Summer - Visiting Grandma & Grandpa (birthday party)

Grandma planned a very fun birthday party for Megan and Amelia with all kinds of fun games to play, including an obstacle course.  First the kids had to crawl under the picnic table benches, then push a train car along a curving track, then jump in hula hoops, then walk on a balance beam, then climb a ladder to reach their pinwheel prize.  For some reason, I don't have many photos of the kids doing the obstacle course, but I do have photos of the adults!

Here is Noah very patiently waiting for his turn on the obstacle course while making monster faces:

Then Grandpa got out the wheelbarrow and gave everyone wheelbarrow rides.  That was a big hit with everyone except for Megan.

 

 

 

Then Mom filled up the metal washtub with water and had the kids fish out prizes using tongs.  There were necklaces and plastic animals and little fairies.  This was a huge hit!  They ended up putting all the prizes back in and then fishing them out a few more times before the day was over.  They were all pretty good at using tongs, too, even Megan!

Next up was a water balloon toss, which was hilarious!  The goal was to try to toss a water balloon as many times as possible without breaking it.  Amelia took the game very seriously, and she and I got over 20 tosses, although we were standing fairly close to each other.  I think Natalie tried for a while and got maybe 7, and Megan attempted it, too, although she's not very good at either throwing or catching yet.

But Noah, oh funny Noah!  He pretty much just threw the water balloons at Grace.  Good thing Grace is a good sport!

Then we had a sack race and a strange hula hoop race:

 

 Grandpa created clues for a treasure hunt, which all the kids loved.  Amelia read all the clues out loud, then the kids went charging through the house to find the next clue.  At one clue, both Grandma and Grandpa had put Andes mints on Amelia's pillow.  What a treat! 

Amelia and Megan both wanted cat cakes, but we managed to convince Megan that hers could be a three layer chocolate cake with cats on the top.  Mom found cat shaped animal crackers at Trader Joe's and Megan used them to help decorate the cake.

 

And we had a pinwheel cake for Mom and a cherry pie for Grace.  They were kind enough to let the kids help blow out their candles.

 

Dad told Megan to "show him how the piggy eats" and so she did:

Amelia and Megan got some very nice presents, including this cool road puzzle and some Matchbox cars to drive on it. 

Amelia had mentioned that she wished she had a fancy doll bed, so Grandpa built this lovely bed and Grandma made a quilt, bed curtains and some fancy pillows.  So far, it has been used mostly by Barbies and stuffed cats, but maybe someday a doll will sleep in it!

Thanks to Mom and Dad for planning such a fun birthday party for the girls, and to Natalie and Noah for coming and playing with us!