Jacob's 9th Birthday

Jacob also got a friend party this year as it was an odd number year for him also!  For his 9th birthday Jacob wanted a football party!  He was so excited.

 

 I don't know what the problem is with Blogger lately but it keeps flipping all my vertical pictures.  Oh well, here's Jacob with his football cake ready for the party to begin!

 

As the boys arrived they each got to make their own team pennant with varsity stickers, sports stickers, markers and puffy paint.  I had my doubts about doing a craft with 9 year old boys, and my husband REALLY had doubts about it.  But I'm happy to report that the boys LOVED the craft!  They spent much longer than I had anticipated, and some I even had to tear away so we could move on to other games!  I should have taken a picture of the boys with their pennants - they all turned out pretty cute . . . I mean cool.

 For our 1st game we played Locker Room Mix Up.  The boys each got a bag of miss-matched clothes to put on as quickly as they could.  Here they are all dressed up!  They were good sports and thought it was hilarious!

 

 You gotta love summer birthdays!  Its so fun being outside!  I then sent them to Training Camp where they had to do push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups, high knee's, run, and some other exercises I can't remember anymore.  They also did passing drills and threw footballs through hula hoops I hung from the deck.  I loved that nobody (well, except for one) got really upset about the games.  They were all competitive but cheered each other on and just enjoyed playing.

 

 Jacob had insisted from the very beginning that he wanted to have a barbecue for his party.  Dad got a new grill this summer and Jacob loved having barbecues!  Boy, could those boys eat!  Even the veggies I threw out last minute from our garden they inhaled!  We had planned on letting the boys play a football game at the end of the party, but with all the time they spent on the craft and eating they barely had time to play!  Oh well!

 

 Jacob got some fun gifts and lots of footballs.  I never got a picture with ALL the boys that came to the party.  One had to leave early for his own football game, one came an hour late, and another didn't like being in many of the pictures.  But in all we had 7 boys, including Jacob.

 

 For party favors each boy got a soft football.  They were a big hit.  The party was a blast, definitely our best boy party so far.  We've had a hard time with the boy parties.  They're just so active, busy and loud.  The girls just sit quietly and wait to be told what to do.  The boys are a lot more work.  But with 3 boys I guess we better get learning, and this party was definitely more successful!

 

Grandma and Grandpa were in town close to Jacob's birthday so they got to give him gifts in person this year!  Jacob got Aunt Kristen's old (pink) iPod and a BYU tie from his grandparents.  He didn't care one bit that the iPod was pink.  He loves having his own gadget!  Mom and Dad chipped in to get some nice headphones and the cables he needed to download music and a charger (not very exciting, but necessary and kinda expensive).  We also gave him a flag football set.

 

We are so grateful to have Jacob in our family!  He is definitely full of life!  Everything is more exciting and fun with Jacob around.  He's a great older brother, loves to help in the yard as long as he's working alongside someone so he can visit, athletic, musical (although he resists this as much as possible), and a good example.  It's so fun to see him growing up, the thoughts he has about life and people and the goals he sets for himself.  We're so proud of you, Jacob, and the boy your are growing up to be!