Ethan's 8!

I only have on Game App on my phone, and that would be Angry Birds. When Angry Birds came out, I remember Ben and I getting addicted to it for a few nights, and then I was done with it. Of course it does serve it's purposes, like keeping Sophia quiet or occupied when I need her to be. I never thought that this game would go so huge, to the point that I would be doing an Angry Bird birthday party in the future! About six months ago Ethan used his own money to buy an Angry Bird stuffed animal. Ben didn't want him to buy it, telling me he would never use it. Well, I let him use his money as he wanted, and he still sleeps with it every night, and brings it on trips. He has become a fanatic of Angry Birds since. Luckily he isn't the only kid who is in love with these funny creatures, so when he told me he wanted an Angry Bird party there was plenty of ideas, and clip art on Pinterest to give him an AWESOME party!

This year we had his party on a half day, which was a week before his actual birthday. We did that for Boston this year, and he had a good turn out! I wanted to make sure Ethan's 8th birthday was awesome, since Boston's 8th birthday was a disaster (not having a kid in football we weren't thinking when we scheduled a Friday night party!). Boston even said to Ethan, I hope your 8th party is better than mine! (so sad) Well Ethan had a bigger turn out than I expected, and had to make a mad dash to find enough party favors, since I had bought them a month early.

I put a lot of time into this party. When the kids were younger I would spend hours making a cake and preparing favors, etc. Now I throw parties together in a few hours. I reverted back to the old ways, wanting to make this one special. I prepared these cute lanterns; thanks to my friend Monique for the idea. Then I made these party favor buckets. Inside was an Angry Bird notepad, stickers, pencil topper, and fruit snacks! I had a lot of activities planned, and the most popular and first activity was an Angry Birds game. My Awesome husband sat outside in the cold (for Arizona anyway ) the night before and filled up 50 water balloons for this game. We divided the kid into two teams, and one team used boxes to make a structure where they nestled green water balloons (representing the pigs), and each kid got a chance to throw one balloon at the boxes trying to break the green balloons. Then they switched. The team that broke the most green balloons won that round. That was by far the most favorite event of the party. After three rounds there were a few extra balloons they had fun with! The next event was the Angry Birds piñata. We haven't done one in awhile, and like I said, I was going all out! The kids had fun with that, once we figure out a place to hang it, after it broke of the hook we screwed into the patio drywall. The swing set worked!

The next event was swimming. Unfortunately I thought I turned on the hot tub, but found out I only turned on the pump when several boys were screaming as they jumped in. They soon got over it, and even migrated to the pool. Boys are CRAZY! Boston's friends get in the pool every year at his party, and his is in NOVEMBER! After swimming, Ethan opened gifts and we sang happy birthday and had cake and ice cream inside. This year I got smart and just bought those ice cream cups, so we didn't' have to scoop it! Wish I would have thought of that one about 11 years ago (Aubrie's first party)! Ethan got so many gifts. Most of them were Legos, and he also got a few awesome Angry Birds things, including a shirt. He was super happy, and so my mission was accomplished! After his party Boston and Ethan spent the next few days building every Lego kit he got.

For his actual birthday I surprised him and pulled him out of school for lunch. Ben met me at the place of his choice, which was In & Out! He was so surprised, and was beaming the whole time! I have really started to see a big change in him. He is becoming more mature and responsible (when he remember to be:). So lucky to have him for a son. He is so creative, smart, and has a tender heart. His eyes still light up when he smiles, and his laugh is so infectious, that Aubrie still comments on how she just loves his laugh. He is a good student, and wants to do what is right. What a great 8 years I have had being his Mother.