Never too late to celebrate!

After hearing the story of my son's 8 1/4 birthday party cakes, my dear friend, Anne, insisted that I start a blog to share these stories with others! So, here goes!

How does one go about getting a birthday party for eight and one quarter years? Er, uh neglectful parenting?! Poor kiddo! We had Dollar's party planned for the end of July... his actual date of birth. Well, one thing led to another and next thing we knew, the end of October arrived!

The day before his party, we went to the military recruiting offices. They were so generous! We got bumper stickers, folders, two life size cutouts of army soldiers, miniature footballs and pencils from the navy, tattoos and highlighters from the air force.

Six of his buddies came over Friday afternoon for boot camp and military style fun. Upon arrival to our Base HQ, we issued their camo gear. They got all tattooed, donned their uniforms (courtesy of Granny's & Papa's trips to military base thrift shops during last year's seasonal adventure in their motor home), stopped for a photo op in front of the flag of the USA and the cardboard army folks, before heading out to raise Old Glory on our flagpole. The boys, er, soldiers said the Pledge of Allegiance while the birthday boy hoisted her up.

The obstacle course was set up with a dozen old tires borrowed from the local tire shop along with several bales of hay from the barn for our front yard boot camp. The boys went wild! They divided themselves into two teams and encouraged their teammates along the way.

After several rounds of PT (physical training)we headed to the 'Mess Hall' (aka our garage) for some grub! What a beautiful sight to see these young men pause to give our Father thanks for the food they were about to receive from His bounty. This energized them enough for the tug-o-war competition.

They were now ready for the cake! I made two tanks. There was one that was in quite rough shape as it had battled the USA. It had a 'white flag' sticking out the top! Dollar loved this special treat!

A soldier must know how to rescue a wounded comrade. Each team took an entire roll of toilet paper and wrapped it around the smallest guy. After he looked like a mummy, they had to carry him across the finish line. If he wasn't wounded before, he sure would've been after! What a laugh we had at these antics.

I had just as much fun as the boys! God is so generous with His blessings and I am so grateful that He chose me to be the mother to my precious kiddos. I love making a fuss (no matter what age!) celebrating their birth since I am so glad they were born!