Big Screen Birthday Party

Ready or not, the party took place on my yard and in my house on Friday night. Rob and Kurt set up the big screen and projector with 5 of our good speakers (great surround sound) and even a sub!!

Zach was surrounded by all of his good friends and everyone seemed to have a fun time. . .

It was really nice to have Kurt and Laura come and hang out with us. . . even though it stressed me out just a little to have them see my house. . . and my yard. . .

We BBQ'd dogs and burgers for dinner and then opened gifts. . .

Hailey was my official photographer, which was great because I have lots of really nice pictures of the party, but not so great because I don't have any pictures of Hailey!!!

Tyler was a great gift assistant. . .

My sister gave him a great tattoo sleeve. . . It was a big hit!

He received lots of great art supplies. . .

I'm glad he isn't yet too old for Lego's. . .

Shelly gave Gloria a tattoo sleeve of her very own. . .

What a cutie. . .

Lucy was very interested in everything. . . she's obsessed with lights and shadows so she had quite a time with the movie set up. . .

Jeanie made a beautiful Snickers cake. . .

Hailey took a good video of Zach blowing out his candles. . .

Thanks for taking such great pictures, Hailey!!

Around 9:00 p.m. Zach received one of the best presents of the night: Jered showed up! His family just happened to be in town packing up a few more things so he surprised us by coming to the birthday party!! I was totally surprised and didn't take a picture of his arrival but I did take a few later in the evening.

Some of the kids had a chance to play the Wii on the big screen before the movie started. . .

It was too dark to get any good pictures once the movie started but this one is good enough. L to R: Kurt and Laura's feet, Hailey, Rob, Hayden, Calvin, Andrew, Zach, Gloria, Jered, Morgan, Stephie, Megan's legs, and Spencer: (Tyler was inside having a great time with Zach's Star Wars Legos!)

After the movie, everyone hung out for awhile. It was soooo good to see Jered!!

Zach opened the big Lego and some of the boys started putting it together. . .

As much as I dislike the chaos in my family room, kids can find all kinds of treasures in there everywhere. . . Tyler found a fun mask. . . I'm not sure what Andrew's doing. . .

The party "ended" around 1 a.m. and everyone went home except a few of the boys who were staying the night (including Jered!!). I think they all fell asleep around 4 a.m. . . .

Even though I'm not good at having company over, I'm usually glad when I make the effort. I think the party was a success and I know it will be a good memory for Zach. . . Sweet 16. . .