Eight is Great!

Eight years ago today I was in the delivery room thinking I would be pregnant forever and then they broke my water and a little later the cutest baby boy with a head full of hair was born.  Now he is turning 8 years old and is a joy to have around.  Parker's birthday turned into more of a three day celebration, but we had a lot of fun.  The day before his birthday we had a dinner and a cake and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Dahle, Kevin and Isabelle (Lillian wasn't feeling well so she and Candace stayed home).  I asked Parker what he wanted for his birthday dinner and his request was meat loaf, potatoes and something healthy so he chose broccoli (with Madi in the distance saying NOOOOO, I don't like broccoli).  I was so excited that one of my kids actually CHOSE broccoli to eat. 

A telescope from Grandma and Grandpa!

Originally Parker wanted a Yoda cake, after doing some research online and realizing how difficult a Yoda cake might be, we settled for a Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker cake (thank goodness!).

Our rule about birthday parties is that our kids get to have a party every other year.  This was Parker's year to have a party and I was not too excited about having 8 smelly little boys over for a party and finding a way to entertain them.  So, I gave Parker the choice to have a party with 8 friends here at our house or he could choose 2 friends and we would go to Chuck-E-Cheese for dinner and games.  Luckily he chose Chuck-E-Cheese and on the day of his birthday we left right after school and spent the evening in Layton at Chuck-E-Cheese.  Parker chose to take his buddies Porter and Garrett.  We all had a ton of fun and Lynn and I decided we really need to go there on a date sometime so that we can really bring on the competition. :)

 

Finally on the third day, we went to the park and had cupcakes with some good friends: Caleb, Annie, Keely, Ewan, Jude, Silvie, Eva, Ian and little Caleb.  Ewan has the exact same birthday as Parker, he is just a year younger, so we had a little party for the two of them.



Caleb, Jude, Parker, Ewan and Annie



Ewan, Parker and Caleb checking out the new Scout book.



Madi giving the skateboard a try!

Parker with all of his birthday gifts!  Thanks everyone!

Parker is such a great kid!  He is a great big brother, an excellent student in school, a great helper to me and the most thoughtful kid I know.  He has such a tender heart and is always thinking about the feelings of others.  He loves to play with his friends, loves to read and play with Lego's.  I am so blessed to be his mom.  Happy Birthday Parker, we love you!