PARTY ALL WEEK LONG!

Wow, what a whirlwind this week has been! We have taken the meaning of party to a whole new level! Nothing like celebrating birthdays for a whole week straight! Jordans birthday was last Tuesday....the morning started with a cute little surprise for her. One of her good friends managed to get a picture of her when she was younger. (I wonder how :) He made a bunch of copies of it and hung them all over the church and and in her seminary room, so when everyone came to seminary they would know it was her birthday! Jordan loved it!!! She had a great day at school and that night, she had a softball game, so the whole family was there to support her. We even made a great big "Happy Birthday" sign to hold up in the stands. After her game we were able to celebrate at Chili's with Grandma, grandpa, Uncle Skip, Kristi, and Davey.Davey and Kristi gave Jordan a gift card to the movie theater! She loved it! (since she usually has to pay for her own movies!) We kind of did a 2 in 1 and sang to both Jordan and Cody....they were happy because they got yummy birthday shakes! :) When we got home, Jordan went up to her room to find that some of her friends had come over and decorated her room. It was so cute...streamers and heart notes everywhere! Jordan loved it.....her friends had put cut out hearts all over her bed. The next morning when I went in her room, she still had them all in the same place. She must have slept so carefully not to mess them up! Jordan had a great birthday. A big thank you to all those who made her day so special! As a mom, I am so grateful for the good friends Jordan has. Jordan is a very social person and it is nice to know that the people she is hanging out with have the same values as she does. They build her up and are such good examples!!! Thank you FRIENDS...you know who you are!!!

Cody was our next birthday of the week. Thursday the 18th was his special day! I can hardly believe that my baby is already 7 years old! That doesn't seem possible! It seems like yesterday he was just a brand new baby! I can't imagine our family without him. He is the comedian and life of the party at our house. From the day he was born he has been different from our other kiddos....a little bit crazier, louder, daring, and willing to push those buttons.....but we wouldn't have him any other way! I realized this year that Cody has never really had a birthday party....it is always a quick, invite a couple friends and we will grab dinner and invite them over to play. Unfortunately, this year wasn't much different. (I have promised him that next year he will get a nice BIG party!) BUT....We were a little bit better this year! He invited a couple of friends over and we took them to The Zone, where they have muliple bounce houses! The kids had a great time burning off energy before coming back to the house. I told Cody I would make dinner for he and his friends. He could have anything he wanted.....what did he choose....PANCAKES! Wahooo...easy for me :)So we had mickey mouse pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream...yum!!! Then we sang happy birthday and had his favorite...ice cream cake!Cody was in heaven...friends, cake, and for presents...LEGOS!! He was so excited to get Legos.. he actually has them all already put together and has his own little "village." My little Cody is growing up! I love the fun different stages each child goes through, but it is sad when your babies aren't babies anymore!

The party continued Friday night! The kids had their school winter dance! The boys get most excited about the cookies, sodas, and running around with their friends more than the dance. Cody hooked up with a couple of his buddies! Matthew and Garrett are his best little buds! Every year at the dance the fifth graders get to do something special. Paige is the big 5th grader this year which meant time for some square dancing! She stayed in from recess and went early before school to practice, and she did awesome! She looked like a natural! Paige and her partner we so cute! They took their dancing very seriously. I loved watching Paige twirl around the dance floor! Paige loved having her independance and took off right away to be with her friends. I'm not sure we saw her the whole night. Does this mean she is getting older???
I had to leave the School Dance early to make it over to Jordans birthday party. She had a combined party with a friend of hers. Believe it or not, they were born on the same day, 30 minutes apart, and just cities apart from each other. CRAZY!!! Jordan and Kayden had a great time sharing their birthday.....once they are older parties are great! You don't really have to plan much....they just love hanging out and they pretty much come up with their own stuff to do. My friend and I did plan a few fun games to play with the kids. We decided to do birthday banana splits....so we put their candles in the ice cream and sang happy birthday!! I know I say it all the time...but what a blessing to have such strong youth in the area. I am so grateful Jordan has such good friends. All these kids are great! What a blessing!!

So our party week comes to an end......(thank goodness!) I think a major diet is in my future from a week of sweets and yummy treats!!! But well worth it! :)