Calvin's turns 6 years old!

I have to switch from Christmas mode to birthday mode pretty quick after Christmas with Calvin's birthday on December 28.  He turned 6 this year!  He's grown three inches since he turned 5.  The night before I put blue streamers by his door so he could "bust through them" like he wanted to do. 

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday meals and he said "Lucky Charms for breakfast, a peanut butter and jelly for lunch, and oatmeal with chocolate chips for supper!" 

The weather that day turned out pretty much perfect for an outside play day.  My dad came down for the day to help us celebrate.  The first plan of the day was to go sledding.  The sun was shining, there was almost no wind, and the temps were hanging around 30-35.  Couldn't have been nicer for sledding!  We went to Fletcher Ave (Hope Martin Park) in Waterloo.  Dave stayed in the van with Eli (he took a little nap I think) while all of us went sledding.  I smashed a number 6 into a tree with the wet packable snow and Rachel took a pic with her phone of Calvin standing next to it.  I love this pic!

Calvin was the first to be done sledding.  He was more interested in smashing down a bunch of little tiny snowmen that someone had put up earlier.  They seemed to have been vacated otherwise I wouldn't have let him smash someone else's work but they seemed to have been abandoned.  Vanessa enjoyed sledding too.  She saw Rachel walk up to us to join us sledding and she ran to her with arms wide open for a big hug!  Violet and Rachel conspired against all of us on their last run down the snow hill with snowballs flying! :)

We picked up pizza on the way home (and stopped at Dollar Tree so I could get a bouquet of balloons and some angry birds gummies for a weight) and Calvin quickly changed his mind when he saw the box open up.  He said, "I want pizza instead!!!"
I finished putting chocolate frosting on the chocolate cake I made before we went sledding.  We got dried off from sledding, and kids played around for awhile.  Grandpa Jon took a nap.  I assembled a lasagna and Dave set the oven to start at 4:30 so it would be hot by 5:30.

We went to the bowling alley (Maple Lanes) at 3 pm.  Rachel hosted Calvin's party and we all played 2 rounds.  Fun was had by all!  Dave played the first game but not the second.  He wasn't doing so well at bowling with his bum foot.

Lucky Charms for breakfast

bowling to celebrate Calvin's birthday! Hosted  by Aunt Rachel

fruit stripe gum!  great flavor...for about 20 seconds

even Eli got in on the bowling action. He pushed the ball down the ramp and laughed

sibling love

more sibling love....and son and nephew love

"The party" was planned for after bowling.  I finished decorating Calvin's cake when we got home.  The food was hot and ready - we assembled the salads, toasted the garlic bread, and set out the food.  Then I made Calvin's oatmeal.  He put his own chocolate chips in it.  Seriously, I really expected him to say he wanted to have lasagna instead...but he stuck to his guns and insisted on having oatmeal.  Sure, dude.  So that's what he had.  And the rest of us had salads, garlic bread and lasagna. :)

We sang him happy birthday, served up a chocolately cake with chocolately ice cream (his request!), and opened some presents.  We got him another pack of hot wheels tracks, a transformer, and Rachel got him a huuuge bag of M&Ms.  Martha sent him a pack of miniature exploding bombs, a pack of markers, and a notebook.  I suggested that gift because he wanted his own "clear" notebook.  He seemed to have an excellent time and loved turning 6. 

Calvin's chocolately oatmeal instead of lasagna for supper