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!