Happy 7th Birthday, Liam!

So the last couple of days have been chaotic, but Liam has enjoyed them tremendously. We decided we weren't going to do a "party" and were just going to take Liam and his friend to a fun place to play and have lunch and cake. Friday, Phil stayed home and we surprised Liam by taking him on a loooong ride (supposedly to Costco). We made a stop at a warehouse (a place called Out of This World) that I said I wanted to check out. As we walked in, it was this HUGE room with 2 bounce areas, the biggest indoor climbing/sled set I've ever seen, a "track" to use with little kinetic scooters, and a good-sized play area for the younger set. They even had a rock-climbing wall and leather couches for the parents to sit in! Tables and chairs for eating (they serve pizza and salads)...

He wanted to know why they were stamping our hand, and I told him that to check it out (because OF COURSE we weren't staying) we had to have the stamps. We walked in, and he saw a table with a present that said "Liam"...I told him there must have been another boy with the same name around. Then he saw his best friend Hunter and this hysterical look of absolute confusion came across his face..."Hunter?! What are you doing here?"...

Liam, Hunter and Carter (Hunter's brother) played like mad for an hour or so (as did Ceana), then we all had pizza for lunch. More playing followed that, then cake. Then he got to open his birthday gift from them (a magic kit!), then more playing. Then ice-cream and t-shirts for the kids before we left. The kids had an absolute blast - it's certainly a place we will go back to. In fact, I think we'll end up buying a membership. It was great that Ceana had a ton of places to play as well...rare in those kinds of places. They're either geared for big kids or little kids, but rarely both. Anyway, Ceana fell asleep within 3 miles (she was wiped!), and Liam came home a played some more.

Yesterday, he got to pick what he wanted for breakfast (in the final outcome of the battle between going out to eat and having cinnamon buns, the buns won). Then he opened gifts and played for a while before I told him we had to go. Hunter's birthday party was yesterday, along with 2 of his other friends - so Liam went to that. He had fun, but he got a little upset when people kept referring to the "birthday boys" and he wasn't included. Some Star Wars characters showed up, which was pretty cool. Liam loved it, though he wanted to know if he could ever have them at his birthday...I had to explain to him that we just cannot afford that kind of thing, which kind of bummed him out.

Anyway, he had a pretty good time with both days. He got some great gifts, without getting too much. Walkie-talkies were among the highlights, though he also got a zoo membership, VIP tickets to an outdoor lacrosse playoff game (that include a clinic with players before the game and a meet-and-greet after the game), and a really cool remote-control car to replace the one he has beat all to hell.

While I forgot to take my camera (I knew I would forget something), I had my cell phone and was able to take some pics of the kids and the cool place. I also got some photos of Liam with the Star Wars characters from Hunter's mom, so I'll post those as well. Enjoy!