Birthday Recap

Hello! How was the start to your week? Of course, we had school and then last night was busy with the kids having basketball and volleyball.

We have one more day and then it’s our Thanksgiving break.

Before too much time passes, I’m recapping the kids birthday celebration(s).

I joke that I don’t mess around when it comes to birthdays. I’ve always loved my birthday. Then, of course, I had two kids on one day, so why not celebrate as big as possible?

Party Time:

The past few years, we’ve been able to work out a time on a Friday to let the kids have some fun with their friends.

The only “free” evening or weekend day we had was Friday, November 11th, so we went ahead and scheduled the kids’ party with their friends for that day.

I picked the kids (and some of their friends) up from school and headed to our house. The other friends met us there, and then Travis and I took the kids to Activate Games. Honestly, I don’t know much about it, but both kids had previously been there and thought it would be a fun way to spend their birthday. There are a variety of high-tech games that test your team with real-life challenges.

We had 5:30 reservations for 1 hour and 15 minutes of fun. We signed them in, and then Travis and I just hung out in the lobby. We actually both took turns shopping nearby while the other person hung out in case the kids needed anything. Honestly, we hardly saw the kids the entire time they were there…which I guess is a sign of a good time!

After the hour and fifteen minutes, they were hot, sweaty, and hungry!

We loaded up and headed to one of our favorite restaurants where we had reserved a room for pizza and cake. We got the kids settled, and Travis and I actually ate out in the main dining area. What is this life? haha

The kids ate, hung out, chatted, and opened gifts. After dinner, we had the traditional cookie cake!

The plan was to drop everyone off after dinner, but they were all very convincing that they wanted to play outside for a bit. So, boys vs. girls volleyball in our driveway burned a bit more energy. Everyone was home by 9:00, and it was a great party for a bunch of almost 13 year olds!

Big Birthday!

The Twins are Teens!

Wow! Times have changed. I was so tired on Saturday night that I went to bed waaaayy before anyone else. I was up around 7:00 which gave me time to put out the presents and few decorations instead of the night before like I did when they were little. Travis ran and picked up some donuts while the kids slept in.

Finally, around 9:30, they woke up. We sang them “happy birthday,” they ate their donuts and opened up the gifts from us. For their birthday, I try to stick with something they “want, wear, need, and read,” and that keeps things pretty simple.

I had them open the Homer socks last, and they loved them.

Since I knew Sunday would be so hectic, we took the traditional balloon photo on Saturday. *Sigh* this may be the last year…Hayden will oblige, but he doesn’t like the fanfare. Hadley’s like, “I’ll hold both balloons!” haha

I will say for having a weekend birthday, we’ve never been so busy on their actual birthday. Hayden’s rec league end of season tournament was this weekend. ALL of his games were on Sunday. Of course, if they had lost, they would have been finished, but they kept on winning. He played three games, and his team lost in the championship game.

Hadley’s studio does a Winter Showcase, and it’s usually in December. About a month ago, they had to move the venue, and the showcase was rescheduled for Sunday. She was in three routines, and it was such a fun performance to watch.

In between the dance showcase and the championship game, they let me take a few pics with the yard signs. The sign display seems to grow each year!

After the championship game, we headed straight to dinner. We had reservations at Carson’s which is one of our favorite restaurants. Of course, Hadley got the salmon, and Hayden ordered a bacon cheeseburger.

After dinner, we stopped by my brother’s house, so his family could wish them happy birthday and eat some cake!

We headed home around 7:30, so the kids could work on their science fair proposals and get ready for the (short) week ahead.

Overall, I think the kids had a really great day. Of course, it would have been nice to have some downtime, but, then again, they spent the day doing the things they love while receiving lots of calls and texts from friends and family. Of course, the day ended with some cake. What’s not to love?