Rock Climbing Party!

My girl, Holly did another amazing job creating invitations for the girls' party. So fun!

Just a heads up: There are an insane number of pictures coming up. Here we go!

 The girls put together these cute gift bags for all of their friends.

 What's inside?

A Cliff bar, a small Gatorade, a bouncy rock ball, and rock candy! 

 The girls wanted Strawberry Cheesecake for their birthday so I made these mini versions in a cupcake size.

They were scrumptious!

Let the party begin!

Look at my boy!

 Zach and Sylvie. Totally adorable little friends! #theirsmiles 😄😄

Daddy, always a kid at heart.

 Time to get Zach all geared up!

 Our little rock climber!

 Just hanging out.

 Levi, Jacob, Ellie, and Grace.

 Zach saying hi to his girlfriends.

When he says hi, he has to look at his hand while waving. It's the cutest!

 Faith, Caleb, Grace, and Jacob.

 Ellie is on the right, too!

 Zach "helping" with the rope.

 Faith, Ivan, Jacob, Aubrie, and Vivien.

 Our Gracie girl.

Me, Karen, and little Miss Paislie.

 Genevieve and Rory, snacking on Sun Chips.

 Watching daddy climb.

 Go daddy, go!

 My two men.

Like father, like son.

Surrounded by so much beauty and greatness right here!  

 Derek & Morgan hung out for about 10 mins. up there worrying contemplating whether the rope was actually going to hold them as they repelled down. It was hilarious! 😂

My brother as his family made it!

Steve (the owner of the gym) had a fun game for the kids.

 More climbing in the big gym.

 Group photo success!

Melissa, Janette, Miss Paislie, and me.

 A break for lunch!

 Ivan, James, Madi, Grace.

Time to sing Happy Birthday!

And just like that...They are ELEVEN!!!

 One more attempt at a group photo.

 Madi and Uncle Morgan have a special bond.

Love this photo of Jacob and Grace laughing.

 More climbing.

 Wee!!!!

 Baby Eleanor. Perfect in pink!

 Hi Kylie!!

 Zach's turn on the swing.

 Someone wasn't too happy about that.

Happy 11th Birthday, Faith & Grace! 

Family photo.

And last but not least, a little skinny dipping by Madi, back at the house. 😃

The rock climbing party was a perfect choice for the girls because they love adventure and they enjoy the challenge of trying to push themselves, both physically and mentally. They like rock climbing so much that they wanted all of their friends to experience it, too. Needless to say, I think it was a memorable party for all-- they left with fun memories, a new sense of challenge and capability, a gift bag full of goodies, and lots of sore muscles to remember the day by! The girls said it was AWESOME and they had SO MUCH FUN!!

We've never really had any parties at a specific venue before, they're typically at home. Because we had to haul all of the food and decorations to the gym, I tried to keep things simple. I also followed Ina Garten's rule for entertaining: Only make 3 things and buy the rest.

The three things I made: mini strawberry cheesecakes, fruit kabobs, and antipasto skewers (which I forgot to take a picture of). I wanted all the food to be ready to eat without utensils since I knew the kids would just want to grab, eat, and get back to climbing. I ended up ordering 2 slider sandwich platters from Walmart. They came in a variety of turkey/cheddar, ham/swiss, and roast beef/cheddar. Plus, they came on Hawaiian sweet rolls and who doesn't like a Hawaiian sweet roll, right? Yes, I could have made these easy sliders myself but that would have taken more time. And these days, easy+time saving are the name of the game!

We also had Sun chips and to drink: water and Izze's. Done and done! Definitely one of the simpler parties we've had to date. #score 

And that officially puts an end to birthday week. Whew! We loved every aspect of the double celebration. Thank you to all of our family and friends for making it so fun and special!