Celebrating Jimmy's 8th Birthday with Friends

When I was planning Jimmy's 8th birthday, I looked ahead on the calendar and sighed.  This is always such a busy time of year in our household because of basketball season, Winter dances, Valentine's Day, ALL the February birthdays ... and the list goes on.  But -- I don't ever want to miss an opportunity to celebrate my kids up big for their birthdays either.  So, I shuffled some things around and reached out to the moms of some of Jimmy's friends so that we could be sure to find a day and time that worked for a party.  

Jimmy chose a dinosaur theme and I suggested a party at the bowling alley where we went for part of Jack's party last year.  Then, we set to work filling some party bags.

We included some dinosaur chapstick, dinosaur gummy candy, some squishy dinosaur eggs and one of our favorite things -- dinosaur eggs that you 'excavate.'

I made and decorated the cake and then made sure that we would be able to safely transport it to the bowling alley.  

The girls (and Ainsley) were a big help to me, loading up the van and then waiting in the vehicle while I picked up a few balloons from Meijer.  Steve was with Jack at his basketball game at the time and they planned to join us at the bowling alley after the game was over. 

One by one, the friends arrived and they were so excited to be able to see Jimmy, bowl and have lots of pizza, pop and cake.

I ended up adding on an extra lane after Jack arrived and the girls and Jack bowled on that lane.  

We took a small break to sing 'happy birthday' to this 8-year old and then the kids DEVOURED the cake.  Our server even surprised us by bringing out cups of ice cream for everyone.  It was such a thoughtful gesture because I knew that I wouldn't be able to transport ice cream to the bowling alley for the party and manage to keep it cold.

Jimmy is one loved little boy because he was spoiled by all of the gifts that he received.

They all know him SO well!

Build your own Lego car?  Yup, perfect.

Pokemon, Bakugan and football.  More favorites.

As Jimmy was finishing up with gifts and the boys were competing to see who the final winner of their bowling games would be, our server did one more amazing thing for us.  She went into the back of the alley, where all of the pins are stored, and brought out a bowling pin as a souvenir.  She wrote, "Happy 8th Birthday, Jimmy!" on it and signed her name.  And then she left sharpies for the rest of the guests to write on it.  

Jimmy proudly posed with it and his balloons when we got back home and I am pretty sure that he did not stop smiling for the rest of the day!

 

Kicking Off the New Year

Celebrating Grandpa's birthday on New Year's Day with his dessert of choice: homemade key lime pie.  Jack must have blinked just as I was taking the picture, ha!

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While we often think of winter here in Michigan as being cold, blustery and full of snow, this winter has been quite mild so far.  We have still taken advantage of the warmer indoors to work on Legos and puzzles.  

I love being able to set up a card table in any random place in the house and have a puzzle going for anyone that wants to stop by and put a few pieces in.  

 

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We often have a wood fire going in fireplace in our back family room and Steve surprised the boys by offering to let them roast their hotdogs in it one night.

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The local American Legion, which Steve and I are both members of, hosts an Annual Squirrel and Rabbit Hunt each year in January.  The boys both participated this year and were happy to be able to turn in some squirrels to earn tickets toward prizes.  

Even Sam joined in and helped add to the collection.

Steve and the boys originally had other plans to stay overnight in a neighbor's hunting cabin and begin hunting early the morning of the event and then head back to our woods and finish in the afternoon.  But, with the impending snowstorm -- you can tell that it was definitely snowing hard in this picture with Steve -- they changed their minds and chose to stay home and hunt here.  It was a good choice because the storm knocked out the power for a few hours.  Thank goodness for a generator and a crockpot of chili going in the fire-heated garage to keep everyone dry and warm.

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Sam invited one of her best friends, Lillian, to come over and hang out.  I hope that the kids never get tired of building snowmen in the front yard!

Jimmy set to work making his own snowman farther away from the girls.  It was definitely great 'packing' snow.

Even Jack and Sophia joined in on the fun!

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Another winter-day activity: drawing and coloring with his art set.  Sometimes I draw the pictures for him, but lately, he has been doing most of the drawing himself and I love seeing his budding artistic side.

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