Benjamin Hits 5!

To start off the year we celebrated Benjamin's 5th birthday. He was so excited! It was hard for me because for a while I've tossed around the idea of having birthday parties with friends every other year instead of every year. Itried to throw that out this year, but I was simply outvoted. So, the Monday prior to his birthday I quickly made up some StarWars invitations for some of his friends from church and drovearound with Ben to deliver them. That was the first hurdle. Then there is the games, party favors, decorations and of course the cake. Thank goodness for Woody's help with the decorations! With the Star Warstheme that Ben picked out he asked for a Clone Trooper for his cake. I think my boys are making this harder every year!I managed to pull it off however and even used marshmallow fondant, which I've only done once or twice. It looked great and everyone was happy.

The party was fun for all. I think we had a total of 7 four and five year old boys running around the house which was a little crazy, but they had a great time. I made some foam light sabers and played games with asteroids (foil balls) and even had glow in the dark straws for the green punch. This was Benjamin's first birthday party with friends over and he had such a great time. We were so happy that he could enjoy a fun day with his friends, especially since it was such short notice. He got some great toys and other fun things to enjoy. Grandma and Grandpa Pariera also came over to enjoy dinner and more cake with the family. We were also able to set up Skype with my brother Thad and his family so they sang to Benjamin which was great. We are so happy to have Benjamin in our home. He is our little love bug. He loves to sit in your lap, give hugs and kisses and just be around you. We love him so much and he's growing up so fast! It's hard to believe it's time for Kindergarten this fall.