifts. Anyway, probably not a big deal, but again, I'm learning that there can be more than one way to do something!
Happy Birthday Ky and Kade! We sure love you two, and we're glad you are a part of our family!
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