Peyton's BIG Birthday Party!

With moving to a new state and leaving all the friends Peyton had ever known (in her whole life of 3.5 years!), having a birthday party with all her new friends was a big deal. We decided to go all out for her, having 18 kids (some siblings of her friends) and their respective 20 parents.....it was CRAZY! The last BIG party we had was for her 1st birthday and now I remember why! Parties here are very different from the way Robert and I grew up and the parties we went to in Charlotte. Here, it seems to be all about who can outdo the other and spending $$$$....renting HUGE carnival size moon bounce houses, catering food - the last party we went to here (just 2 weeks before Peyton's party) had 3 ponies for the kids to ride, as well as getting their own cowboy hat (30 kids)! Robert said on the way home that he guessed we would be known for the poor-man's parties in the neighborhood!

We had a backyard, water-themed party (old-school style) complete with 2 slip-n-slides, an activity pool, and even a mini-moon bounce borrowed from a friend. The kids had a great time and Peyton said "it the best party ever in the whole wide world" - makes all the stress and hard work more than worth it....and makes a mushy mom's heart just gush! We even had some old friends there, as my good friend Kerry and kids were in town visiting her hubby's parents in Aurora, just down the road. Peyton's cousins - Noah, Wyatt, & Haylie - came from MI, as well as their parents (Rob's older sister Chrissie & hubby Pete) and Grandma & Grandpa Hines - Peyton was in heaven having her family there, too! After a full day of non-stop playing, Peyton was toast, zoning out at 6:30pm upon opening her gifts. She slept 13 hours that night!