9th Birthday Party...bowling!

I can tell that Regan is growing up; for so many reasons. For starters, when she realized that her birthday was approaching, the decisions about her birthday party were already made. She announced instantly that she wanted a bowling party. Say what?! We don't bowl so I'm not sure where this idea stemmed from. 

But nonetheless, she made her invitation list and a bowling party was to be had. 

She was super excited to arrive at the bowling alley and see this pin and balloons setting on the table for decoration. 

She had 6 of her good friends come out to have a good time on her big day. They all giggled about their "ugly shoes!" and I could sense many were nervous, having never been to a real bowling alley. It's intimidating and overwhelming all that crashing noise. Lincoln was in love with all of the balls, and when he saw the machine oiling the lanes, you would've thought he won the lottery by his screams! 

All the girls warmed up to the chaos of the bowling alley quickly. And since the kids practice bowling in gym class at school and the computer does all the calculating (remember the days when we learned how to tally up bowling in our own head!?) they were left to simply have a good time. 

She's got quite the form, our little Regan!

In the end, they had so much fun! There were some gutter balls (even with the bumpers in place), a few spares and a bunch of strikes too! 

I'm so thrilled that Regan included her little sister without skipping a beat. There wasn't an ounce of "you aren't bowling", or "you can't sit there" out of her mouth. These girls are so sweet and Sidney fit right into their conversations and giggles. 

Regan picked out this cupcake birthday cake too, again without any offering of options from me. I'm a little sad but more excited for how she is growing up and the sweet girl that she is becoming. 

She will tell you that she had an awesome birthday party and is so happy to be NINE!