It's that crazy time of year when we have birthdays back to back. Right after school started, Uncle Paul turned 30 yrs. old! We had a nice family party for him over at Aunt Kymra's. He was being silly so all the pics taken were cheesy.
Rachelle turned 6 on August 23rd. She had never had a birthday party with friends, so I felt obligated to throw her a party. We just invited kids in her Primary class & family. With just that, we had over 20+ extra people. The party day was Saturday, August 27th. I was busy all day with last minute details, cleaning house, etc. We had a BBQ dinner, made melty bead crafts, had a pinata, cake & ice cream. Our theme was Minnie Mouse. I had fun making the pinata and cake into Minnie Mouse, but they were a little tricky. Over all, we had a successful party--it went overtime a little, but none of the parents complained. FUN!
Here's the family party on her very busy actual birthday, August 23rd. Notice that we had to open presents at bedtime. I love Kristen's approval on the FREE cake from Bashas'.
The BIG party on Saturday, August 27th. Having fun with melty bead crafts, Pictionary game, and the pinata. I LOVE how even Uncle Brian & Uncle Paul got involved with the melty beads! Thanks to Uncle Robert for working the pinata. SO MUCH FUN!
I had no time to waste after Rachelle's party. We were on to the next birthday party planning. Melissa & I were behind this HUGE surprise 40th birthday party for Kymra. With all the planning and talk around our home, Kade was worried that we weren't doing anything for his 11th birthday (he shares his birthday with Kymra). I reassured him that we would do something for him, too, but that the focus this year would be on Kymra since we usually don't do much for her other than give her a card & hugs & take the usual "Kymra & Kade birthday photo." It was very hard to keep this party secret, but we did it! Oh, and it was so hard to find out what friends to invite to her party since she's got SOOO many friends! With the help of her friends, Anita and Sandra we managed to pull it off. Oh, then there was the E-vites (thanks, Melissa for doing that!) and mailing out invitations. We were busy! This party planning was a full time job! It was so worth it, 'though. Kymra was so surprised and SHOCKED! I even snuck Mom back from Duncan after our camping trip to Mt. Graham to help with party details and last minute house cleaning. We all just wanted Kymra to know that we all loved and appreciated her, not to dwell on getting older. I think it was a HUGE success!
Here are pics from Kade's little party before the BIG SURPRISE party over at Aunt Kymra's house. We just made a simple cake (which we ate the day after), Kade got some kind of "Gross" book from Aunt Melissa, 2 Lego sets, a Lego game, some money from Grandpa & Grandma Donaldson & a nice Sunday shirt from Grandp & Grandma Larson. It was a simple party that lasted only 1/2 hour before heading over to Kymra's for the BIG one!
Here are pics from the BIG 40th SURPRISE birthday party for Kymra. Melissa made these cute invitations and the awesome ice cream cakes. I made the banner, decorated, & thought of all the little details. Mom helped out so much, too, in getting Kymra's house clean & ready. It all came together just GREAT!
Needless to say, after all these birthdays I was tired and worn out. It took me a good week to recover. Then for the rest of September I was a little down & stressed out with the pregnancy, our family's financial situation, and the frustration over finding a good new bed to sleep on! I swear that I must be the "Princess & the Pea" because nothing is comfortable right now. Could it be the pregnancy in general???
