2.3.17

Friday, February 3rd was a fun filled day not only for Hudson, but for our entire family.  Mimi was here to celebrate with us, which made the day extra special.  I love birthdays because they provide the perfect opportunity to celebrate God's goodness and faithfulness.  We had a full schedule planned for the day and everything worked out well.  Here is how we spent Hudson's 6th birthday...

After waking up to a room full of red, yellow, green and blue balloons all over his bedroom floor, Hudson and Daddy went to Dunkin' Donuts to get donuts for breakfast.  This is Hudson's 3rd year in a row picking donuts for his birthday breakfast, so I think we can call it a tradition.   

The valentine donut was his choice.  

After breakfast Roy and I read the birthday letters we wrote him and then he opened a few gifts.  He was excited to get his own basketball, one just his size.  

Greta was thrilled to celebrate with her favorite buddy!  I know I'm biased, but this little lady is as cute as they come.  

I was so grateful to have my mom visiting for a few days.  She played with the kids, helped with party preparations and clean up, all of which helped make his birthday extra special.  

When breakfast and gift opening was complete Daddy headed to work and Hudson got to work on building some of his new LEGO sets.  

More LEGO building for our LEGO master...

For lunch Hudson picked to go to "the helpful Chick-fil-a."  He calls it that because I always say how wonderful their customer service and accommodations are.  They make it so easy and enjoyable for a mom to go out for lunch with her kids.  First Hudson took a picture with Mimi.  

He continued by making his way around the table, taking a picture with each one of us.  

Best buddies for life!  

We have been learning and growing together since 2011.  I am so thankful to be his Mommy.     

Then we headed to the Science Center of Iowa for an IMAX on National Parks.  It was an excellent show and we were eager to catch a few glimpses of The Grand Canyon, which we will be visiting in just a few weeks.  Greta was a bit hesitant to the huge screen and the loud sounds, but when it was over she said she wanted to go again.  After the IMAX we headed home for rest/quiet time.  

The fun continued with swimming for the whole family at the YMCA in the early evening.  

I made a few of Hudson's favorite things for his birthday dinner...messy sandwiches (gumbo burgers), fruit salad, Cheetos, and raw veggies with dip.  

Hudson had one more gift to open after dinner.  

He was nothing but smiles about the new Fireboat LEGO set we gave him.  

As if we hadn't had enough treats already, I made Hudson a birthday cake.  :)  I have never before made Hudson a birthday cake.  In fact, I always try to avoid the project, because it felt too stressful with all of the other birthday hoopla in the mix.  But, this year it sounded like a fun.  I bought a 6" round cake pan and it made three layers of moist chocolate cake.  I made a homemade buttercream frosting and slathered that all over and in between the layers.  Adding sprinkles to the top and some super tall and colorful candles made for an extra fun and festive touch.  Displayed on a cake stand with LEGOs scattered around completed the cake for my handsome and happy birthday boy.  

Happy 6th Birthday, Hudson John!  We love you forever!  

LEGO Party :: Take Home Treats

I almost forgot to mention the take home treat bags.  If I were to choose one thing that I was most excited about from the party it was these take home treat bags.  This is the first time I have done a whole treat bag of goodies for the guests to take home.  In the past I have just given one small item for the children to take home.  But it sounded like a fun addition so we went for it.  It was so simple to make the red bags look like LEGOs (using my circle dicutters and raised dot adhesives again and again).  The name cards were printed with LEGO font and tied with my forever favorite polka dot ribbon, which comes in every single color at Hobby Lobby (so it fits with every party theme).   

The treat bag included SIX of Hudson's "favorite things."  We worked together to come up with some unique things that we thought his friends would also enjoy.  

Inside there was a note, briefly telling about each of the six things.  

And while I'm sharing about take home treats I tossed these pictures in too.  These were the take home treats for the family party, which was on Saturday.  I found these awesome "brick" treat bags also at Wal-Mart and used the same font and ribbon to attach the thank you note.  

