The Boy's 9th Birthday Party

To celebrate the boy’s 9^th birthday, we decided to rent one of the two cabins at Pioneer Ridge, part of our county’s Conservation Commission, located a few miles outside of town.  Due to a soccer tournament schedule—more about that later—the festivities began at 7:00 pm.

Guests of all ages arrived for arrived for the party, after finding their way down an unlit gravel road.  Hopefully, the lights of the cabin welcomed them, along with the husband who stationed himself outside to direct traffic.

While both girls and boys were invited to the party, it would be the boys who would spend the night in the cabin.  But everyone wanted to take a tour of the two story cabin.  Upstairs featured a loft with bunk beds and a queen size bed, including a set of dressers on each side!  Downstairs featured a living, dining, kitchen area, and a bathroom with a shower.

Once all the children arrived and had some pizza, they were each given flashlight as their party favor.  Then the husband and Jeremy, the dad of two of the guests, took the crew of 7 out into the night for a hike.  When they returned, they had 10 children as three more joined during the hike! 

The birthday cake was ready when they returned.  The wanted Lilo and Stitch to grace his birthday cake.  Yeah, Disney!  (You knew I would get it in here somewhere!)

After cake, came the opening of presents and there were cheers and ahs at the variety and generosity of the gifts!

Thanks to the husband, and again, Jeremy, a camp fire followed with the making of s’mores, as there is a fire pit located in the back of the cabin.  Guests can help themselves to an armful of pre-cut firewood for $3 per bundle.  It’s on the honor system, as guests put their payment in a small wooden box attached to the firewood shanty. 

After s’mores, the “day” guests began to leave and the husband prepared to tell a camp fire story.  This is where things got interesting.

We had said good-bye to everyone who was leaving and I began to tidy up the cabin while the boys were outside.  Within minutes, the boys began to make their way inside.  Seems that the story was a bit too scary!  Hmm. . . did that happen on purpose?

Soon all of the boys were inside the cabin and were getting ready to get into their sleeping bags, but not ready to call it a night.  Flashlight beams and “boy noises” continued until late into the night.  They were all awake by 6:30 am.

Breakfast was prepped and ready for the hungry brood.  After all were dressed, the husband hosted a morning hike through the woods. I got a text message from the trail “have water ready.”  Seems that the morning trail was a bit rough, but one boy sprinted back to the cabin.

We then paused to take some pictures of the group around the cabin.

We loaded the cars and continued to play outside while I cleaned the cabin as required—sweeping, wiping surfaces, etc.

The husband and I delivered the boys safely to their homes around 10:00 am.  As for our boy, he was showered and asleep by 6:15 pm that night and I followed at 7:00 pm.  We had a grand time and hope everyone else did too!

We were grateful for the star filled night—almost a full moon, beautiful weather, and great guests!

Guests included:

Braydon

Hannalee

Jeremy and Emily (parents of Braydon and Hannalee)

Friend and neighbor Ann

Grandma Carol

Sam

Abby

Moira (mother of Sam and Abby)

Nate

Jennifer and Rod (parents of Nate)

Taylor

Teri (mom of Taylor)

Jack

Brock

Conrad

Scott (parent of Jack, Brock, and Conrad)

More about the Cabins at Pioneer Ridge:

• There are two cabins that are similar in size, but different in layout to select from. (one has the queen size bed on the main floor for guests not wanting to use stairs.)
• The rental fee is $63 (includes tax) plus a $50 security deposit
• Pots, pans, dishware, silverware, and cleaning utensils are provided.
• A list of cleaning expectations is posted in the cabin, including removing all garbage.
• Rental guests are given a combination to the lock box containing the key to the cabin. (Note:  The lock box is located on the “porch” side of the cabin.  We arrived after dark and I was holding the flashlight in my mouth so I could manipulate the paddle lock to get the key.)
• Guest can occupy the cabin as early as 2:00 pm and must be out by 11:00 am the next day.
• Guests bring their own towels and bed linens. 
• Here’s the link to the Pioneer Ridge web-site for more information about the cabins.