Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

As is seemingly becoming a tradition, we had a joint birthday party over Labor Day Weekend with family and close friends to celebrate T and Z's birthdays.  This year's theme was "Knights and Princesses" and it was indeed a most royal celebration!  Thanks to all those who came and made the day so special for our kiddos.  They had an awesome time!  Here's a peek at some of the festivities!

The Birthday Princess, all ready for the royal celebration to begin!

Pake and Beppe rented a bounce house again this year for the party.  This time around, it appropriately was in the shape of a castle.  The kids had a blast with it.

After some jump time, the princesses and knights all headed into the house for some royal projects.  The girls decorated tiaras while the boys created their own shields.  They all did such a great job (I think it was the quietest part of the whole party)!

With shields in hand, the knights headed back outside for the "Knights in Training" obstacle course. Here they are receiving their instructions.

With their trusty horse and lance in tow, they first had to cross the castle moat via a drawbridge.

Many of the princesses even got in on the action (we did not discriminate).

Then they had to make their way through the Dragon's Lair.

After successfully avoiding him, the trainees had to maneuver their way to the castle, climb the tower and save the princess. 

Following the training course, the ladies (along with a few of the gentleman) played a game of "Pin the Tiara on the Princess".

This game was followed by some pinata action - a princess crown for the girls...

And a dragon to slay for the boys.

The games were then followed by some supper which, in turn, led to some gift opening.

As you can likely tell from the "OH MAN" reaction, the Cinderella dress-up outfit was a big hit with Princess Z.  She wore it for the rest of the evening (and many hours and days since then).

Here she is with her friend Sweet Pea, the giver of this special treat (though word on the street is that Sweet Pea's daddy actually purchased the gift for Z all on his own - she likes to tell people, "Tom bought this for me").

 

When the gifts were all opened, we ended the official party events with some cake, cupcakes and ice cream.

The rest of the evening consisted of some more jumping and sliding and just having a ROYALLY AWESOME time!

Thank you so very much to all of our family and friends who took the time to come down and celebrate our kids.  We so enjoyed having each and every one of you with us!  Thanks so much to both grandmas who helped me A TON the day of the party, as well as to my sweet sisters-in-law who helped with set-up and clean-up.  And a super big thank you to my parents for letting us once again invade their home :).  It was a super special memory maker for T and Z - one that they continue to talk about.  'Twas a wonderfully royal celebration indeed!