Celebrating Steven

Steven’s birthday was so nice because it was so relaxing! We all really and truly took the day off and had a great one.

Steven’s celebrating actually started the day before. We had to go to Wal-Mart to buy party-related groceries, so he spent his birthday money from Grandma & PopPop on a new Lego set – Star Wars, naturally! He put it together Thursday afternoon.

His first desire for the big day was pancakes and sausage. But, he didn’t just want to eat them. He wanted to help Daddy cook them!

They each had a skillet going, and by the third or fourth pancake Steven was able to flip his all by himself. They were pretty and quite delicious, too!

We walked to the post office mid-morning. Did you catch that? We walked! In August. It was that pretty of a day! Yes, we got a little warm since most of the walk is not shaded, but it was a very pleasant summer walk, even for our hot-natured gang. At the post office, we discovered that Steven’s birthday present from Nanny had arrived, which thrilled him to no end.

He and his sisters spend the next little while assembling the new airplane.

His lunch request was quiche. Because the plan was to have a party with friends in the evening, we reserved the cake for the party. But, we enjoyed some homemade ice cream and then went ahead and gave him his gifts.

We spent the afternoon relaxing, playing, and generally enjoying the day. Finally, party time arrived and we all headed over to the Stones’ pool. While Doug and I set up, the kids jumped on in. They entertained themselves in the shallow with some “water dancing” for a while, but then they decided it was time for the great Olympic sport of synchronized canonballs!

Steven took a break from the pool long enough for me to snap a few pictures.

This cake provided me no end of frustration, but he liked it!

Friends began to arrive, joining our kids in the pool.

Is that not a heart-melting grin?

Sweet Rachel made Steven some red frosted pretzel sticks! He was so excited!

Of all the food suggestions we made for the birthday party, Steven wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Fine by me - that made for a VERY easy party! I added some chips, tossed in some lunchmeat and cheese for anyone who didn’t want PB&J, chilled lemonade and Hawaiian punch, and it was done. The kids swam until they got hungry, ate their sandwiches, swam a little more, and then got out for cake time.

Every time the kids got out of the pool, they had to bundle up in their towels to keep from getting too chilly. (Fortunately the water temperature itself was perfect – cool, but not cold.) The kids’ chilliness outside the pool was to our advantage, though. Typically the grown-ups have to be in the pool, too, just to keep from dying from heat stroke this time of year. But, we were all able to very comfortably sit out on the patio and visit while the kids played!

By the time we started rounding everyone and everything up to head home, Steven was absolutely exhausted. But, he declared it a good tired, and said that he’d had a wonderful sixth birthday.