We Like to Party!

Has it really been a year since the last birthday party?  How does that happen?  Time is going so fast, and I'm pretty sure it's sped up since Adley was born.  Nevertheless, it was time to plan a party!  I knew we would celebrate at the woods again since that's Parker's favorite place on earth.  Since it is an outdoor setting, that means nature is the decorations, which means all I really have to plan is the cake and menu.  I think I had the cake idea in my head since last year's birthday party.  I showed Ryan a picture of something similar on Pinterest and we went to work.  Well...we tried to go to work.  We had no idea where to start.  We gathered a few dozen pans and did several calculations until we finally figured out the best approach.

We decided on four marble cakes, stacked with chocolate frosting in the middle.

After freezing them for a bit, Ryan carved out the number 3 and we sealed it with frosting so we could finally go to bed!  (7 hours later).  The next afternoon, we frosted the outside, put on the toys, and the cornfield cake was complete!  Ryan and I had a great time creating it together, and it turned out better than we even imagined. 

The rest of the menu was going to be Ryan's Firehouse Chili  and cornbread (yes, he is amazing), Chicken and Rice soup made by my mom, veggies, and Nana's applesauce.

The party started off with a splash.  

The kids loved throwing rocks into the creek, and they all stayed surprisingly dry!

Everyone took turns on the Ranger, 4-wheeler, and swings.

I  loved seeing everyone visit, play and enjoy the beautiful Fall evening.

Time to eat!

That's a big party!  Ryan and I both mentioned to each other several times how blessed we feel to have so many people that love us and have come alongside us to raise our kids.  

Thank you everyone for  "doing life" with us!  

We sang Happy Birthday and Parker blew out the candles!  

The cake was super yummy.  "Are those for me?"

We love you more than you know Parker man!  You are such a sweet, funny, smart, imaginative, unique and cute little boy!  It is a joy to raise you and we can't wait to see what God has in store for your life.  Just don't grow up too fast! =)