Luke's 4th Birthday - And His First Friend Party

October was an extremely busy month!  I volunteered a lot of my time to the Elementary School Fall Festival this year, so life was crazy until that was over on the 21st.  I added to life's chaos by deciding to throw Luke a birthday party just three days after the festival.  But we pulled it off.  And how do you successfully throw a party for a 4 year old and 7 of his closest friends?   With help from my friends, of course.  My dear friends Kristen and Jen stayed for the party to lend a hand, and I must say, I couldn't have done it without them.  Jen took these amazing pictures, and Kristen helped the kids with all the activities and the clean up.  The party was a big success and Luke was in HEAVEN!!!  

Here's a photo of the kids (minus the girls, who were a little late.)

The first activity was to make a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern with craft foam stickers.  They were so creative!

I love how Luke wanted to wear his mask for this activity.

It didn't last long.

Next we played "Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin".

Everyone struggled to find the right spot, except Dylan who "miraculously" found the exact spot.  Hmmmm

 The kids decorated pumpkin sugar cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chips.

Then they played a bean bag toss game.  Drew made this ghost the night before and the kids loved it.

We played "Halloween Memory Match" Game.  I just found halloween clipart pictures and made them into cards.  I was amazed at how much they loved this game.

It's amazing how many activities we can squeeze into an hour and a half, but with 4 year olds... you need to be ready to change activities every 5 minutes.  So for our next game we played "Mummy Wrap".  I purchased crepe paper rolls in white and the kids took turns racing to see who could wrap their mummy the fastest.  Then they traded places for round two.  It was so funny!

 I love this picture of Carlee and Amberlie.  These are two of Luke's favorite girls in the whole world and he was so glad they wanted to come to his party.

 After all that work, he couldn't stand the heat of the costume anymore!

 Finally it was time for cake.  But instead of just singing and blowing out the candles, the kids got to help decorate Luke's birthday cake.  It was a spooky halloween graveyard cake.  Some of the kids crushed the oreos, while others spread on the chocolate pudding.

 Then they each got to add a headstone.

 Very creepy.

 Time for presents!  He got some of the most wonderful gifts and plays with them constantly.  I'm so glad we threw him a party, even though it was a crazy month.  Luke is a wonderful little boy and I'm grateful everyday that we have him.

UNLV vs. SUU Football Game

SUU played UNLV last Saturday so we took the whole family to the game.  We had amazing seats (3rd row) and it was such a fun time.  The kids even got to enjoy a party before the game started.  

Cooling Off

The weather is FINALLY cooling off, so the kids are excited to play outside once again.  Luke and Ella decided to go in the backyard after dinner and I sat out there with my camera, taking a time out from my household chores, to enjoy this simple moment with them.  Here are a few of the photos I snapped.   These are the moments I love the most.  They make Motherhood feel amazing!

 Poor Ella didn't get her hair done today.  Not so glamorous, but still super cute.

 I asked Ella to show me her belly button.  She knows exactly where it is.  I'm so proud!

 This is Luke's "funny face".

 Giving me an air kiss.  Love it!

Cole's 7th Birthday

On the second day of school, Cole celebrated his 7th birthday.  So that night, while he was sleeping, Mia and I decorated his room so that he would wake up to a party.  She made special streamers for the doorway, that turned out really cool.  Anyway, the next morning he requested Crepes for breakfast, (just like Mia did), so that's what I made him.  Then I sent him off to school with a bunch of goodie bags to give the kids in his class.

Mia helped me make the birthday cake.  She actually took candy melts and melted them in a ziplock bag.  Then squeezed the words "Happy Birthday Cole" on Waxed paper and let it chill in the fridge over night.  On his birthday I made the cake, then transferred Mia's decorations over to the cake.  He thought it was pretty special that Mia made it for him.

At 4:00pm, Drew picked up Cole's buddies Jake and Michael and took them mini golfing and to dinner at Cici's Pizza Buffet.  Then Drew brought them back to the house for cake and ice cream and to open presents.  What was so great, is that the boys really loved this party.  They kept calling it a "guys night out" and I really think they had a wonderful time.

 Cole got some amazing gifts.  Harry Potter Lego set, and a Harry Potter Lego sticker/activity book.  He also got a remote control car, and a spy watch.  It was a really fun day.