Icing on the Cake

This year we decided to try our hand at a halloween party.  The kids were each able to invite a handful of friends, and between pinterest and our imaginations a party took shape.

For teenagers we decided lots of food, treats, and a handful of games would give them plenty to do. Sid created a Halloween playlist on spotify that was full of great tunes.  We began with one before dark activity, a scavenger hunt where clues led the kids to all areas of the farm and in different directions.  This was my first experience with a scavenger hunt.  One clue led to the next and it turned out great, however it was a comedy of errors to get it laid out and make sure that each teams clues worked!

Inside we had slices and bat wings to eat, along with a number of spooky libations.  There were blood samples, a caramel apple making station, and a guess how much candy is in the jar station

B lit a Swedish torch.  Of course there was an energetic game of hide and seek in the dark and the boys did a late night trampoline jumping session.  It was much harder to try to get any pictures of the boys because they were constantly moving!  They are really turning into little men with varying degrees of deeper voices, laughing as they jump and solve the worlds problems.

To top off the sugar high, Sidney made a birthday cake for her friend Mia.  This was a bit of a different party.  Charles had a great time with his friends, but this was the first time that Sid wanted to be very involved in the planning, setup and execution.  It was fun to watch her going around making sure everything was just right...Icing on the cake.

#100HappyDays :: Day 72

Sid had a friend over last night, and a spectacular sunset began the girls evening activities.  You can make out a few green flecks in the water.  As we watched the sky change from brilliant color to brilliant color we filled the pool with glow sticks for a little night swimming and lots of laughter.

Teenage Years

As we find ourselves fully ensconced in the teenage years it has been both a joy and a challenge to watch teenager #1 develop her own style through trial and error.    She is her own person.  She does not want to be a trend setter, but does seem to make choices that others want to emulate.  As she gets irritated when she sees her ideas begin to be duplicated, she is constantly tweaking herself.  Years ago she worried that she was going to lose her imagination.  She did not want to grow up and no longer be able to be creative.  Thankfully, her creativity seems to only be expanding in her ideas, art, and expression.

B and I decided long ago that since there would be many important challenges that we as parents would have to navigate and set strong boundaries for, that things like fashion choices and hair color would not be a major issue for us.  We would allow our kids to express themselves as long as they were safe and any permanent changes to their bodies that they desired would wait until they were of legal adult age.  With Leanne's help, it seems that Sidney's vision came out perfectly, suiting who she is right now.  Hopefully these little faiths in their creativity and ideas will give them the wings they need to fly with confidence and joy.