Invite

I forgot to post the invitation with Noah's birthday!

We took the Zoo map from the website and photoshopped Noah's picture and party information onto the map.  It looked like a real brochure from the zoo!!!  I can't figure out how to make it a picture and upload it though!

Paul and I made the envelopes ourselves and we loved the way they turned out.

Life

We just trek through day by day, but when you calculate the madness of the days it is quite overwhelming. 

In the past week and half, aka 10 days..

We celebrated Easter in worship and with both sides of the family (separately)
Paul got sick and was out for 2 days with a fever
Maeve burst her eardrum, which entailed a trip to the doctor and pharmacy
Noah got carsick and threw up in our car
I got Paul's illness and was out for a day with a fever
Noah had 3 birthday parties, which entailed baking cupcakes, cake and cake balls
We drove 2 hours for the zoo party, each way
We scrubbed the house and staged it for a showing.
I held a youth directed worship service and a major fundraiser
My dad had major knee surgery and I went to Reading to Visit him

And we both worked full time jobs

No wonder we are all exhausted all the time

Zoo Party

On Saturday we took a long trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo for Noah's 5th Birthday Party.  We looked into the Philadelphia and DC zoos first but they were much more money and basically only included admission and a pavilion.  For much less money at LVZ we got a party room, admission to the zoo, lunch, cake, a private tour of the zoo, a gift for each child, and a private experience with 3 animals of Noah's choice (off of a select list) for the kids to interact with.  Noah also got a t-shirt and every participant got a return ticket to the zoo.

The weather was perfect and the tour guide was patient with all of our little monkeys.  Noah knew all of the animals and was able to answer most of her questions.

Noah picked a ball python, a box turtle and a bearded dragon to look at.   The kids were so still and patient.  It was awesome in every way for them!!!

Of course a stink bug showed up and they were just as excited about that!

After the formal part of the party was over the kids took another tour through the zoo just to spend some more time with the animals.  We saw a snowy owl that could turn it's head all the way around in a circle! 

Paul noticed a bird exhibit that we didn't go in with the tour and we headed there.  It was an area filled with Lorekeets.  You could buy nectar and go into the cage and the birds would eat the nectar out of your cup.  It was so wonderful for the kids to do this.  They were beyond excited and one even landed on Paul's shoulder!

We also spent a little time rolling down hills

Overall it was a wonderful day.  Noah was in his glory surrounded by animals and his best friends.  I'm so happy for him and for this love that he has.  We are heading to several more zoos this summer and he is counting down the days to the next one!  We love you little man!

Family Party for the Five Year Old

Noah had a birthday party Friday night our house with just our family.  It was nice to have a small group together.  We had pizza and salad per Noah's request.  I tried to make "cake balls" as a trial for an idea I have for later.  They didn't turn out quite like I expected but it was fun to try something new. 

 That's Five, not a hand in your face!!

These were the giant cake balls.  They looked like meatballs!  Yaz got these cute animal inserts to put with them.

These were the rest of the cake balls.  They were YUMMY even if they don't look perfect.  You take cake batter, bake it, and then let it cool.  After it is cool you break it up into small pieces and add icing to the bowl.  You mix it all up and then put it in the freezer.  After a little while you melt chocolate and then dip the balls in the chocolate.  It is so yummy!!!!  It was fun because it was more of a finger food item.