SURPRISE!!! Jack's 10th Birthday Celebration Has Begun

This year is a big one for birthdays in our family. Within a 12 month span of time Corey turned 40, Allie turned 13, Cooper will turn 5, and Jack will turn TEN... this week!!!!

Last summer Jack had told me that he has always wanted a surprise party, and I tucked that into my mommy-memory. So, that is what I have been planning. Over the last few weeks Jack has asked me over and over and over and over what we are going to do for his birthday, and I have tried to hold him off... That was not easy to do, by the way. He brainstormed several different ways that he would like to celebrate and all the friends that he would like to invite to his party. All along, I had already invited 2 of his best buddies to come over for a surprise sleepover. I knew that he would love that, but in all of his brainstorming I could also tell that my little social guy had his heart set on celebrating with several friends... so I had to come up with a brainstorm of my own...

On Friday night, Corey and Jack went out to pick up some pizza for dinner. As soon as they walked out the door Allie, Cooper, and I flew into action. We only had a few minutes to get ready for the surprise sleepover that was about to happen. Corey had bought balloons and cupcakes earlier in the day and we decorated with that and a banner, and I set out the gobs of snacks that I had bought earlier in the week. Soon, Jack's friends Brady & Jack arrived, and we waited for the birthday boy to come back.

~ Corey & Jack coming through the door ~

At this point, all he had seen was the decorated kitchen...

~ SURPRISE!!! ~

...then he saw his buddies.

He was SO happy that he finally got his surprise party!

~ The Birthday Boy ~

~ Jack W, Jack P, & Brady ~

These 3 have been friends since they were all babies.

~ the "silly picture" ~

Cooper followed the 3 big guys around all evening and wanted to do everything they did. As soon as I had taken a photo of them, he said, "Now take one with me."

~ Allie & Cooper celebrating their brother ~

Brady & Jack gave him Legos and a yo-yo. He loved them!

We gave him something that I think that he really wanted. A party that he could invite 10 friends to.

~ cake time! ~

~ building his new Legos... his favorite activity ~

The boys spent the evening, the night, and the early morning building a fort that covered the living room floor and playing video games. Lots of video games.

At 3:00am they were still going full-force... and were still having a lot of loud fun. Corey asked them to watch a show and go to sleep. At 5:15 Jack came in and told me that they were going to go to sleep and asked me to wake them up at 7:ooam so they could play a lot more before his friends had to go home. Needless to say, I didn't wake them up but still they were up by 7:20. Lots more playing and fun and noise and eating took place until we wrapped things up around 11:00. I think that Jack loved his surprise...