My mom had come over that morning so that the younger boys didn't have to be woken up and driven to school, so it was really nice for them to get a little extra sleep. She then accompanied us to Southern's school for lunch with him. He requested Rita's Famous Tacos for lunch, so he had bacon, egg, and cheese tacos. A few of his friends sat with us at lunchtime as well, and Southern really had fun.
We then all went back to school around 2:40pm to share cookies with his classmates. Southern wanted the smiley face cookies from Naegelin's Bakery, so that's what he got. Ms Aurora had asked everyone to get a tissue from the tissue box to use in lieu of plates, and Baylor ran up to help pass those out. My mom and I then passed the cookies out to his class, and everyone enjoyed a little treat.
 |
| Southern's classmates singing "happy birthday" to him at the end of the school day |
We headed home after that to await daddy's arrival. Southern had a few gifts to open from us, and we wanted to wait until he was home to do that. While waiting, the boys watched Wild Kratts on TV and had an after school snack. Southern requested his favorite "milkshake", so I made that. It is just milk, honey Greek Yogurt, and bananas. When Dustin got home from work, Southern opened his gifts after we sang him "happy birthday". He got two Sonic the Hedgehog Wii games, a Corvette police car, and a vintage TMNT Pizza Power board game. He was super excited about it all, and he picked up one of the video games to play for a few minutes before we went to supper.
Southern picked out where we would go eat supper on his birthday, and out of all of the places he could go (The Rainforest Cafe was even suggested), he picked Jason's Deli. So that's where we went! As a bonus, we got $5 off our meal since they have a birthday e-mail club that you can sign up for. Southern saw the sign about it just after we had paid, but the cashier heard him and said to mention it to the manager. The manager said it was no problem, that he would refund us $5 and to just sign up online when we had the chance. Yay! Southern had chicken alfredo, cantaloupe, a few bites of my salad, and a chocolate/vanilla swirl frozen yogurt cone (with a squirt of dark chocolate fudge in the bottom of the cone) for his birthday supper.
We then came back home, showered and got ready for bed, and then read a few books before the boys laid down. Each boy picked out one book that I read, and then I ended with Happy Birthday by Dr Suess. It was a busy, fun-filled day.
And Southern's birthday celebrations were not over! His party was just two days later, yesterday. I had found a deal on someone selling a gift certificate for a birthday party at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts last year (they were selling it for $30 when the party normally costs $150!) so I told Southern this year to pick a theme that involved ninjas - Ninjago, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, regular ninjas, etc., and he picked TMNT. The only downside was that the location was small, and we were limited to inviting only 10 people. A few of those friends couldn't make it because of t-ball or soccer games, but we had a good turnout, and the kids had a blast.
The party was from 12-2pm, and the first hour was spent doing ninja moves. The kids had a 45-minute lesson from the instructor after about 15 minutes of free time. Then we moved next door to Fox's Pizza for lunch. We ordered two Big Daddy's, one pepperoni and one hamburger, and they were gone in no time. There was a claw machine in the pizza shop that was filled with balls, and Southern asked me for 50 cents so that he could play. I had left my purse at Tiger-Rock, so I didn't have any money on me. Kason's daddy Fiddy overheard and gave Southern two quarters. He ran over to the machine and won a ball! The other kids played after him, but no one else won a ball that day.
The friends that made it that day were all from his school - Kason, Brandon, Tiffany, Wyatt, and Garrett. The family members that came were Parker and Carly, Claire and Cora, Grammy and Josh, D-dad and Joyce, Kate, and Allan and Granny Ehlers. (We had asked Allan to drive Granny E up from Yoakum with him.)
After everyone's tummies were full, we headed back over to Tiger-Rock for cake time. We all sang "happy birthday" to Southern, and then he cut his cake with a real katana sword. His cake was made to look like a pizza (his request). I used butter yellow cake mix topped with red icing to look like tomato sauce, shredded white chocolate to look like cheese, Reese's Puffs cereal to look like meatballs, and Swedish Fish to look like anchovies. I also had cupcakes - some made with "sauce", "cheese", and "meatballs"; some with "sauce" and "cheese", and some plain.
After the kids ate their dessert, they had more free time to just run around and play. I think everyone had fun! When it was time to go, I passed out the party favors (little TMNT buckets filled with a TMNT figure keychain, a TMNT slap bracelet, and TMNT fruit snacks). We got a few more pictures of the birthday boy with various family members, and then we left for home. Allan and Granny Ehlers followed in their vehicle.
At home, Southern opened his presents. He got lots of good stuff, but I told him to pick only one toy to try that day. He decided to open his remote controlled Transformer, Knock Out, from Grammy and Josh. He played with that for awhile, and then we headed off for Cabela's for Allan's birthday present to Southern. He bought him a spinning reel. Granny Ehlers pitched in to buy the rod. We walked around the store looking at all of the animals, and then Allan and Granny E headed back for home. We invited them to eat supper with us at Cracker Barrel, but they were in a hurry to leave. So we looked around the Bargain Cave for awhile longer and then headed for the check out. We drove to Cracker Barrel and had a nice supper together. Afterward, the boys played checkers for a while, and then we headed home. Another fun-filled day!
Southern's 7th Birthday Interview
1. What are some things you like to do?
I like to play Star Wars Wii and I like to make Legos and that's all
2. What sports do you like?
Basketball, tennis, and soccer
3. What things do you like to do around the house?
Watch TV and play video games
4. What are some of your favorite foods?
Pizza, doughnuts, and that's all
5. What do you like to wear?
costumes
6. What's your favorite color?
Black, red, and blue
7. Where are some of your favorite places to go?
Cub Scout meetings, Target, Tiger-Rock Martial Arts, The Jumpy Place, and Grammy's house
8. What makes you sad?
Whenever my brother breaks my toys
9. What do you do when you are sad?
Cry
10. What makes you happy?
Whenever I get to play video games all day
11. What do you do when you are happy?
Play video games
12. Who is your best friend?
Garner
13. What is your favorite movie and TV show?
Ant-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog
14. What are your favorite books?
Ant-Man and The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks
