Pearce's Birthday Party Weekend!

For Pearce's 4th birthday, he decided he wanted an "Army Guy" party at Little Land....so lots of camo and army stuff!  I went to Party City to see what they had and to my surprise, they had a whole section of camo/army stuff!  I got almost everything there:  camo plates, green napkins, camo party blowers, goody bag kit, and army guys for the cupcakes.  I also wanted army guy party hats and got lucky and found the cutest ones at the Dollar Store!  I also ordered Pearce's birthday shirt and it turned out really cute.  I invited our play group, plus a few other friends.  So, Thursday evening Pops and Mimi came to town and then took Pearce with them to spend the night at the hotel.  I really appreciate them doing this so that I could finish cleaning and get everything ready!!!  Pearce could hardly wait for everyone else to get here!  I ran some more errands Friday and then just waited for the rest of our family to get here.  Mama and Papa brought Charlotte with them and when Pearce saw her, he was so excited!  They started playing right away!  GG came that afternoon as well and then Ashley, Wayne, and Nay Nay got here later that evening.  We all joked that once Nay Nay and Charlotte got here, we would all be forgotten...which was pretty true :)  I LOVE that Pearce loves his cousins so much!  That night we had taco salad for dinner.  Ash and I finished baking and icing the cupcakes and we all just had a nice time visiting.  We woke up bright and early to get ready for the birthday party!  We got there at 9:40 to set up and right at that time, Auntie Jen and Robert showed up!!  I was soooo happy they left so early and got into town in time for the actual party!  For food, we had juice boxes, camo popcorn (thanks to Mama and Papa for stopping at Buc-ee's for that!), cupcakes, and we had plans of having pizza, but when Chris and Wayne went to get it, they told us their pizza oven broke and we weren't able to get the pizza.  I was a little mad about that because I felt bad we didn't have more substantial food, but oh well, it worked out fine!   In all, we had 10 of Pearce's friends, plus Nathan, Charlotte, and Robert.  It was the perfect amount.  It was also perfect that we had Little Land rented out for just our group.  The kids had tons of room to just run around and play and be silly!  The kids played for a little over an hour then we sang Happy Birthday and ate, and then they played even more!  The party was from 10-12.  Pearce had so much fun, but he was getting pretty anxious to leave and go home to open his presents :)  I was so thankful to all of my friends who came and made the party so much fun!  Pearce was really sweet to all of his friends as they left.  He told each one "Thank you for coming to my party."  Nay Nay was also Mr. Congeniality because he helped pass out the good bags and the cookies to everyone.  Speaking of the cookies, they were ADORABLE!!!!  Chris has a friends whose wife decorates these amazing cookies.  We had them last year and this year, they were even cuter!  Chris picked out army helmets, army truck, and grenades to be decorated on the cookies.  I heard from several people that not only were they cute, but they tasted good, too! 

After the party, we packed everything up and headed back to our house for lunch and to open the presents from Pearce's friends....he had been DYING to do this :)  Nay Nay and Charlotte were the best helpers!  Nay Nay told us who each present was from and read the cards for Pearce. Charlotte helped Pearce open the presents.  Pearce was so excited for each gift and he got some really nice things from his friends!  We all spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and playing.  Me, Jen, and Ash even snuck off for a quick visit to the mall....thanks Mama!!!!!!  For dinner, Chris picked up a bunch of fried catfish, hush puppies, and fried okra for dinner....YUMMY!!!!!  By this time, Pearce was once again DYING to open his gifts from the family.  He was so patient.  He finally got to open those presents and once again, his little helpers were right by his side.  He got such nice things from everyone!!!  Auntie Ashy, Uncle Wayne, Nay Nay, and Charlotte got him an army helicopter with army guys.  GG got him a new big boy superhero backpack with matching lunch box, water bottle, and food container.  Pops and Mimi got him swim lessons, goggles, and a cute new outfit.  Auntie Jen and Robert got Pearce a Scooby Doo lego set.  Mommy and Daddy got him an army playset.  Mama and Papa got Pearce a new table and chair set and a paper dispenser for all his art creations.  Chris and I really, really appreciate everyone traveling in order to celebrate our sweet 4 year old!  Pearce is definitely loved, that is for sure!!!!!!