J's Birthday Celebrations

J turned seven this year, which hardly seems possible in many ways. Time is flying by in the best possible way--there's too much going on to catch my breath. We've had a couple of celebrations in the past week.

On J's actual birthday, he opened presents at breakfast (a tradition that started in our house a while back and has stuck). He was delighted with some books and Mario Kart Wii. I didn't take any pictures because it was breakfast. We had cake after dinner and Skyped with family members, opening more fun packages.

On Friday we had a party at our house for local kids, members from J's Tiger Scout den, and other assorted friends. 12 kids in all attended. Since J has joined the Minecraft craze, my wife decided to have themed activities. The first activity was on the front porch, making Minecraft faces from colored paper squares.

Minecraft faces (the green frowny face is a Creeper)

We had a delightful dinner of kid-friendly items--chicken fingers, fish sticks, french fries, potato chips, veggies with dip, fruit on toothpicks, and bread. It was a fine feast that finished with a themed cake.

Feasting children

The Minecraft cake

J did a great job blowing out the candles.

Ready...

Mid-blowing (and mid-drinking)

Lights back on

After dinner, the kids went into our darkened basement and did some Minecraft resource collecting. We'd printed out little squares that look just like the resources in Minecraft and had them scattered throughout our basement. The children each had a glow stick and were sent down en masse to search for resources. It was a fun last activity for all.

On Sunday, we went out to my mom's house in Virginia for a family party which did not include games but did include fabulous cousin A and a yummy Italian dinner with J's favorite, tortellini. We had another cake and another round of awesome presents.

J and cake #3

On Monday, after breakfast the kids dove into a crystal mining kit, a gift from the previous day's celebration. The instructions warned about inhaling dust from the block, so J and L wore bandanas over their mouths.

J begins excavating

L is unsure about it, but...

...she takes a crack at it

A bit of precision work

L's find