Kate's Sixteenth Birthday

Her own post to remember what a sweet and wonderful day we had celebrating her sixteenth birthday with young friends coming for lunch and grandparents for dinner. She was up by six a.m. and opened her gifts of new bedsheets, new bath towels and a new drawstring magnetic backpack with speed and gusto. For her this meant laundry to do and old backpacks to clean out. If you know anything about Kate, packing bags and doing laundry are her two favorite activities! On to breakfast and preparing for her birthday party day.
When I was looking at decorations, the colors of pink and gold in the napkins and candles seemed to fit the 'pretty party' look I was going for. In recent years, I have moved away from buying balloons and other single-use party accessories, so in my hunt for some pretty decor, I was happy to find the flower garland that needed to be assembled but can be reused for whenever. The tissue paper pinwheels and gold paper pinwheels can also be reused. And adding a bit of the curling ribbon from her gifts to the candles on the table was a last minute inspiration that worked with the color scheme.
We had an easy lunch of chicken nuggets, French fries and cut up vegetables with mini cupcakes for the birthday treat. With a quick clean-up, we could get right to playing Kate's favorite matching game and then some jigsaw puzzles. Before and after we ate, the girls went outside to play on the swing under the deck and enjoy running around in the forest together. Then we all crowded into Kate's room to watch the winter classic The Snowman together. It was so fun to watch it all together and listen to all of their comments and questions. A few more swings outside, then it was time for a few more games before moms came to pick everyone up. 
With the beautiful sunshine all afternoon, I asked Kate to do a little photo shoot with the birthday prop I made for her. It was made from raffia and boxwood and although it was hard to keep both numbers straight for the photos, she was a good sport and now these props join the others I've made over the years for her birthdays.
We had a pizza and salad dinner with grandparents and then it was time for the mousse cake from Costco called a Tuxedo Cake. It's very rich and yummy and has been a great cake for Kate to enjoy over the years. Lastly she opened up sweet gifts from her grandparents before getting ready for bed.