Oh, and the guest of honor's mother wasn't offended one bit when Tess walked up to her, ran her chubby fingers through her perfectly salon-set hair and proclaimed loudly, "Your hair is kinda crazy, Grandma!" Thinking back to how this could have played out six months ago... not bad, girlie, not bad.
All of that snacking and uplifting conversation wore her out, so she sleeps. The boys are still gone and house is currently the quietest it's been in weeks, so I decided to use the time to take some pics off of my camera. Great September memories, especially of our new ten year old boy!
He was ten at the end of August, but because his heart was set on certain guests in attendance for his party, we had to wait until Labor Day to get everyone here.
A Pokemon party for Jack! My boys full well know my aversion to spending money on things like rocks (really?!) and Pokemon cards, but I finally came around to the fact that there are worse things in life.
Why the heart change, you ask?
I suddenly remembered Garbage Pail Kids.
For crying out loud, how we ever got away with collecting those politically incorrect things (and then trading them in the back church pew - while chomping our gum - in the middle of the sermon) is beyond me. Go ahead boys, loose three teeth, then take your bucks to buy a Pokemon pack, I say. Seems like a lot of hard work for a bunch of cardboard nonsense if you ask me, but I'd much rather have Tess going around the house repeating phrases like,
"I trade you a hundred damage, Chaser," all proud acting like she knows her stuff, instead of overhearing one liners like, "Hey, why that baby have a bomb exploding out of his head?"
Seriously. Mom? Anyone?
Oh dear, where were we?
Oh yes, the Pokemon party was planned and ready to go, with lots of games plotted out ahead of time to make sure no one was bored. Pokemon Bingo, Pin the Tail on Pikachu, Design Your Own Pokeball, plus detailed instructions on how to draw your favorite Pokemon character step by step.
Turns out, ten year olds do a fine job entertaining themselves (ahh... I knew I liked this age!). I've never hosted a quieter, simpler party. And we never played even one of the games I had planned. Eight boys escaped upstairs with their Pokemon cards in hand, and I never heard a peep out of them for the next two hours. Sweet.
At one point I got worried that Tess might be up crashing the boys' fun, so I went upstairs to check on her. This is where I found her. Reason #147 why Bjorn fits in so well around here.
He arranged (completely symmetrical to no surprise) and lit his own candles, and at that moment I realized just how much he is growing up. This boy who was once such a handful has become one of the greatest joys of my life. Ask me about that story sometime, and I'd be happy to tell you how very good God is. With God, there is much hope in parenting, and in life.
Ah, the quiet is officially over... the boys all just piled back into the house, sweaty and happy after the Purdue win and a stop afterwards at B-Dubs. Nothing like a little football and a few father/son hot wing challenges to make your Saturday complete.
They've been home for fifteen minutes and Tyler is already asleep on the couch. How men do that surrounded by such chaos I'll never know.
More to catch up on soon!
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