As we were discussing plans for their upcoming birthday, Cody and Jaden asked me, "Do we have to have a themed party? Can we just plan whatever fun activities we want?" Part of me was a little saddened by their question, as it seemed like the end of an era. I've always loved choosing a theme centered around my boys' interests and planning fitting party activities. The more I thought about their plan, however, the more I could see the benefits. Planning their own party would teach the boys a lot, ensure that they would love every portion of it, and in the long run, save Mommy quite a bit of time! I was sold!
The boys requested a store-bought cookie cake with LOTS of frosting.
Cody and Jaden spent quite a bit of time planning and adjusting their party agenda, especially when we saw a big thunderstorm in the forecast. They had to make adjustments with the order of their events the morning of their party. Thankfully, they planned a mixture of indoor and outdoor events, so the activities all worked out! While their friends trickled in as the party began, the kids played the game Not Parent Approved. This is always good for some laughs.
Then, we headed outside to play a game of kickball and get everyone nice and sweaty. It actually started drizzling a bit during this game, but there was no thunder, so we played on. None of the kids seemed to mind!
When everyone was sufficiently hot and worn out, we had an all-out Water War! Thankfully, the short rainburst had moved on. The kids had a free-for-all battle with water balloons and water guns.
We quickly discovered that some of these kids (Jaden and Cody perhaps being the worst culprits) can chuck a water balloon at dangerous speeds. Because the kids weren't really following the "no head shots" rule very well, Jason declared himself the moving target for all water balloons. The kids loved ganging up on Jason!
We ended the Water Wars with a large water cooler dump!
Everyone was happy and thoroughly soaked!
While the kids played, we had hard-working grandparents setting up the food on the sidelines. What wonderfully supportive grandparents! Grammy helped with set-up, too, in addition to being the primary photographer. She took most of these great photos!
We figured since everyone was still fairly wet, eating outside was the best option. It sure made clean-up easy! Since it was the middle of the afternoon, we didn't serve a full meal-- just cookie cake, plus a few snacks.
Back inside, everyone changed into dry clothes, and then I led the kids in a game of Careers. Jaden and Cody LOVE this game, and I was surprised at how much their friends enjoyed it too. It's a fairly long game, and we played two full rounds.
For our last set of activities, we divided the kids into 2 groups. One set played MarioKart...
while the other four played laser tag. The laser tag kids enjoyed hiding in bedrooms, behind furniture, and running up and down the stairs to battle each other.
It was an active, enjoyable party, and the kids all seemed to have a blast. Cody and Jaden had a perfect blend of ideas to make the party successful. It sure helps that they have a great group of cousins and friends too. What a wonderful way to celebrate being 9!
The following evening, we had the large family group over for dinner to celebrate a little more. We didn't have any planned activities for this gathering-- just family hangout time, dinner, and birthday desserts.
Cody's request was for scotcheroos, and Jaden asked for mint ice cream cake.
Happy, happy birthday to some pretty great nine year olds. We thank God for your lives, Cody and Jaden!
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