Alex's Birthday Celebration(s)

Alex's dream came true this year - we celebrated his birthday for weeks!  Summer birthday parties are hard to coordinate and this year was no exception.  Due to Matt's travel schedule and friends' availability, Alex got to have his birthday party a few weeks early.  He wanted another big waterslide party in the backyard, so most of the fun happened out there, but we did have a cool candy bar for the kids to enjoy...sugar 'em up and send 'em home!

Cookie cake #1!  (It disappeared so quickly I never got a second piece...therefore I had no qualms about ordering cookie cake #2)

 Our almost 8-year old!

The water slide was a huge hit, of course.  The kids never quit going over and over and over!  Drew caught some major air in this picture.  But thankfully my prayers were answered and no one got hurt, other than a few bumps and bruises. I always worry about boys and heights and fearlessness.

 

Several hours later, just a few die-hard kids...still going!

This boy was SO happy!  And after 7 hours of sliding non-stop (including some family fun after all the kids left!), he crashed that night.

He woke up pretty excited the next day, though, because he got to enjoy his gifts!  Minecraft legos were assembled before 7am.

 
Next up was a family celebration on the 4th...lucky kid gets a national holiday just before his birthday every year!  (I won't say how long it took to get a picture of everyone together.  Maybe it's time to get a selfie stick.)

 

Cake #2!  This time with plenty of leftovers for Mama :)

 

More gifts for this lucky guy!  

He was super excited to get his own (hand-me-down, out of service) phone loaded with his favorite Muse songs.

 Alex made a good effort at polishing off the 8 from his cake, but wisely took a break before he hurled.

He couldn't wait to get started on his biggest lego set ever - a marble maze with over 700 pieces.  I helped him get organized and get the base started and then he was off to work.

 
 Later that evening, we went to our favorite spot to watch fireworks and celebrate the 4th of July.

 

Ben and Ryan were taking selfies while they waited for the fireworks...they crack me up!

 

On his actual birthday, we went to Typhoon Texas and Denny's, his two favorite places.  Then just one day later, he finished his masterpiece!  We were so proud of all his hard work.

I think that 8 looks pretty good on our little guy and I'm so proud of how Alex has grown and matured.  I hope and pray he has a wonderful year ahead of him!