Andrew was so excited the day of his party. We had a big surprise in store and he had no idea what it was!
This was the front of his invitations I made. I photoshopped his picture onto a portal. He totally loved it! It opened like a card and on the inside it had the details plus that there would be a surprise coming. It was an "ultimate" video game party!
These are my people- love them so much!
My sweet 8 year old. He looks about 12 to me in this picture!
Time just keeps flying! Also I think Andrew and Kerigan really look alike in this picture!
I brought him upstairs once daddy had brought the balloons home and the cake was delivered. He was so thrilled!
Look at that sweet face
My nephew's wife, Jenny, made these amazing Skylander cookie pops! She is so talented and Andrew and all his friends loved them! I posted this on Facebook and already had another friend of mine message me for her info and is ordering them for her son's birthday too!
Our usual cake designer Charlyn, my mom's friend and former co-worker, didn't disappoint with the cake again! The top is a portal, and the bottom has the elements around it. Andrew and his friends thought it was just amazing and everyone loved it! I had her leave the top open for him to choose a couple of Skylanders and I made the sign. At first he didn't want to put anything on it because he thought the frosting would mess them up! Then I had him feel how smooth it was and he could hardly believe it! Ha!
The entry way
I made these lanyard tags with the boys' names on them. The lanyards I ordered online with Skylanders on them! The boys thought they were really cool, and they served a purpose you'll see later...
When the boys arrived I sent them to the basement. Andrew thought they were all coming over to play his Wii U. Once most had arrived I called them all upstairs for the big reveal!
Surprise! A game truck! Their reactions were classic. They were jumping up and down, yelling "YESSSSSS!!!!!!!" and they couldn't get outside fast enough.
I knew Andrew would be a little hesitant when he found out that he was leaving the house. He absolutely loves being home and I was a little nervous he would be sad his friends weren't playing his Wii. He had told me earlier that he saved his game in a certain spot for when his friends were all there. Ooops! Ha. He didn't really know what to expect, so once he got out there and saw they had Trap Team and all the coolest characters, he was good with it!
Andrew and cousin Jayden
He had a blast digging through their bin of Skylanders!
All the boys got to play- there were 4 giant screens and a huge leather couch! They were all just in heaven. Andrew was so happy.
The coolest part was, they could all play at the same time and were entertained the entire 2 hours. The grandparents and a few friends hung out inside the house and we all talked about how weird it felt that a party was going on with 12 little boys and we were just chilling out inside where it was quiet! Ha! They had a guy in charge inside who helped them with everything and if they wanted to change games, etc. They could have 4 different games going all at the same time. It was just a perfect set up.
When the truck left, we all came inside for cake and presents.
My sweet 8 year old
It was funny, he was pointing to this candle and giving it a stinker face since it came back on after he blew it out!
They all enjoyed the chocolate cake! I look at this picture and no wonder my carpet was a disaster when they all left! Ha!
Cousin Evi, nice photo bomb in the background! Ha!
Next we moved into the family room for presents. I had the boys all get the present they brought and sit on the bench by the window. Then I had Andrew call them up one at a time to sit by him while he opened their gift. This went really well. It drives me nuts when all the kids crowd around and try to help open and then no one else can see. I loved it this way, plus, I didn't have to write down what everyone brought for thank you's! Ha!
With Grandma and Grandpa Huegel
Andrew's birthday is always unpredictable weather. One year it was in the 60's and we grilled out. The next we had a blizzard and he had school cancelled on his birthday! You just never know- it's January in Iowa. His party day was under a winter weather advisory for later in the day- a huge blizzard was expected. It had started to rain but we did the pinata under the deck and didn't get too wet! Andrew was so proud of this thing!
He knew right away it was the Skylander named Wrecking Ball. Ha! I was so proud of him for knowing which one it was- since I'm not super crafty! I thought wrecking ball was an appropriate one since we would be wrecking it! Andrew loved it and got the connection right away! Ha! I am not a fan of pinatas for many reasons, but Andrew has begged for one pretty much every birthday since he could talk. So this year I surprised him with one and he was beyond excited. What is it about little boys and getting to whack something with a bat as hard as you can?? Ha!
Turns out I did a great job making it- it didn't want to break! I had no idea if it would break right away or take forever. All the boys got two turns before it started to tear. We decided to bring it inside and break it so it wouldn't be so wet. The kids just went crazy! I have to admit it was fun! (To see how I made it go back to the previous update).
These are all of Andrew's very favorite people all in one place. That's always what is so fun about his birthday. He is so blessed with special friends!
After the kids all left, his cousins and grandparents stayed for pizza and Andrew was so happy he and Jayden got to continue playing Skylanders! They were going to spend the night but had to leave because it had started to snow. Andrew was bummed when it was all over. But we woke up to a winter wonderland the next day! He had a great extended weekend! More pics coming soon!
