Jack and Anna Turn 7

Yesterday, October 3, was Jack and Anna's 7th birthday.  As always, we gave them lots of choices on how to celebrate.  Jack chose a night at Great Wolf Lodge and Anna wanted to visit Busch Gardens. We did Busch Gardens last weekend and have a reservation for GWL in about a week.

I imagine there will be a separate blog for our Williamsburg Weekend, but in the meantime here's one shot from Busch Gardens

But, yesterday was the real day.  We told them the story of their birth (about 6 times) and expressed how truly happy we were that they were born and how great it was to celebrate that moment. Thomas hung balloons and a birthday sign and I made them pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  We also presented Anna with a birthday shirt and Jack with a birthday pin.  Then, we sent them to school.   Thomas was off, so we got to spend the day together.

The birthday boy and girl

Because Jack was allergic to eggs as a small child, I always made our birthday cakes.  He has outgrown the allergy, but the tradition has continued.  This year, he asked for a Lego cake and Anna wanted a Frozen-themed cake.  They both wanted to be surprised.  I scoured the web for ideas and decided on Olaf for Anna and a cake covered in chocolate-molded Legos for Jack.  The mold made 10 Legos at a time, and I estimated that I needed 125 of them.  Therefore, I began prepping on Monday.  I made the cakes on Thursday (I made two cakes for each of them, so 4 cakes total). Then, on Friday all I had to do was put things together.

Cake prep.  That one is Jack's, an orange layer cake on top of a vanilla 13x9 cake.

Thomas and I went and had lunch with the kids.  I always feel like a celebrity when I visit their school.  All the kids want to talk to me and share their random thoughts ("I broke my arm when I was two," "this is a new shirt...it has buttons," "I have an ATV," etc).  Fun times for all of us.  It was also stuffed animal day and the kids had brought candy bracelets to hand out to their friends. They wanted to do necklaces, but we couldn't find any (and, I went to or called 6 different stores). With all of that going on, they were obviously having a fabulous day at school.

After lunch, a nice neighbor offered to watch Luke so I could devote my time to the cakes and Thomas could mow the lawn.  It took us about 3 hours to finish them (Thomas helped).  Neither cake was particularly difficult, just a bit time-consuming.  I was pretty pleased with the results and I was hoping the kids would be too.

The kids got home and played outside with their friends for a bit.  While they were playing, my father called to wish them a happy birthday.  At that exact moment, Kara lost her very first tooth.  The excitement was overwhelming and not for the faint of heart (or ear).  There was lots of screaming and hugs and pronouncements to anyone who would listen.

We had invited our neighborhood friends, Jennifer, and the Darrows over for cake after dinner and the kids were super anxious clock-watchers. Another tradition is to let them choose their birthday meal.  Jack wanted BJ's pizza (still a step up from the canned Ravioli of last year) and Anna wanted homemade chili and cornbread.  We decided on the easy meal for Friday night and Jack and Thomas went and picked it up.  After dinner, we let them open the presents from us and each other and then sent them out to play.

Finally, it was time for the cake.  I don't think the kids were nearly as impressed as I was and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed.  Unfortunately, I didn't really get a good picture of the Lego cake because as soon as I set it down, the kids started picking off the chocolate Legos and minifigs.

I know it's blurry, but it shows both cakes

Right before the minifigs got taken and eaten.

We let the kids stay up until 8:30 to enjoy their new toys and then set them happily off to bed.  Kara put her tooth under her pillow and the kids proclaimed that it was "the best birthday ever!"  After all the excitement, Luke slept for 11 hours straight!  It was the longest he had ever slept and his first time sleeping through the night in months.  Thus, it was truly a banner day/night for all of us!

The super sleeper