Happy 9th Birthday, John Owen!

I can't believe my "baby" is turning 9 this week. Since his birthday falls on a weekday this year, we decided to celebrate a few days early, and John Owen wanted a birthday sleepover. So, this past Friday night, we welcomed 4 of John Owen's buddies into our house for a Campout Birthday Celebration. We had the tent, the flashlights, a nature scavenger hunt, firepit, and supplies for s'mores. The only problem was...

Mother Nature had other plans. The rain might have put a damper on the actual camping we had planned, but not the party itself.

Thankfully, I was sheltered from the rain while I grilled the hotdogs. I moved everything to the kitchen table and the boys took off to the playroom to do what boys do best...PLAY! They played swords, held Beyblade competitions(if you have boys, chances are you know what Beyblades are), played with Bakugan balls, Star Wars, Transformers...I think it's safe to say, it was a BOY FEST!

Chocolate covered strawberries requested by the birthday boy!

Stuff for s'mores

A little camping gear

I found a quick and easy recipe for indoor s'mores!
 We will definitely use this recipe again in the future when we are craving this chocolatey-marshmallow treat!

John Owen's s'mores birthday cake with 9 candles!

Time to eat!
Everybody smile!!
(Sweet Mary Claire held her own with "the guys".)

We turned off the lights in the house when the sun went down, lit the candles, and sang "Happy Birthday!"

I talked Jan into lighting the firepit when I saw a small break in the rain. Like a good sport, he agreed.
These funky colored flames were pretty cool to see!
The boys loved the glow in the dark swords, flashlights, and glow sticks, but it was pretty hard to get a decent picture of them with all of their "glow in the dark" gear.

O.K., so I had to include this picture.:)
Mary Claire, in typical little sister form, was trying to blow out his birthday candles.
"Stop right there, little sister!"
I love the hand up and the expression on his face.



We set up a projector screen and put a movie on for the boys. They stayed up extra late and then awoke to a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, fruit, and bacon. I practically had to force them to come and eat breakfast. They were having so much fun playing...

However, they did come a runnin' when I told them we were going to taste-test some freeze dried food. I explained to them that this might be the type of food campers would pack due the fact that no refrigeration is needed for this food.

 They thought it was pretty cool.:)

 And then they devoured the pancakes!

The birthday boy!

Two birthday buddies!

Hunter's birthday was Saturday, so we sang "Happy Birthday" at breakfast and presented him with his birthday gift before he left. So much fun celebrating birthdays with friends!!

Happy 9th Birthday, John Owen!