Ryan's Big Day

It sure is quiet in this house this morning.  Hmmmm.  Seems as though the "kids" might have had a bit too much fun last night.  Well, we still have a birthday to do today, so Mister and I are up and organizing.  Once I get things set up in the kitchen, Trent and the boys show up and I put them to work instantly on the volcano for the cake.  Mister pitches in as well and soon we have one mighty fine looking piece of art.

I get to work decorating the cake with what I hope is Amanda's vision.  When she wakes, she promptly gets Raef started building the decoration that will finish the whole thing beautifully.

Mister takes over while I go work on gifts by placing the trees and shrubs onto the cake.  He adds a puff of smoke to the volcano, Raef delivers the special topper, and soon Ryan is allowed to see the final product.  Whew.

I covered a piece of cardboard with blue paper hoping to make the whole thing look like and island.  I am not sure it worked, but at least it was a valiant effort with many hands involved. Yep, the green is supposed to be sliding over the cliffs.  Too funny.

By the time I have the gifts finished, we are ready to set up the table and hopefully get a picture before everything else needs to replace it.  There is a literal frenzy going on in the kitchen trying to get the food finished before the doorbell starts ringing.

Within moments, it does indeed start to ring and soon there are children running everywhere.  Goodness.  I think I count 10 at one point, the majority little boys but a couple of girls in there as well.  The tramp is filled in no time and the games begin.  Amanda has planned well and there are races,

nerf gun fights which took quite a bit of time in discussion before beginning,

and finally time for cake and ice cream.  Yes, I know I could use some sugar to keep going.

I am not sure whose face I love more here:  Ryan's or Raef's.

Decisions, decisions:  Do you want cake, ice cream, or both?  What type of ice cream?  Some times it was tough to find out the answer.

Now for presents!  Woohoo -- isn't that always the best part for kids?

Mom scores big time with a new Chima Lego set.

We have a hodgepodge bag as a gift.  It takes Ryan a few minutes to get through the card, the shark, the Chima Legos ( I can follow Mom's good example can't I?), and the gift from Grandpa - a small microscope to have fun with and learn at little at the same time.  I think Raef loves it as well.

As the party winds down and people start to leave, we all take a short breather.  Ryan still has another party to go to and Caleb is down for a nap so the house quiets down.  Raef and I play and play on the tramp until I have to stop out of exhaustion.  I love each moment of it, but finally send him off to finish his "Gammy World" on Minecraft.

Once Ryan returns, we open some of the new Lego sets and get to work.  Grandpa and I sit with the boys for quite awhile helping them to work through the directions easily.  Mister gets such a kick out of Ryans tongue and the work it is also doing that he sits in wait for just the perfect picture.

At some point in the day, Mister has snapped a great picture of Amanda and Rhiana.  Super Sisters!  It is so fun to watch the two of them together and the way they connect.

We end the day with a trip down the interstate to Taste of Fort Collins.  It has been a busy day and after a short time wandering the tents and grabbing something to eat, we are on our way back home to sleep.  I am absolutely ready.