Carlie's 8 1/2 yr Birthday Party

We decided last winter that the 3 older kids could have friend-birthday-parties in the summer and NOT at their actual birthdays in December/January! Although Marc and I endured plenty of whining 6 months ago, it was worth it. What a great plan! School's out, the weather is nice, and it's been a while since a major holiday for the kids!

For Carlie's party, we invited 10 of her friends to our home. When we were planning the activities, she requested "do our hair, do our nails, and run in the sprinklers." Are you kidding me??? Those activities do NOT quite go together! So we compromised. The first hour of the party was indoors with the girls rotating between stations: singing karoke, getting their fingernails painted, playing carnival games on the Wii, and decorating their own cupcakes. Then they went outside for a water balloon toss, a silly relay race, and a squirt-gun fight. I think they had a good time - getting plenty wet (more from the light rain than from the activities!).

Shown below are all the girls. Bottom row: Abby, Lauren, Hannah. Middle row: Nicole, Caitlyn, Carlie, Kaylee, Eliza, Elena. Back: Payton, Emily.

Here are the girls lined up for the water-balloon toss. Carlie is in the center in pink. (Psssst... FYI, Mom, this picture also shows the lush trees in the distance, since you've only seen our house/neighborhood in the winter!)