Party time!

This year as we were preparing to move, time was getting away with us and the commitments and obligations were piling on. We barely managed to squeeze in a birthday party for the girls on the last weekend before the packers arrived. Since it was our last party in Mississippi, we let the girls set the list and they pretty much invited every friend they had. It was crowded, but a good time was had by all (I believe). 

Originally, the plan was to open up the backyard and rent a bounce house, but the weather put a kink in our plans and we had to forego the bouncer (they had strict rules about getting it wet). We even had to move the kids into the garage for dinner, but they didn't seem to mind. Here are most of the kids (minus 3)...

In lieu of the bouncer, we filled our time with games. The girls painted the poster for "pin the head on the butterfly":

We also had a sand-art table set up, although it was actually table salt colored with sidewalk chalk instead of true colored sand. It's a much more economical substitute.

We even had a piñata at the party. I decided to get ambitious and make the piñata... I actually enjoyed the process and will probably make more in the future. The only downside was that the ribbon ended up ripping right through the top twice before we gave up and just let the kids have the candy. I need to work on a reinforced option next time. 

Addie taking her swing... we made the older kids use a blindfold:

However, we let the little ones go without the blindfold. Here's Will's attempt:

Of course, we ended the party with cake and ice cream.... once again in our lovely garage. 

It was a nice day and a great way to say goodbye to our friends in Mississippi. We definitely miss the relationships we made down there, and think of our friends often. The worst part of the military life is saying goodbye!