Birthday Obstacle Course

 Maren turned ten September 2nd.  It was her turn for a friend birthday party this year, and we had a blast putting together this backyard obstacle course.  I so wish I had taken a picture from our top deck, as we worked for hours setting it up and it looked really cool.  The kids all loved it. 

 If you look close you can see Maren ducking through the string maze.

This was noodle alley, with the kids in the background spraying with water guns.

 Rope swing over the water balloon swamp.

Slip n slide with pool rings

The Rock Hop and foam paper crossing

 Hoop Alley

 And a balloon finish line.

Somewhere in there there was also a hula hoop suspended between a tree and a pole for the kids to jump through, and a balance beam.  The kids played back here All Day, and especially loved to be timed, to see if they could beat there previous score.  Of course in a matter of minutes after the party was finished all the water balloons and other balloons were popped.

We had hot dogs, chips, and per Maren's request chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches.  Her real request was strawberry shortcake, which we had as a family the night before.  She got many nice gifts from her friends, and the excitement below is about her new camelbak.  Something she has been asking for a long while now. 

 And while this cute pouch looks calm here, he kept the day interesting for sure.  He loved chasing the kids bubbles that Amanda distracted him with though.

Maren has really grown up this last year, physically she is getting very tall and has about caught up to Amanda's shoe size already.  She has outgrown many of her headstrong tendencies, and has grown tremendously both academically and socially.  She opted to take a break from soccer this fall so she could have more time to enjoy our puppy.  She is the first one to spend time playing with him in the backyard after school.  She  loved her summer break, and spent a lot of it reading in the backyard on the swing.  She also loved playing with the neighborhood friends, and making creations out of any and every spare piece of cardboard and milk jug she came across that I agreed to.  She made this car track for the boys one afternoon using foam mats, yogurt tubs, paper towel tubes, and Popsicle sticks.  I think I have a future engineer on my hands.

She has taken piano lessons for a year now, and played for family night tonight for the first time.  She is confident and happy, and always puts a smile on everyone's face.

I can't imagine life without Miss Maren to brighten my day.  

I can't wait to see where this next year takes her!