Posted in Holidays, Kids

Birthday Recap

Hello! Well, we’ve had a couple of twelve-year-olds in the house for a couple of days now, and not much has changed. When is it that they will start acting like they are 12? #askingforafriend

All kidding aside, they had a wonderful birthday full of fun with friends and lots of cake.

Here’s a recap of how we celebrated Hayden and Hadley turning the big 1-2!

On Friday, after school, I picked up a cookie cake for them from Great American Cookies. Their cookie cakes are the best and never disappoint.

Then, I picked the kids and a few of their friends up from school. We came home for a bit to wait for their other friends to arrive before heading to Sky Zone.

This was such an easy activity for them at this age, and a great way to burn some energy. We bought passes for them to jump for 1 and 1/2 hours which was the perfect amount of time.

While I’m sometimes sad at home quickly time seems to be flying by, I wasn’t sad about the fact that I got to just sit on the Sky Zone couch with Travis while the kids did their thing. I saw a few parents of little ones having to wear the orange Sky Zone socks and jump with their kids, and that’s a “no” for me at this point in my life πŸ˜‰

Also, this age is so funny. These kids all pretty much know each other, but as soon as we arrived, the boys and girls split up. During the last thirty minutes or so, they started to all hang together. #tweenlife

After Sky Zone, we went to Grimaldis for pizza. This group of ten seemed to have so much fun. They talked, laughed, and acted silly. Hayden and Hadley opened their gifts while we waited on the pizza. Then, these kids crushed two huge pizzas!

Then, we sang Happy Birthday to them (actually, the entire restaurant ended up doing so), and they enjoyed the cookie cake.

Grimaldis is in a neat little shopping area, and even though it was 35 degrees outside, the kids wanted to go see the tree.

Of course, the girls couldn’t resist a good photo op…

or two…

before convincing the boys to join in for a group photo…

…or two!

(I really do love this group photo – great kids and a pretty back drop!)

Then, we divided and conquered with Travis taking the boys home while I dropped the girls off at their houses. We were home around 9:00, and it was a great evening filled with fun and friends!

November 20th:

The thing about having older kids whose birthday is on a Saturday is they sleep in which gave me a bit more time for set up. Travis went and got donuts while I put the finishing touches on their presents.

Then, it was time to celebrate them during breakfast.

They opened gifts and then went outside to see their birthday signs.

This sign gets me every time. This also means I’ve been a mom for 12 years, 144 months, and 4,382 days! Time is certainly flying by.

They obliged (barely) for the birthday balloon photo. They look so grown up!

Later in the evening, my brother and his family came over for cake! Cake with the cousins. What could be better?

One more “Happy Birthday to YOU!”

Then, they stayed for a bit to watch the MIZZOU game while Hayden, Travis, and cousin Wyatt went to Hayden’s basketball game. Hadley had a dear friend spend the night, so I took the girls to Target and then out for a quick dinner.

Mama was tired, and was counting the minutes until bedtime!

On Sunday, we met up with my brother-in-law’s family for hibachi. His son’s birthday was that day, so we had fun celebrating the cousins.

The kids had a great 24(+) hours filled with friends, fun and tons of cake! We’re certainly blessed that so many friends and family took the time to celebrate them with calls, texts, and attending their part(ies).

I have one more post this week, so I will see you back here tomorrow!

Posted in Holidays, Kids

Friday Favorites {#91}: The Twins Turn Twelve

Hello and Happy Friday! How was your week? We had a good, but hectic one. The kids had their activities, but they also had quite a few school assignments to complete like a science project proposal and essay. We just had to use our evening time very wisely to meet these deadlines in between activities.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites posts.

Well, this post is all about two of my favorites. Today, I’m celebrating them as they turn TWELVE tomorrow. Where has the time gone?

A little stroll down memory lane…

B A B I E S

Tiny but mighty…

March 2010
Summer 2010

O N E

First time at the beach…

T W O

Ready to rock their roles and flower girl and ring bearer…

T H R E E

One of my favorite photos ever…

F O U R

Very patriotic…

F I V E

Hayden has to live his life in the shadow of Hadley πŸ˜‰

Ahh…toothless smiles. My fave.

S I X

Go CATS!

S E V E N

Sweetness at the beach.

E I G H T

Big kids! One of my most favorite Christmas gifts. This sweet photo.

N I N E

Snow bunnies.

T E N

Easter cuteness.

E L E V E N

Big kids ready to be baptized.

And tomorrow they turn…

T W E L V E !

Hayden…

I’m not sure if it’s the five inches you’ve grown this year or the fact that you now wear contacts, but you’ve grown into quite the young man this year.

I cherish the “love you” text messages.

You are a quiet kid with a kind heart. You’re loyal to the bone whether it’s cheering for UK or being a great friend.

Your determination, competitive spirit, and quiet leadership are qualities that I admire in you.

I pray that you know we’ll always be here for you, and that dad and I are your biggest fans.

This next year I know you’ll continue to grow, challenge yourself, and mature. Maybe you’ll figure out where to put those dirty clothes πŸ˜‰

I hope you have the best year yet. Can’t wait to celebrate you!

xo xo,

Mom

Hadley…

You are blossoming into a young lady right before our very eyes. Your silly sense of humor and caring heart are such inspiring qualities.

You’ve made the transition to middle school seamlessly. It doesn’t surprise me that you’ve made friends while holding on to your elementary friendships as well.

It’s a joy to watch you dance, and your grace is inspiring.

You care for others and have an innate ability to know just the moment that I need a hug.

I pray that you know we’ll always be here for you, and that dad and I are your biggest fans.

This next year, I know you’ll continue to make friends, follow your heart, and have a positive attitude with everything that you do. Maybe you’ll figure out how to cut your morning routine time in half? Hayden would really appreciate it πŸ˜‰

I hope you have the best year yet. Can’t wait to celebrate you!

xo xo,

Mom

In honor of Friday Favorites, here are…

12 of your favorites:

Hayden:

  • Favorite color: blue or purple
  • Favorite food: bacon burger
  • Favorite place to eat: Drakes
  • Favorite sport/hobby: basketball and cross country
  • Favorite TV show: Goldbergs
  • Favorite animal: dog (Homer)
  • Favorite drink: Dr. Pepper
  • Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving
  • Favorite sports team: Chiefs, Royals, Kentucky, Oregon, Dodgers
  • Favorite movie: The Outsiders or Happy Gilmore
  • Favorite class: PE and art
  • Favorite book: The Hatchet

Hadley:

  • Favorite color: light blue
  • Favorite food: pork loin and mashed potatoes
  • Favorite place to eat: Raising Canes
  • Favorite sport/hobby: track and dance
  • Favorite TV show: Fuller House
  • Favorite animal: monkey
  • Favorite drink: Dr. Pepper
  • Favorite holiday: Christmas
  • Favorite sports team: Chiefs and UK
  • Favorite movie: Home Alone
  • Favorite class: math
  • Favorite song: Love Story by Taylor Swift

I thought about asking them their favorite thing about each other, but I’m sure I’d be pressing my luck!

Favorite Mom Meme (quote):

Sigh. Babies don’t keep.

Previous Birthday Posts:

Weekly Recap:

I’ve had a few posts this week:

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you have a great weekend. We’ll be celebrating with a bunch of tweens! Wish us luck!