"DINO"mite birthday party for Brandon

My little guy turned five, WOW!  Jared and I gave Brandon a remote control T-Rex and a family of really cool dragons as well as two other dinosaurs and a whole new, greatly needed, wardrobe.  He was thrilled with his gifts, well not the clothes, but that is to be expected from a five year old.

Brandon got to go to preschool for his birthday, yeah!  It was show-n-tell, bring your favorite toy, perfect, Brandon took his new T-Rex and he also took donuts to share.  Miss Karen treated him very well and he had a great time.  He felt so special after school.

 After preschool we went to the Thanksgiving Point dinosaur museum with Natalie, Chandler and Grandma Julie.  We had so much fun!  I love any activity when I get to be with my mom, sister and nephew!

 Brandon loved his birthday crown from preschool :)

 That night I took scraps from the birthday cake for his birthday party the following day and put them together into this frightening dinosaur cake - Yuck!  But I guess if he likes it, and he did, then that is what really matters.

 The Saturday following Brandon's birthday we had a friend birthday party.  This was only the second friend birthday party I have thrown, but over all I think it went really well.  I could not have done it without the help of my sister and good friends, they made this party work!  We began the party with different dinosaur stations, digging for bones in the sand, putting the bones in playdough plaster, putting together puzzles and playing with dinosaurs. 

 Following the dinosaur play I grouped the kids together and told them that there was a terrible dinosaur they had to get, but the only was to get it was to steal my dinosaur eggs and throw them at the dinosaur.  I had grenade water balloons that they threw at my sister.  Natalie ran behind the fence with a blow up dinosaur and the kids had a blast throwing water balloons at it.  I seriously have the best sister ever!!!

 After the kids picked up the water balloon pieces I let them watch a volcano erupt. :)

 After the volcano we did presents.  Brandon's friends were so thoughtful in the gifts they gave to Brandon.  It was so fun to watch them interact while Brandon opened the gifts they gave him.

And last but not least the birthday cake - Brandon liked his cake - I did not, but as long as he likes it that is good. :)

Wish I would have thought to get a group picture before the party dispersed, fortunately my sister and friends were wonderful and took a group picture while I was taking care of Grant.  Hooray for Justin who knew how to get seven boys to look at and smile at the camera.  Love this picture! :)

The following Sunday we had a family party for Brandon.  I absolutely love our family get togethers.

See that shot - that's my two year old :)

Brandon gave hugs to each of his grandparents after they gave him a present.  I wish I would have had pictures of him with his two great-grandparents.  But I am super happy about this picture!  Brandon is so lucky to have three great-grandma's and a great-grandpa still alive and adoring him.

(On a side note - my Grandpa just won the silver medal in pairs tennis at the senior Olympic games in St. George UT - how cool is that!  And he is only 79 years old :)  love my grandpa!)

Grandpa Ron and Grandma Julie gave Brandon a 16 inch bike.  He has been riding his 12 inch bike without training wheels for a while and he was much too big for it - so this bike was perfect. 

After opening presents we all moved our chairs to the front yard so that we could watch the three boys ride their bikes, and then the party took a turn for the worst.  Natalie wanted to learn how to drive my dad's motor scooter, she had taken it for a quick ride around the block and came back to get some sun glasses.  Brandon has riding on the scooter before while my dad was driving and so he thought he could ride it again.  He jumped on with excitement and expectation, I told him he had to get off and in the process of getting off he must have gripped the throttle because he and Natalie took off on the bike.  Brandon fortunately fell off soon after it took off because Natalie and the bike crashed into the back of my grandmas car.  Had Brandon stayed on he would have been pinned between it.  Unfortunately my grandma's car received a fair bit cosmetic damage, the scooter was also beat up quite a bit, worst of all Natalie broke her arm and the pain and the trauma of the accident put her into shock.  She recovered quickly and went to the emergency room to get fixed up while the rest of the party dispersed.  We stayed a while longer and Brandon, Grant and Chandler had a good time playing and riding their bikes.  Since then Brandon has been all over on his bike.  We have gone on several LONG walks (1-2 miles) and he rides his bike the whole time.  He loves it!  I love that I can walk at a faster tempo and only have to push one boy in the stroller.  I am really loving our fall walks.  Natalie is also recovering well, she got a cast, and is know in a brace for a few more weeks.  I am so grateful that it was nothing more serious. 

Brandon sure did have a wonderful birthday weekend - he is loved and spoiled by so many, and we are all grateful!