In the blink of an eye ...

…. my smallest turned 8.

How did that happen?

So many years but sometimes it seems so few.

To celebrate we had a garden party at home with (what were we thinking ???) around 20 (!!!) seven and eight year olds.  20 is crazy but we only moved here 12 months ago and our little Miss is still finding her place so after much discussion we decided that we should have them all.

I love a home party.
I love the preparing, the planning, the discussing, the making.
I love seeing the kids and getting to know their personalities in action.
I love that the kids have a great time without paid performers in an old school type of way.
I love the way our bigger kids get in there and help out and love doing it.
I love it when the last of them leaves and we all crash on the couch.

Here are some picks of our 8 year old garden party.

"Dirt cups" or tim-tams whacked though the food processor with a bit of chocolate topping thrown in to bind them a teeny tiny bit.  SOOO yum

Salted Caramel Popcorn

The cake which was going to be a number 8 but I chickened out.  Decorating cakes isn't my strength.  After checking out Mr Google I discovered a blog called I Am Baker which, apart from being fabulous, has an excellent tutorial on how to do the icing roses.   If I can do them any 5 year old with a piping bag can!

I loved the look on the kid's faces when we cut the cake.  They were expecting chocolate not a rainbow surprise.

A little crafty gardening activity to do between games which the kids all took home.

And before you think that we are uber cool, organised party professionals, let me just keep it real for you ….
ice packs required - 2, head crash and mild concussion on trampoline
band-aids required - 1, bleeding foot whilst dancing on the carpet
kids in tears - 2 or 3 at various moments but all left the party smiling (phew)
happiest creature at party - our old friendly dog - who may have eaten the remains of 18 donuts and didn't require dinner - until one of the kids quietly mentioned that she was terrified of dogs as she hid behind my legs (oops) and we gave the dog a little rest in the laundry.
state of floor afterwards - very sticky & crunchy
dinner for the family post party - cheese toasties as we were all pooped!