Birthday Visitors!

My parents arrived last Thursday to help celebrate Nate turning 9. As usual, they stopped at the outlets on the way and this little fashionista got some new activewear! (Seriously, have you ever seen such cute workout clothes?! She is starting a new *intermediate* gymnastics class, so Nanny thought she needed to look extra cute. Because that's what matters, ha!)

Craft time

Friday, the kids went to school so Greg and I took Nanny & Poppy to Chuy's for lunch. My fave place! Chips & salsa, margs, fish tacos, and homemade tortillas. You can't beat it!

That afternoon, Nate attended a birthday party that involved touring the UA Men's basketball facilities. So cool! They got to go in the locker room, watch them practice, meet the team, etc.

Abby was feeling left out, so she decided to have a party in her room! She made invitations for me, Nanny, and Poppy, and it was quite the event. There was a snack bar, dress-up station, dance center, and reading center :) I have NO idea where she gets her love for party-planning, ha!

Poppy was a good sport!

We picked up our race packets for Saturday's race, and Nate loved the hat! Poppy registered Lora last minute, who flew in late Friday night.

Saturday morning was a 5K race and Nate's birthday!!

Everyone did awesome, even Lora at 5 months pregnant!

These two old guys won first place in their age groups!

 We spent a few hours at home resting (and playing dress-up again) until Nate's party. He opened a few family gifts, and then it was off to Tumbling Tides for the big party!!

Such a fun party! Read more about it in my blogpost here.

Nate really racked up when it game to gifts this year. All of his friends were very generous (one of the perks of inviting 20 kids to your party!) and Nate got a total of $85 in iTunes cards. He was pleased, can you tell!?

Someone was just a *wee* bit jealous of all the awesome gifts. I let her play her kindle for some downtime, and for some reason she wanted to do it in this box. And was NOT happy when she caught me taking a picture of her! Ha!

Not a party goes by that this one doesn't nap at.....at least he waited till we got home though....

Saturday night, we all wanted a chill night so it was pizza & game night!

We said goodbye to Lora early Sunday morning, and N&P took the kids to a park while Greg and I shopped for new phones. Nate was still worn out from his party, but Nanny & Abby had fun on all the swings & ziplines!

Last but not least, we celebrated Nate's birthday with dinner at Hokkaido. So yummy!

What a great weekend!! I'm so grateful that Lora, Nanny & Poppy all made the trip to spend time celebrating our favorite 9 year old!!

Nate's 9th Birthday! [Part 2]

Nate's birthday morning usually consists of eating Daddy's famous French toast and opening presents. Well, this year it was a bit different! We had family in town for his party weekend, so we decided it was the perfect time for Nate to run his first 5K! My dad, older sister, and Greg ran the race as well. And a few of Nate's buds from school!

Let's do this!

Big Al goofing off before the race

3/4 of a mile in.....looking good!

I told Nate he could walk at any time if he needed to. As soon as he saw me though, he started booking it again!

On the home stretch.....only about 1/4 mile to go. He left his friends in the dust!

Crossing the finish line!!!

He earned every bit of that donut. So proud of Nate!!

Tired & sweaty boys :)

All the Gibbs/Givens runners

Greg & Poppy both got first place in their age groups!!! (Nate's timing chip messed up, but we think he got around 4th place in his age group. Not bad for his first race!)

We had planned to go out to breakfast after the race, but Nate wanted to just come home & take a cold shower. And open his presents :)

Awesome presents, and awesome Ninja party!

Every year, Nate chooses Hokkaido (a Japanese steakhouse) for his birthday dinner. This year, Nanny & Poppy got to tag along since they were in town! (Aunt Lora flew out early Sunday morning and had to miss it, unfortunately).

Nate's last celebration was on Monday at school. I got to sit with him a few minutes at lunch, and hand out donuts to both 3rd grade classes as his birthday treat. Love this sweet boy! (And the fact that he doesn't get embarrassed by me being at lunch & wanting to take pictures. I know my time is limited!!)

American Ninja Warrior Party!

We had Nate's 9th birthday party on Saturday, at a local gym where one of the coaches holds "Ninja" classes. Fun Fact: this coach actually competed on American Ninja Warrior this summer! (One of Nate's favorite shows on NBC.) We watched Coach Casey compete on TV, and cheered him on since he was an Alabama student. Little did we know that he would be the coach at Nate's party and we could get to meet him! Nate was star-struck and it was the cutest thing ever :)

I got ANW headbands made for all the kids to wear, and was pleasantly surprised when 18 of the 20 wanted to wear them! Here they are, listening to Coach Casey give instructions....

Nate was adamant that this was an all-boys party, but I convinced him that Abby should come, as well as one of her friends (Kate from next door).

Coach Casey explained that the obstacle course would be run in two rounds. The first round was a practice one, and it didn't matter if you fell, had to start over, had questions, etc. There were 6 groups of obstacles, and each one got harder than the next. So fun to see how all the kids dealt with being challenged!

Chandler / Kate / George & Anthony

Mrs. Long Legs

"Mom, I have to jump OVER this!"

Listening to Coach Casey explain the 3rd set of obstacles

Just a *tad* bit excited!

Ninja Nate!!!

My Boy.

I love this picture for so many reasons! Both Nate & Abby's faces are priceless :)

Listening to more instructions from Coach Casey

More practice round fun!

Then it was finally time for round 2, the timed round!!! The kids were excited & nervous about this! The coaches were super strict and made the kids go back to the beginning of each set of obstacles if they fell or messed up.

After everyone completed their timed run, they had free play while Coach Casey tallied up the results. I found Nate with his (stop)watch, timing himself OVER AND OVER on this set of obstacles. He was very focused and it took all of my self-control to not break down laughing.

Group shot with Coach Casey before he announced the results.

Time to move into the party room!

Couldn't get enough of this cutie, Baby Caroline, and her scrunched up nose :)

Photo op with Coach Casey. I seriously think Nate will remember this day forever.

Coach Casey was signing autographs for a few kids, and offered to sign a shirt for Nate. He pulled an extra one he had from his car - that his cheering section wore while he competing on ANW - and gave it to Nate! He signed it and Nate was soooooo excited!!

 Not only was Nate enamored with Coach Casey, but his Aunt Lora too! She flew in from NC for a very short visit - think: 36 hours - and he enjoyed every second. Bonus: her baby belly is getting bigger and we got to love on Guppie :)

Good ole Nanny & Poppy, who haven't missed a party yet. Love them!