Justin's birthday party

My baby is turning into a teenager- 13! We gave him an option for this big birthday-the same option that we gave Jennifer when she turned 13.  He had his choice of a cruise to the Bahamas with Brandon and Jackie or a birthday party with more of his friends.  He chose a birthday party. I was speechless....shocked....stunned.  Really?!?!? A 3 hour party or a 3 day cruise??? What person would choose the 3 hour party over the cruise?!? He said he could celebrate with more of his friends with a party than the cruise.  I couldn't do anything but shake my head.  Price-wise they would have been about the same.  I just couldn't believe it. But, it was his birthday and his choice so we threw him a party. 

He wanted to do an airsoft party.  After looking into it, we decided that we wouldn't do a party there but that he could just take about 3 friends to the airsoft arena.  Then, he asked if Brandon and Blake and Mason could spend the night and they would sleep in the tent outside.  All of these boys have spent the night at our house plenty of times and are like family to us, so it wasn't going to be a big deal to have them spend the night ahead of time.  Then, the real planning started.  Justin began planning activities for the boys to do, what he wanted to eat at each meal, snacks he wanted at the party, who he would invite, what movies they would watch, and other important details. He made his own invitations and did a great job on them!

We had a cookout on his birthday with family and his friends.  Everyone enjoyed hanging out and celebrating our special boy! 

 Papa and SaSa surprised us by bringing their new puppy Bullet to the party. Needless to say, he was a big hit with everyone.

As you can tell by the pictures, this was an AIRSOFT party theme.  Uncle Brian and Aunt Deena got him a pistol and BB's. Mimi and Papa went in with us and got him the rifle and face protection. 

After the family left, the Gowders showed up late and hung out for a little while which was fun for everyone. The boys were doing their stuff in the backyard so everyone had good company. 

We had a fire and roasted marshmallows and made Smores.  And the boys watched a movie in the tent when it was time to go to sleep. They couldn't stay up super late since we were going to church the next morning and then to play airsoft Sunday after church.

They had target games set up and did some "war" as well as they each brought their own guns.  

We went to Elite Ops in Canton for his "party". The manager Curtis took the boys under his wings and showed them around and how to do everything since it was the first time that they had been at an airsoft arena and all those other boys knew what they were doing. And our boys were going to "war" with these kids in ammo and multiple guns and grenades and everything. It was a little intimidating to say the least, but Curtis helped them out. 

Mason's brother Bowen went with the boys and had a ball as well. We had a great group of boys!

I stayed and watched and dispensed snacks and water. They were really hot! But they were having a blast!! We really only expected to stay a few hours, but I told them I would stay as long as they wanted to.  We got there when they opened at 1:00 and stayed until they closed at 7:00.  Then we started taking boys home.  They all had a super time but they were all so tired....it was really a quiet ride home!

In the end, Justin was still glad that he chose a party over a cruise.  And I was happy that he was happy. Happy Birthday Justin!