7!

One night last week we put 6 Year Old Logan to bed with much fanfare. “Good night 6 Year Old Logan, I’ll never see you again (dramatic sniff)!” “Oh, how will we ever get along without our 6 Year Old Logan?!” As everyone has gotten older this tradition of dramatically saying good-bye to the 2 or 4 or 10 year old forever has really become a family affair. It’s not just Barry or I saying the tearful good-byes, but a slew of brothers and a very dramatic sister too. The birthday kid laughs and laughs and loves the attention.

Then, lo and behold, we woke up to a 7 Year Old Logan! I try to only do big birthday parties on even years– so 3 friends came over to do whatever Logan wanted to do.

We made monsters out of marshmallows, frosting, and candy.

And built sprinklers out of pvc pipe. (The idea came from Eren at this vintage chica.)

The building wasn’t really appealing to the 6 and 7 year olds, but the 9 year old brother was an awesome engineer and kept everyone happy by figuring out the best ways to get water on the trampoline.

I made masks for the boys out of their requested colors, we had cake (which tasted good, but fell and looked a little sad), and opened presents.

And even though it was small and simple it was the best day this guy could have dreamed of.

It certainly left me exhausted. Just 3 extra boys multiplied the energy here by 30!

daring jumping spider

After I got out of the shower this morning I heard Jonah exclaiming “I caught it! I caught it!” He did tell me a few times yesterday that there was a big, cool spider by his window, but I didn’t think much about it. He caught it this morning and he and Logan did all they could to learn who exactly their bedroom visitor was. This is what I found on the table when I sat down for breakfast:

They used their field guide searching skills and discovered they had a Daring Jumping Spider. Jonah made him a habitat in a jar. Logan drew a picture. All the boys went out in the rain in search of small insects to feed him.

I love it when stuff like this happens with absolutely no input (or interference) from me. I hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet and I could count it as a good school day.

Mr. Bob’s B-day

I have been buying Bare Books by the dozen. My kids love to fill them up, especially Logan. He has a series about a character named Mr. Bob who has all sorts of adventures with aliens that I have yet to take pictures of. This book, however, was given away, so Barry snapped some pictures quick (and made a photo copy) before it was gone forever. His very favorite neighbor friend had a birthday (his BFF as he calls her). Such a special occasion called for some book making.

“Yum cake. Bob opens his present…Look suuper (the 2 u’s make it extra super, no?) fun!” Can you see how clever his illustrations are? The candles smoke, the people lick their lips and their eyes look toward the cake. I can’t stand how much I love his drawings. I need to share more of them here, but I worry about the fairness of it. You know, giving my kids equal time.

The first present can turn into all sorts of things. Here they march to another present. They’re marching! And he knows to make their eyes all squinting and half-moony because they’re all so happy. I tell ya, my 6 year old is an artist.

I think all the intense study of Calvin and Hobbes and Tin Tin that my kids do has lent to all the action and sequence they get into their story making. They really fill up a lot of their non-school time drawing comics and making books. (Ssshhhhhhh! Don’t tell them we call this kind of thing Language Arts.)

(Can you see where he gets the idea for the squinty half-moon eyes?)

6!

So, a couple of you guessed right on the purpose of my cushions– they’re for our “new” camper! We’re heading out for a week to try them out, so I’ll have pictures of the whole thing soon.

In the meantime, enjoy these photos of a 6 year old birthday party. I’m up to my packing deadline, so I can’t say much.