One Year Closer to Teenhood

Jake’s 12^th birthday was right on the heels of Faith’s big 8^th birthday and being that it was a hectic time with trips back and forth to CA to see my dad, etc… I was less than ready to plan it. So, because he was raring to go, I gave him a time period (10-1 on Saturday) and a venue (our house) and set him to it on Evite. Did I feel a little guilty making him plan his own party? Yes. Did I feel so badly about it that I took it over? No.

So that’s how we came to have 18 kids at our house from 10-1 on Saturday March 10^th.  I have to give him credit- it was a really fun party. The mixed gender group arrived and spent the first 15 minutes in segregated groups with Faith in heaven hanging out with the gaggle of sixth grade girls. But within a few minutes they were intermixed  and spent over an hour playing in the backyard on the trampoline, playing basketball on our mini court, and some flag football on the grass. My only job was to provide snacks and water and not embarrass Jake in front of the girls (considering I wore my overalls for the event the latter did not happen).  

Brian and I provided the pizza and ice cream. Jake planned to have the kids play a game called “Bigger or Better” in which three teams of kids each start with a paper clip (or in this case, a broken crayon) and then have an hour to go through the neighborhood knocking on doors trying to exchange the crayon for something “bigger or better”. The teams meet back at the starting place after one hour and the judges (Tanner and Faith) decide which  team wins. Jake decided the winning team would get to pick pizza and make ice cream sundaes first.  After the game concluded the kids all ate and then it started to rain so they all decided to go on the hill behind our house and play Kick the Can. So they did. No one wanted to leave when parents arrived at 1.

 

It was the easiest and best party we’ve  ever done for any of the kids.  I love this age.

On his real birthday (Tuesday following the party) we did a quick after school family party with Cayden and Mom. Jake opened presents from all of us and Brian took him out to dinner at his choice of restaurant- Buffalo Wild Wings- where he had spicy wings and they sang happy birthday to him. I think his favorite part was wearing the “Wing Man” hat and being with Dad alone.  For a present from us the only thing he wanted was a night away with Mom. Last year he asked for a night away with Dad and they spent a night in Boise downtown. This year it’s my turn and as far as I’m concerned he can have that same present every year for as long as he wants it.  I’m a lucky mom.

Faith Turns 8

When we made the trip to CA for Jake’s 8^th birthday and he spent the weekend with The Warriors, Uncle Eric, and Auntie Sue, we didn’t quite look ahead and realize that meant that we’d probably need to do something extra, extra special for the other kids’ 8^th birthdays, too. But last year Tanner got his Big Day and this year Faith asked about 6 months prior to turning 8 what she could do for her special day. After much considering and investigating we decided to take her to the Bay Area, too, and see Auntie Sue and Grandma Mary but instead of basketball, the focus would be on two of her favorite things: shopping and animals.

Things were a little crazy the week prior to Faith’s birthday. Mary was in the hospital for almost a week (she’s home and fine now) and I ended up flying to Monterey to spend some time with my Dad for most of the week due to him feeling poorly. Also, it turned out this weekend was the biggest, busiest time for North Boise Little League (of which Brian is on the board) and he had to be gone all day Sat and Sun. Also turned out that Jake’s basketball team had a tournament in Nampa with games on Friday and Saturday and possibly Sunday. To say it was a group effort to get all things taken care of and all kids to the right place is an understatement. Neighbors and friends really came to our rescue to help make this trip a reality.

So, we adjusted our plans somewhat and Faith and I ended up leaving Boise on Saturday morning and arrived in Oakland airport in time to pick up our rental car and drive to Sacramento to meet Auntie Sue and Mary. They had the house ready to go for the “party” and Lisa and Kylie met us there to take us to the mall for a girls’ day of shopping. Faith had money from Auntie Sue, a Visa giftcard from Brian and I, and a Barnes and Noble gift card from Nana burning a hole in her pocket.  Between Justice for clothes, B and N for books and book paraphernalia, and a toy store for Beanie Boos, she spent most of her money, leaving just a little bit for a souvenier at our next destination: Safari West.

After shopping we returned home to hold a fashion show where Faith and Kylie modeled their new clothes and the new hair stuff (color chalk and fake braids for Faith), play party games , eat dinner, blow out the candles on the birthday cake, and watch a movie before bed.  As always, Mary and Sue made every moment special- even after the chaotic and tiring week they had beforehand.

The next day we woke up early and after spending a few more hours with Auntie Sue and a recuperating Grandma Mary, Faith and I got on the road to Safari West.  Safari West is an animal preserve in Santa Rosa with a “glamping” experience there so you can sleep amongst the animal sounds. We took a 3 hour safari tour in a jeep and learned all about the gazelle, giraffes, cheetah, monkeys, rhino, and other animals onsite. Faith loved every minute of it and I loved watching her face light up with excitement. We got very close to many of the animals since the jeep tour went inside most of the many-acre enclosures. We loved our “tent” (if you can call it a tent- it had laminate flooring, running water, and two huge beds) and, after venturing into town for pasta,  we were snuggled up reading our books by 9:00 that night and snoring by 930. 

The next morning we awoke to the sounds of the birds and bundled up (no heat in the tent!) to head down to the Elephant Room for breakfast where we dined on all things chocolate:  hot cocoa, chocolate muffins, and chocolate croissants. We spent another few hours looking at all the animals- especially the monkeys which were Faith’s favorite. There were baby monkeys in most of the cages and she fell in love with one named Jasmine who had just learned to chase her tail and put on quite a show for us.

We spent Monday driving along the wine road through Calistoga, St. Helena, and Napa- stopping to take pictures with Flat Stanley- and after lunch we headed to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield for a tour and some “belly flops” before heading to the airport. I had one tired girl on my hands at that point but neither of us was ready for our special two-day adventure to end.  It would be hard to describe just how wonderful this time with my little girl was. We ate too many sweets, slept too little, and I spoiled her too much. But it was such an amazing time. In fact, I’m going to convince Brian that we need to do these special “alone trips” with each kid every five years. That would mean next year for Jake. 8, 13, and 18 would be perfect ages.  And if I have 13 and 18 year olds that want to hang out with me I will be one blessed Mom.