Happy 12th Birthday, Noah!

Our oldest son turned 12 on December 5th. How did these 12 years go by so quickly? Noah has turned into a handsome, thoughtful, considerate young man. By the way, he is also HILLARIOUSLY funny! This year, he decided that he wanted to have a game tournament for his party. We made his invites and other party items, and made the focus on his favorite board game, which is, MONOPOLY. UGH! The longest game in history! But, he adores it, and that's all that matters. Noah invited 8 friends that he really enjoys spending time with. Our Rec Room saw a LOT of game playing that evening. They entertained themselves playing pool, foosball, air hockey & darts. I wasn't sure if Monopoly was going to be in the cards! But, after we ordered & ate pizza, they got started. I learned that Noah doesn't really like cake. He said he'd much rather have brownies on the actual day of his birthday. So, that's what we did! And, then for his party, he wanted to have a make your own ice cream sundae bar. That was pretty fun, I have to admit! The highlights of the evening, were Noah getting his coveted "Monopoly: Here & Now Edition" with electronic banking.

The noisiest part of the evening, definitely had to be when I tried to get a group picture of Noah & his friends. I thought it was a simple request. However, I didn't factor in the raging energies, hormones, and giggling girls that were obviously obstacles. The kids decided when I wanted a picture that they should dog pile on top of Noah. Here is one of the more chaotic pictures of the mob!After the kids settled down, ever slightly, I did get to capture a photo of Noah with his 3 best girls: Krissi on his right, Olivia on his left, and Kara, well, sprawled out all over the other 3 of them! These girls are hillarious! Their laughter was contagious, and I think they all were having a ton of fun at Noah's party!

Eventually, I was able to get the kids settled down enough to take a somewhat civilized picture of all of them together. I have to say, this was a really good group of kids. They all get along, they laugh and enjoy one another. Their joviality and laughing personalities were a delight to have in the house. I am glad Noah decided to celebrate his birthday in this way. Happy Birthday Noah! We love you so much!