Enter the Double Digits!

Time flies!  Really.  Even when it seems like it's dragging by it's really just an illusion.  You blink, and years have passed.  It's like a flash in the pan.  Seems like just yesterday the girls came to live with us, and we were celebrating Harmony's 7th birthday.  Just this past weekend we celebrated number 10!  How does that happen?

She's grown SO much in form and in spirit.  That little girl that moved in with Nana and Papa a few years ago with all that anger and hostility is quickly (sometimes it really does not seem to be quickly) growing into a more mature young lady.  How can that be?  We've seen enough children through to adulthood by now that we know it really is just a short period of time before they're off and on their own dealing with their own challenges and triumphs.  For now, we're going to enjoy them right where they are, and spend as much time in the present as we possibly can.

Her party was a blast!  Believe it or not we had a house/yard full, and it was pretty much all immediate family.  And, because this mama has no fear we pulled off a double party that day.  You read that correctly.  We celebrated Harmony's 10th birthday from 1-4 p.m. then we followed it up with a little farewell party of sorts to see our Navy son off for his first overseas deployment.  Still can't believe he's on the other side of the world.  Sniff, sniff.  Unfortunately, we didn't get too many pictures from our son's portion of the party, but it's all good.  We have our super fond memories.

With our first batch of children we had birthday parties each year.  Most of them saw their way straight through the public school system, and it was a nice way for me to see the friends they were choosing away from home.  I liked having a little glimpse into their school life.  As the younger portion of that batch grew older and we morphed into a homeschooling family our outlook on birthday parties changed.  Now, with this current batch of wee ones we are taking a totally different approach.  Of course we celebrate as a family each year with their choice of meals and dessert on their actual birthday, but at ages 1, 7, 10, 13, and 16 we will have an actual party with games, friends, and party food.  We all seem to enjoy it much more this way.

Since Harmony turned 10 this year, she got her party.  Unfortunately, her two best friends we unable to attend, but fortunately we have a HUGE family.  So, she got her big party, and it was a blast.  Here are some highlights:

Had a blast making these owl cupcakes!

All the kids got to make nature sun catchers.

All ages love to blow bubbles!

Lawn twister was a blast.

These always take WAY LONGER to fill than you would think...

...but they're SO MUCH fun!

All the kids have been liking soccer lately.

Waiting for cupcakes.

Past, present, and future.

Birthday Girl!

The matriarch and patriarch of our five generations.

Ice cream and four wheelers!

Best buds forever.

And, there were chickens.

Doesn't this just warm your heart?

Silly...

...silly...

...and more silly!

We thoroughly enjoy the natural progression of our family traditions.  It's fun to join the kids in their journey and watch the way they naturally create them along the way.  What traditions have developed over time in your family?  We'd love to hear about them!

*All photos shot by Leah Lauzon and edited by myself.