So enough with all my blither-blather and product-sharing (if you don’t know what I’m talking about and want to know more about this party, click here)…
let’s get to the PARTY!!
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For starters, my Daddy loaded a bunch of the kids up at the house and brought them down to the party in his electric Gator. They were so excited…
even though my Daddy looked like a scary freak. When he told me he was going to wear this camo facemask to the party, I was like ‘Cool! Gid will love it!”…but then when I saw him I was like “Dude. You have NO idea how scary you look…” Still yet…Gid DID love it, and it didn’t seem to traumatize any of the other children.
Booya. See the girl on the left there? A REAL nurse from the 1940’s come to our party. Or at least that’s what the kids thought…
And so this is the part of the blog where I need to stop for a minute to give HUGE props to Mackenzie, a beautiful, precious, sweet, kind, secretly hilarious (she’s so quiet but has the funniest dry wit in the world) young lady in our church. How many 16-year old’s would give up their Friday night to administer bandages and candy pills to a group of hyped-up little kids, faithfully wearing the nurse’s dress that you pulled out of your dress-up stash in the attic? Thankfully, I know at least one…
(and I thank God for her!)
Speaking of dress-up clothes, Amy made the coolest shirts for her girls (and one for the birthday boy!), using bleach. I wish I could instruct you further, but…that’s all I know. And it’s too late to call her. Amy, if you’re reading this, could you leave a comment at the bottom of this post and tell us how you made these awesome black party shirts?…
Once they arrived at the party site, we let the kids make and decorate paper airplanes. The plan was to then have a contest to see whose could fly the best, but it was wayyyyyy to windy…
this was still good busywork, though, and kept them happily occupied while we finished setting everything up.
My niece, Kate Belle just hanging out and…being Kate Belle. We love us some Kate Belle.
As the kids finished up their airplanes, Amy started working on their camo face paint…
I think this was probably Gid’s favorite part about the party. He is constantly donning costumes and playing different characters and to actually look like a soldier…
well, he probably didn’t realize it until it actually took place, but this must have been like a dream come true for him.
Which is what birthdays are all about, right?
The girls were a little…creative…with their facepaint. Anna is the prettiest soldier-kitten I’ve ever seen…
And please excuse me for a bit while I drown in some Rebekah Sunday cuteness.
My eldest daughter was born to be a nurse – she has been ministering to our family since before her 1st birthday (I’m not exaggerating), and when we decided to do the Red Cross field hospital, it was unanimous that she would help Mackenzie tend to our wounded soldiers. She ate it up! And I ate HER up! Please join me in a moment of appreciative silence as we observe the following series of pictures…
Sigh. I love her.
And time for another shout-out, this time to my amazing Grandmother, Janice. It was so special to have her visiting us during Gideon’s birthday, and it was an honor to have her working in our chow line during his party. By the way, she is an actual nurse – the best in the world – and was actually around during actual WWII. Let me know if you would like her autograph.
It is important to note that between the face painting and chow time, we had our first battle. I decided to share all of those pictures tomorrow in their own post, but you’ll notice that everyone is bandaged up and battle-worn now. And hungry!!!
My soldier-boy. SIX years old. (but I’m still baby-talking to him with my mind right now…goochie goo).
I interrupt the flow of this post to show you my wide-awake, always-happy, precious little nephew, Abel. If you want to pinch those little baby cheeks, you’re going to have to get in line…
And here he is, fast asleep. “Fatigued”. Amy…after you share your shirt tutorial, could you also tell us where you found that onesie? And then tell us the truth…how does it really feel to be a Supermom/aunt/sister-in-law?
Before we wrapped up, Amy took a couple of pictures of our dirty, tired, sticky, battle-weary family…
And here’s one of me and my gal…
As dusk approached, Gideon hauled his presents back up to the house for the last part of his party…
He opened his gifts at the same table I used to open mine at…
and I brought him his old-school-looking soldier cake (my eldest brother assured me this was an essential part of growing up for a little boy)…
just like my Mama has always done for me.
Happy Birthday, little soldier! I’ll always keep the home fires (or at least the birthday candles) burning for you…
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And finally…the 3rd and final installment…”The Battle”…coming up tomorrow!
(Read Part Three here)
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