Aaron's birthday

[I wrote this post a week ago, then went to a busy conference with poor internet access and forgot to actually post it. sorry!]

What a fun birthday party! Dale and I are fans of keeping it simple, and our wonderful house makes it so easy to host. The guests were Aaron’s classmates Adam, Bodhi, and Spencer, and younger friend Lucy; older siblings who joined the fun were Ian, Marley, and Ravenna. Nine adult guests, including Grandma, brought the total to 20 including us. The weather was great so we spent the whole time in the backyard. How cool is that?

Dale picked up a bunch of pool noodles and I personalized them.

These were put to use in various creative ways, including whomping, cheerfully demonstrated here by Ian and Marley.

There was also your basic general mayhem.

The birthday boy was very into his new-to-you jeep (we plucked it from someone’s discard pile a few days ago) and also shared nicely.

Lucy learned this trick from Aaron:

Meanwhile, the adults lounged comfortably on the deck. Eventually there was lunch for everyone.

And finally cupcakes! My visiting colleague Renee Michelle had just taught me to pipe frosting and I had a lot of fun with that. We devised a tiered cupcake platter out of a chip-and-dip and a plate – cute, no? And then another plate because we all need more cupcakes. It was tricky lighting the candles in the breeze, but on the bright side, it made it very easy for Aaron to blow them out.

Thanks everyone for celebrating with us. We love living here, we love our house, we love our family, and we love the community we are increasingly embedded in. Happy birthday Aaron!