St. Patrick's Birthday Party!

Week 48.5

Kohlden  19 lbs 6 oz

Madelyn  18 lbs 10 oz

Well, well, well.  We are so close to hitting the 20 lb mark and 1 year of age!  That means...drumroll please...we'll soon be using forward facing car seats for the babies!  Crazy we're here at this stage already.

After last week's birthday bonanza for Braelyn, we celebrated with the rest of the Irish by wearing green for St. Patrick's day on March 17.  Braelyn's class was going to have a "green" party, with green food and drinks, and we thought it would be fun to have the twins dress up in green as well.  The photos say it all.

Her tiara says "Irish Princess".  Let's see how many people think she's Irish.  Maybe part Irish.  But mostly Filipino.

Sabbath was a GORGEOUS day and we had a picnic lunch at Chapin Station Park in Ocoee with the Z's, Deininger's, and Cochrans.  Different kinds of sandwiches aplenty, we enjoyed fellowship and catching up, watching the children play, and just soaked in the weather, under the shade, of course!  Can you believe 85 degrees in March already?  That's Florida for you!

Sunday was the big birthday bash for Braelyn in our home.  About 45 parents and kids had RSVP'd so we knew we were going to have a big group!  Sabbath evening Lolo and Lala arrived to help take care of the twins, along with my young cousin Lyka to help play with Braelyn, whilst Tangie and I ran about getting things ready for the following day.

Tangie had made it an Arts & Crafts Extravaganza, and I had planned some sack and 3 legged races, along with a balloon tent and random yard games.  Unfortunately the worst part of the day was just before the party I had discovered that our huge inflatable ball that the kids so enjoy crawling into and rolling around in the grass had blown out of our yard by the wind and ended up into the hands of some rowdy neighborhood boys, who ended up destroying it by poking holes into the compartments with sticks.  Yes, boys will be boys, but seriously?  You would think they would at least just play with it rather than destroy something that wasn't theirs, right?  And so the question has to be asked:  Where are the parents?   It looks like a fence for the backyard is just around the corner.

Anyway, the party started and everyone had a great time.  The weather was fantastic with lots of sun and the breeze/wind made it tolerable.  The kids enjoyed the crafts although we only had time to do 3 of them, so Tangie gave them 2 to take home as party favors.  Everyone demolished the 11 pizzas ordered along with chicken nuggets and fruit.  Braelyn had her Little Mermaid cupcake birthday cake, which is so much easier to distribute, and ice cream cones for dessert.  The highlight of the party was the dads participating in a 3-legged race, to the delight of their children, and humor to their wives.

Tables all set up with butcher paper to prevent messes.

Our very creative friend Jennifer Bergherm designed the birthday sign using paint color swatches from Home Depot.  Amazing!

She really enjoyed making her crafts with her friends around her.

Tangie was busy running around making sure everyone had the right supplies.

Brae shows neighbor Sarah Vandervort her Beta fish "Chloe", who is actually male.

The cupcake cake.

Singing to the birthday girl.

How many kids can you get on the hammock? One, two, three...*crash!*  A three!

The Mommy Club:  the ladies enjoy catching up and soaking the sun's rays.

Opening up her birthday gifts didn't help her get ready for bed, although she was very exhausted.

Black tongue disease?  No, just colored ice pop to end the day!

Thanks to the grandparents for taking care of the children while we hosted the party!  We couldn't have done it without you!  They definately had their fill by the time they left for home Sunday evening.  We gave them this weekend off!

Thanks to all who came in support for Braelyn on her birthday.  A special thanks to our friends the Grodacks, first to arrive and last to leave, as they helped tear down the decorations and put the tents away.  Duncan, we are totally going camping when the kids are a little older!

We will celebrate the twins' 1 year birthday in a few weeks.  Until then, have a great weekend!