A.J and Julia's Birthday party

What is this!  I just wanted to post this picture first to get your attention.  This is what happens when your kids grow up in Texas!  Not really. These teeth were actually in the kids gift bags that they received at the end of the party.  Pretty scary, eh?

First, I have to explain that my girlfriend, Jenna Dickson, threw this party for my kids.  I had promised to let A.J. and Julia have a real party this year but when I came down with 6th nerve palsy, I felt it would be too hard.  Especially since I can't drive to purchase the things you need for a party.  Since Jenna loves to throw kid parties, she hosted it and well, did it all!  Thank you Jenna!  

Ok, so this is her house.  A.J. and Julia had already decided that they wanted to have a "prank" party.  So Jenna came up with this.  As the guests arrived, they had to figure out how to find the party.  All the signs said things like, "stay off the grass" or "wet cement".  If they ignored the signs and went to the front door, they were met with a sign that read "Wet paint".  In small print it said something like "go to side gate".  

At the gate was another sign that read "party is cancelled.  We are confiscating gifts in the back yard."  We were all waiting very quietly to see who would do the right thing, which was come through the side gate.  It was really fun watching some going back and forth from the gate to the front door, trying to figure out how to get in.  I'm not sure what was more fun, watching the  kids and their parents try to figure it out or watching Jenna run around giggling because she was so tickled that she tricked everyone!

A.J. and Julia greeted everyone as they came in the backyard, wearing large, silly, plastic face- wear.  I'm not quite sure what else to call it.  The whole theme was pranks so this was just part of the silliness.  Unbeknownst to their friends, A.J. and Julia had stickers that they were sticking on their backs that read "Call me Bob" or " Flap your arms when I talk".  So as they were all hanging out waiting for all the guests to arrive, they were having lots of fun tricking each other by following these directions.  It was all in fun and part of the day so no one got offended.  Thank goodness!

We are missing one Lodi child in this photo but I thought it was too cute to pass up.  Of course, A.J. and Julia didn't have to wear this stuff the whole time.

"You can't say I'm not listening to you!"

Harmony Rohlin, Julia's friend from church.  Her Mom drove almost an hour to bring Harmony and her brother Arthur, to the party.  I really like this picture!

It was a beautiful, sunny day with highs in the 60's.  Who would have thought that January 17th would be warm enough to have an outdoor birthday party.  This is one of the joys of living in Texas

Since it was kind of a backwards party, Jenna had the children open gifts first.  

Julia has so many sweet friends and she loves them all.  She is the most affectionate person in our family and loves a reason to give hugs! Better than the gifts were all the hugs she got to give and receive!

It was fun to see the difference in gifts between the boys and girls.  Girls give dolls and boys give rubber band guns and pocket knives.  

A.J. always wears a smile!

Everyone the kids invited were a brother and sister team.  This is Shawna and Brendon.  It just seemed to work out that way.  

Another great picture!

Next was the cake but this was no ordinary cake!

That's right, you are seeing correctly.  It's a cat litter cake made with a cake mix, Oreos, and Tootsie rolls (melted a little)!  Isn't it awful!  It tasted delicious if you could get past the thought of what you could be eating!

So fun to watch the children discover what it was supposed to resemble.  "Oh! Gross!  That's disgusting!" echoed throughout.

Can he take a bite?

Oh! He did it!

That Tootsie Roll was a little hard to swallow.

Here's the girls team.  The next activity was a game of backwards charades.  The team had to act while one person guessed.  Who do you think won?

Having fun together.

Deep in thought.  Not impressed.

What do you think this is?  You guessed it! Car wash!  Let me tell you, these kids were creative!

Can you see what Kimberly's tag says on her back?  Planting a tree.  Harmony is the tree.

Arthur had a hard time getting this one.  I think it was eating spaghetti?  

Think, think, think.

Everyone had to get involved and they did.  They all should have won an award for great participation!  The girls won but only by one point!

I absolutely love this picture of Alia! 

 

What is this about?

Well, let me tell you.

The next game was really a boyish game.  The girls were not nearly as amused.  It's called pin the booger on the nose!

First, instead of a blindfold you had to wear these funky glasses.  This is Jenna explaining how to play.

Everyone was given a piece of green gum to chew for a bit.  Then you had to stick it to your nose and be spun around.

And, whala!  There you have it!  Didn't I say this party was unique.

A.J. better close his mouth or he might get someone else's gum in there by accident!

So ladylike.

These glasses made everyone look hilarious!

Putting gum on your nose was, uh, interesting.

Joe here, really needs a kleenex!

Ok, next we broke out the karaoke! The kids were instructed to share a silly song, magic trick, or funny joke.

Seth did a good job showing us his magic trick.

I was impressed with how most of the kids got up in front of everyone to perform something.  Some of the jokes were a little lacking but that's what made it cute.

Of course, the Hartman duo was a hit as they sang a really goofy song that they made up.

Brendon almost couldn't get through it because he was laughing at his own silliness!

Hanging out after the party.  Micah had just woken up from a long nap.  He wasn't sure what to think.

He was so mellow that he sported these glasses without a fuss.

I think I need Jenna Dickson to host and plan all my parties in the future!  This will be a party the kids will remember forever!  Jenna, have you ever thought of starting a party business?  Bet you could make a small fortune if you didn't die of exhaustion first!  Matt, thanks for all the pictures.  They are priceless!

Thanks a million,

Kristin