HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARTER!
GO DUCKS!!!
Carter chose to have an Oregon Duck themed football party this year and I actually found it to be really simple and a lot of fun to put together. He wanted to play football with his friends, so we didn't do much at the house...lunch and a lot of treats and then flag football at his school. Unfortunately the weather was not great (at one point it was raining and blowing so hard that it looked like it was raining side ways!), so the boys had to play their game under cover. Some of the boys were really into playing but a lot weren't. While it's easy to look at these pictures and think that the party was perfectly successful, I'd like to be very honest and say that it was anything but! Having 11 little boys in our house was just too many...it was chaos at it's best. And I'm not proud to say that I didn't handle it very well. I am one who likes order and control and there was very little of that!!! Thankfully I have wonderful friends who stepped in and helped corral the chaos and keep things moving along. While they were eating, the boys were great, but otherwise there was a lot of loudness and running crazy. This will definitely be the last party that we do at home ~ little boys need to be able to run and be active in an appropriate setting. With all that being said, Carter really did have a great time and he was happy with his party and that is what matters most.
We were able to borrow a few things from friends to help decorate and I love how it all came together.
Kyle made the goal post out of PVC pipe and then covered it with yellow duct tape. It looked awesome!
Our normal cake lady wasn't available to do a cake this year, so I made two types of cupcakes and Kathy helped me frost them, so they looked great!
Carter's most favorite article of clothing is his D'Anthony Thomas jersey, and he was beyond thrilled to be able to wear it to his party. I found green water bottles at the dollar store and with a little ribbon they made cute party favors.
We decorated the table in the entry way and passed out Gatorade to the boys for their football game.
The table turned out great! My amazing husband did such a fantastic job with it. He found green, outdoor carpet that looked like turf to cover the long table, and he used different colors of duct tape to make it look like a football field. It was exactly as I hoped it would be. Carter really loved it, too. This year more than any other, he was excited and grateful for the decorations.
We brought our desk down from upstairs and used it for the food table. We just grilled up hot dogs, served bags of chips and some fruit and called it good. I really did try to keep things simple this year.
Found these cute football lollipops at Oriental Trading Company
Chocolate football cupcakes and snickerdoodle with cinnamon buttercream ~ I was really happy with the way the cake stands turned out too.
Lauren was invited so that Kennedy would have someone to play with, too. They were so sweet and just played quietly on their own. Such a huge difference between boys and girls!
Kathy and Shannon graciously helped me decorate the sugar cookies that I passed out for favors. We made green and yellow Duck helmets, polka dot "C"s and then chocolate footballs. I feel so fortunate to have sweet friends who are willing to share their talents. In just a couple of hours, we had three dozen cookies ready for the party ~ amazing!
Carter playing quarterback
(thanks Zack for taking pictures!)
Kyle, bless his heart, was at the school with the boys (along with a couple of other dads), while I was getting everything ready back at the house.
He is such a great dad!!!
Lunch time
And a few pictures of Carter's friends
Carter and Andrew
These two boys are really so fun to watch together. They have a lot of similar interests and remain the best of friends.
Andrew Z. ~ such a cutie!
Samuel and Ben
And here's the whole gang
Carter's only other request besides the football game was a pinata. Again, the weather was not optimal for being outside, but it wasn't raining, and the boys didn't seem to mind too much.
Taking a good whack at it!
I think everyone got the chance to hit it at least once this year
Present time
No matter how many times I asked the boys to move back a little, they just moved in closer and closer as Carter was opening up his gifts. Carter handled it fairly well and got through it quickly. He got lots of nice things and loved playing with all of his new toys once the party was over.
Lastly, we served cupcakes and ice cream
I love this picture of Carter as it really does show the joy and happiness of the afternoon. He loves being with his friends and enjoyed his party. This type of smile makes all the craziness worth it!
I'd do anything to see that smile light up his face and know that joy is authentic!
Happy birthday, Carter-Man!
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