The Big Bash

Unbeknownst to my blog, Mitchell's 9th birthday happened last week!!! We had two different VERY FUN family parties then, and I - being the awesome mom that I am - did not bring my camera to either of them. But because of all the craziness with school starting, we waited until THIS weekend to have his "friend" party. The theme he chose was a "Movie Night" but we actually did a bunch of things!

First everyone arrived and went straight to the backyard. Pizza, soda, and the inflatable slide provided a good hour of screaming and splashing. As you can see, 9 big boys were almost a little too much for this thing!!! I'm SO glad I also bought 2 packages of those splash bombs to throw in there as well. (Those are the baseball-size balls that hold water like a sponge and you get the same effect as a water balloon.) I think JUST sliding would have grown old really quickly. So throwing bombs at each other was a big riot. Plus no balloons to fill up, and no little pieces to pick up later.

Of course there was NO shortage of rough-housing!

Next we came inside and turned on some Wii sports games. (I was just trying to kill enough time so that our movie would end RIGHT when the parents were arriving for pick up.) They were so good about passing the controllers around every minute so that no one was left out for very long.

I just love this picture! (below) Look at every single face - huge smiles of laughter!

You can tell they were having a good time, and that makes me happy.

Here's a cute one of the banished brothers, snuggled on my bed watching their own movie. Jason kept them happy back there, fed them dinner, and put them to bed, popping back in to the party on occasion to help me. Thanks honey!

Next we opened presents and cut the cake. Oh, the cake! I baked this myself, and then ran it down to my sister's work earlier in the day. She decorated it for me (isn't she fabulous??)

I just had to include a close-up of the little camera and popcorn box. You can see the little "popcorns" sprinkled all over the cake.

So perfect!!! Thanks Angie!

A funny picture. As we sang to Mitchell, everyone decided to give him bunny ears.

And then the trick candles kept re-lighting.... over and over. These four boys kept blowing faster and faster, gasping for breath, but couldn't get them out! At one point I think poor Mitchell got some serious smoke in his lungs!

And last of all, everyone snuggled up on the couch to watch the feature presentation late into the night - Inkheart! It got a little intense for them in parts, but in the end they loved it! I don't have any pictures of this because we were trying to quiet down, turned the lights out, etc. They behaved very well, continued to snack on junk food all night, and enjoyed themselves thoroughly! Parents arrived within 10 minutes of the movie ending, and we were done! WHEW!!!

9 reasons why I love my Mitchell-Man

1. You love little kids and are so kind to them. You will make a great babysitter someday.
2. You are so compassionate. When you see someone else hurting, you sincerely try to help.
3. You are very good about obeying and getting your responsibilities done.
4. You have a strong spirit and humble testimony.
5. You have so many talents, especially writing awesome stories!
6. You are honest and open with your parents - I hope you continue that forever!
7. You have always been a good sleeper and a good eater - for which I am forever grateful.
8. You are close to your grandparents and cousins. These relationships you will treasure.
9. You are SO HANDSOME!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BIG BOY!

I'm glad you had a fun night :)