A Birthday to Remember

I mentioned before how Owen is really into basketball.  Lately it seems like he is always carrying around a basketball, dribbling, and shooting on the little net we have in our basement.  I think it all started when Mike began taking him to the high school basketball games this year.  He loved going and really, really looks up to a lot of the players. 

Adam was a little "distracted" so he didn't participate in most of the activities.

He wanted to have a basketball party and we had planned on having it outside at our house.  As we got closer to the weekend the weather looked worse and worse so we had to come up with another plan if we couldn't be outside. Our last resort was to have it at Mike's school in the gym.  We take the boys there to play every now and then, but having 12 kids there for a birthday party is a little different.  Thankfully after a bunch of calls we were given permission to have it there.

Mike and I had been working on a special surprise for Owen all week.  We knew how much he would love if some of the players from the Cedar Crest Basketball team showed up at his party.  Mike talked to Tommy, the coach of the team, and he was so awesome in helping set it all up.

I posted the video of Owen's reaction when the players walked in at the bottom of the page.  Not sure why I can't put it right here in the middle of my post.

Owen was a bit in shock!  He didn't really know what to say so he didn't say all that much, but the little permanent smile on his face is something I hope to remember forever.  He was on cloud 9.

Mike made a playlist of Owen's favorite songs to play during his party.  The kids had fun playing kickball and different games and relays.  Thank goodness for Mr. Szajda who helped come up with fun games for the kids to play.

After about 45 minutes our surprise arrived- 5 player from the Falcon basketball team.  They walked into the gym, walked right up to Owen, handed him a gift and then started playing with the kids.





Owen was a bit in shock!  He didn't really know what to say so he didn't say all that much, but the little permanent smile on his face is something I hope to remember forever.  He was on cloud 9.

Not only are these guys great athletes, they are smart and really nice too.  Not many high school kids would give up their Sunday afternoon to come hang out with seven year olds.



We did a pinata and when no one could break it, we let Andrew try.  It took him one swing.

After that they played a little more with the kids before leaving.

It was definitely a special birthday party for Owen.  One we hope he always remembers!

My pitiful attempt to make cupcakes look like basketballs.  Looked much simpler on Pinterest. 

 

 Once we got home and unloaded everything Owen got to open his gifts. 

 

 How did this happen?  How did seven years go by so quickly?  Didn't I just bring this little bundle home from the hospital?

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A Sign I'm Getting Old

Tonight I took Owen to the high school because the basketball players were having a special night for the community and there was no way he was going to miss it.  I think if we'd let him get a permanent Falcon tattoo right now, he would.

 

There were free throw contests, hot shot contests, and a player/teacher game.  I'm amazed at how Owen's changed (in a good way) and is coming out of his shell.  He asked to enter both the hot shot and free throw contests and ended up winning two t-shirts. He loves t-shirts, just like his dad.

At one point I caught myself checking out the players, but not in the way I checked them out back in the 1990s.

This time I was checking out  how big and tall they were and wondering how often their mothers have to go grocery shopping and how much she must spend on groceries.  Then I was thinking about how many servings of food they must eat in one sitting and that's when I realized I AM GETTING OLD!

Reading Buddies

Mike loves Harry Potter and has been looking forward to reading it to Owen for a long time.  About a year ago he tried, but Owen wasn't into it.  He recently tried again and Owen is hooked!  He begs for just one more page even when he can barely keep his eyes open.

Owen thought I was weird for taking their picture, but I promised him that one day he will appreciate it :)

A Super Terrific Day

Today was such a wonderful day.  The boys spent most of the day outside.  They were covered in dirt from head to toe.

Nana Way took them for a walk/run/wrestle on the rail trail with Lilly.  

The bounce house came out for the first time this year.

Owen recently became friends with a boy at school that's not in his class, but he sees him at recess and on the bus.  They discovered they live really close to each other (just around the block) and planned to meet up some time.  Mike said Owen kept saying "I wish one of my friends could come over, I wish one of my friends could come over," and all of a sudden he looked up and his buddy was in our yard.

He asked him to go along to the playground.  Owen was a happy camper.

Then, Aunt Beth and Eric made an impromptu quick visit to Cornwall and surprised the boys.
 

Adam took a little break to snuggle with Aunt Beth and his soon-to-be baby cousin.  His eyes got heavy and he was really close to falling asleep on her belly:)


Owen and Eric played flag football and I think the score was something like 142-129 before Adam and Mike joined in.





After that we headed to a birthday party for Adam's special friend, Haley :)

We practically had to carry the boys up the steps, plop them in the tub, scrub them down, brush their teeth and put them in their beds.  They were exhausted.