Brayden's 4th Birthday Party.

We have had some of the best spring weather this weekend, which is a much needed answer to prayer. In between the cold weather of last week, and the rainy weather that this next week is bringing, we began birthday celebrations for our resident (almost) four year old... bad weather would have been a damper for sure.

Going into this party, Brayden was VERY specific about what he wanted. First off, he wanted a party. He had specific requests on who was invited, of which included Toby (our dog). HILARIOUS. He also requested multiple themes. We went through Jonah and the Whale, Pirates, Spiderman and Toy Story (specifically, Toy Story 5-- who knew that there were 2 sequels none of us knew about?!). I was SO confused on what to do, that I finally just brought Brayden to Walmart to pick out cupcakes. I figured I was not going down in the books as choosing the wrong themed cake. After about 30 minutes of looking through the ENTIRE cake book at the Walmart bakery, Brayden was emphatic on the cupcakes he wanted... Star Wars. And not just any Star Wars. The ones that had light sabres on them. He is in a sword phase right now, so it only made sense, although it was pretty funny considering he had no clue what Star Wars was before he had seen the cake.

Brayden's other requests were pizza (we have gotten sandwiches for the past year for parties, which work out well, but apparently don't appease the picky palette of a four year old) and swords. At first we kind of balked at the thought of offering 30 preschoolers/kindergarteners with swords. The end result seemed like it would end in unnecessary drama and "tragedy". But the more B talked about it, the more I knew that we should do it. Afterall, B was not being that demanding, and I had found some cheap swords on ebay. You're only four once. Might as well get a party that makes your heart happy :)

blowing up the 36 snake swords with daddy before the party. He was SO happy about his snake swords!

cupcake cake and cupcakes ala Walmart Bakery.

Brayden went with Drew and his Granddad to pick up the cupcakes, and Drew said that when B saw the cupcakes for the first time that he had a smile from ear to ear. It's the little things in life, right?

Thanking all of our friends for coming to the party. So thankful to have such great friends who not only love us, but love our kids.

sword fights for all!

Happy Birthday Brayden!



Connor ate atleast 3 cupcakes-- that I know of. He also drank about 10 little kool aid drinks. The boy was WIRED last night. Thank you sugar high!

Sweet Avery

opening presents, aka complete and utter chaos. Everyone wanted Brayden to open their gift first. I love seeing how joyful these kids get when they give.


super Brayden about to join in the fun with his friends

a few of the kids had already left before we were able to corral most of them for a group picture. They have all grown up so fast.

B and his friends, Cilla and Laci

this is by far one of my favorite pictures of the party, even though it's not of the birthday boy. Connor had dressed up as Batman (a regular occurrence) and his little friend Ella wielded dual swords, chasing him around the yard. Isn't this picture a classic???

my sweet niece, Zoe, and my sister, Megan, are in for a visit this week. Zoe wasn't quite sure how to handle all of the commotion.
I have to say that the party was a smashing success. Brayden got all he requested (the cake from Walmart ended up not being the one that we had ordered, but thankfully Brayden didn't seem to notice there were no light sabres, and was content with a spaceship), most of his friends were able to come and the sword fights were epic, with no injuries to report.

When asked what his favorite part of his party was, Brayden said "it was fighting swords. Because I love fighting swords."

I'm so thankful for blessing us with this little Superhero. What a blessing he has been to his friends and family over the past four years.We love you Brayden!