We do a lot of "snack mixes" at our house, using any random food things we can find in the cupboard and mixing them together in a bowl.  This mix was created by Evie's mom, Emily, for her LEGO party and we just copied it, because we thought it was so yummy.  Ingredients include...Protein Cheerios, pretzel sticks, Goldfish crackers, Craisins, M&M's and "brick" hard candies.  

LEGO Party :: Dinner & Dessert

For dinner we kept it simple.  We ordered Pizza Ranch pizza (cheese and sweet and swine), and offered grapes and carrot sticks.  Hudson chose the menu, all of which were his favorites.      

We also had apple juice boxes, which I made to look like LEGOs.  

Enjoying the party food!  

For dessert I made LEGO brownies.  I made the brownies from scratch (a favorite recipe that I should share with you sometime) and just bought the frosting.  :)  To make them look like LEGO bricks I  used M&M candies.  Thank you Pinterest for all your fabulous ideas.  I made 2 dozen LEGO brownies the day before for Hudson to bring to HSAP (Homeschool Assistance Program) so making 8 more for the party went quick.  

Hudson insisted we have ice cream along with the brownies...and why not, they do taste that much better?!  The LEGO guy treat toppers created a fun and silly touch to their dessert.  And all of the "brick" tablecloths, plates and napkins came from Wal-Mart.  They were cheap and a lucky find.  

Savoring the sweetness of the green LEGO brownie.  

Obviously there was no keeping a secret from their parents that we gave them frosting.  Green and blue lips all around.  

After a fun filled evening celebrating with friends I tucked my five year old son into bed one last time with the anticipation of his special day, his birthday, ahead of him.  And the day was certainly awesome, as you will see...

LEGO Party :: Opening Gifts

After all the fun and games it was time for the most anticipated activity of the evening (for the birthday boy at least)...opening gifts.  We took a group photo before ripping open the presents.  This group of friends is a combination of kids Hudson met when he was just a few days old, to new ones he met at HSAP and church just this year.  We are grateful for the opportunity to invite others into our home, as birthdays allow us to reach out to others and encourage relationship.   

The one thing this six year old really wanted for his birthday was more LEGOs, but he was excited about the other fun things too.  The friendships are the best, the party is where birthday memories are made and the birthday gifts are just a bonus.  

LEGO Party :: Kids Activities

We hosted Hudson's friend party at our home on Thursday afternoon, February 2nd, from 4:30-6:30pm.  A February birthday with a group of active boys calls for some creativity, but I believe it all proved to be a success. Here is how we kept them busy...

Soon after they arrived they got busy with making their own LEGO guy.  They could draw, color and glue all kinds of embellishments/decorations on their LEGO man, or woman.  

Then we split them up into 3 different groups, for 3 different stations.  They spent about 8-10 minutes at each station.  The first station was...Unfreeze the Frozen LEGO Guy.  They each got 2/3 LEGO guys that were frozen in an ice cube.  Using medicine droppers and hot water with salt they worked to free their guys.  It was fun to see the different strategies they each came up with.  

Hudson loves arts and crafts so he wanted to do some LEGO painting.  Yes buddy, we can paint.  :)    

So LEGO print painting it was...

The last station was free choice LEGO building in the basement.  

BINGO games are my "go to game."  I can make them work for about any theme.  I have made BINGO games for all sorts of holidays and themes...Pumpkin Patch BINGO (Greta's 1st birthday), Christmas and Easter BINGO (for QuestKids at church), Fall BINGO (for Kindergarten Coop), Baby and Bride BINGO (for baby/bridal showers).  I threw this game together last minute and I was glad I had it, as the time went quickly.  

Hudson was excited about making his BINGO board.  And have I mentioned his shirt?  My mom bought it for him on Etsy.  Its become her tradition to buy our kids a birthday shirt, that connects with their birthday theme.    

The kids used LEGO pieces to cover their BINGO squares....of course!  

Next up...time to open gifts!