Ethan turns 7!

Waaay back in the middle of September Ethan turned 7 years old. (I can't believe he'll be baptized next year!) Well, it's been long enough that I can't remember details now (you can breathe a sigh of relief now) but I'll try to sum it up the best I can.

We celebrated his birthday the Sunday before his birthday and he chose Star Wars: the Clone Wars for his theme. I thought I had ordered the supplies online almost a week before the party and worried if we would get them by Sat. As the week wore on I realized I hadn't received any emails confirming the order, saying the order was shipped or anything. I confirmed with the company that sure enough, there was no order. I have no idea what happened there but now that meant I had to scramble and come up with something. I did all kinds of looking online, calling to every single party store in the vicinity...nothing. They all had the older star wars stuff. I finally left home one day to actually get it, went to the closest store and they had just bowls or napkins and a few favors. It would've been nice if they would have told me that on the phone! So I headed a little farther north and found most of what I needed. I talked to Wendy on the phone while I was there and she asked if I had checked Toys R Us, which I hadn't. I never think of there for supplies because they're not cheap. Anyway, long story a little shorter, I bought supplies from where I was at, as soon as I left, Wendy called me back to say she went to T.R.U. and they had what I was looking for. I went right back in, returned what I had bought and went back to T.R.U. (much closer to home) and bought the stuff plus some small toys as the topper for the cake.

Aahh, the cake. The part I dread the most (besides cleaning my house) is the cake. I hate spending the money on a store-made cake, but love the convenience. I hate making it myself because of the time, I'm not good at making cakes, (like Laura) but love that it costs so little. So I decided to be brave and just make it myself. I started it after dinner the night before the party and didn't finish it until about 2:30 a.m. Well, you have to factor in I had to take time to put kids to bed etc. until about 10:30. Anyway, it was almost enjoyable because it was quiet and I could focus without being distracted by anything else. I think it turned out pretty good, especially compared to all the others I've made.
Ethan has recently decided he really likes fish sticks so that's what he wanted to have for his birthday dinner. I was somewhat relieved because it would be simple and it was something other than the usual spaghetti, tacos, or breakfast that we've had every other birthday party. Along with the fish sticks we just had rice and broccoli.

I had not done very much shopping for Ethan and the one thing I knew he wanted I did not want him to have. It was too big, too loud, and something that would be fun for a month and then just sit there taking up space. So I had to come up with other stuff and it didn't amount to much at all. Jon had bought two Nintendo GameCube games quite a while ago, saving them for his birthday, and that was his main gifts. When he opened the first game he did some crazy thing like staring at the ceiling with his tongue sticking out for about 5 minutes straight. He got nice gifts from everyone else and we're very thankful. We know that everyone has to take the time and money to find something for our kids and it is very appreciated.

Ethan is a good kid and is kind to his siblings most of the time. He enjoys school and learning how to read. He is doing well at the piano too. He likes to make jokes and do funny things to make people laugh. The unfortunate side of that is that a lot of times it has to do with bodily functions. I wish that it was a phase, but I have a feeling that, being a boy, it will stay with him until adulthood. We love him anyway! :)

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