Benjamin turned 5 a few weeks ago, and we surprised him with a bowling party. I am a birthday party addict, so it was a really tough realisation that I couldn't pull one off for Ben with my busy schedule and a trip to NC the following weekend to prepare for. After making several phone calls, we discovered that bowling is cheaper than almost anything else, with an added bonus of a fun activity for the kids. We kept our plan a secret from Ben, and the boys were incessantly pestering us about where the party was going to be. Ben was looking forward to going blindfolded:
As we headed down the road, Ben kept guessing where we were going and was being so cute. The bowling alley is 40 minutes away, and about 30 minutes along, Ben says, "I know we're going to the bowling alley. Ashton told me." When we called our boys in to get ready to leave for the party, our neighbor had told the boys he'd see them at the bowling alley. But Ben was going to play along! He's such a little sweetie. I think both of the boys felt guilty they had found out - very sensitive little consciences. He still insisted on wearing the blindfold all the way into the bowling alley.
I didn't get very many good pics because of the low lighting - lots of blurry shots. I don't have any to share of the kiddos zipping around on their new scooters from Uncle Danny - a big hit! But these should give you a good idea of the jist of the party:
The kids (and dads) had fun bowling. Abigail bowled a couple times, but she was mostly drawn to the controls. Because she knows how to handle an iPhone, she thinks she can handle any kind of technology!
The hardest thing for me was limiting my invites so that all the kids that came could bowl. The guests were Papa, Uncle Danny, Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda, Nana, Bree and her boys, Lisa and Tanner, Mo and Jen and Zaid, and Shawn and Shelly and Ashton. A big THANK YOU! for celebrating Big Ben with us and for your generous gifts! You all made the night special for our little guy!
My one time-consuming contribution to Ben's party were these Angry Bird cupcakes. Ben had a difficult time deciding on what kind of cake he wanted. He was waffling between Mario, Spiderman, Angry Birds and another Train cake. When I showed him these cupcakes on Pinterest, he was instantly smitten.
Cutie spent a long time sitting with her cupcake, then spent the remainder of the party trying to get her hands on another one. The apple does not fall far from the tree!
Here's a closeup of the cupcakes.
Ben was pretty wiped out after all of that excitement. He was the first one asleep in the car on the way home. Benjamin is a little charmer who brings much joy to our home. He's an artistic soul with a sensitive heart. He loves sports and trains and follows his big brudder around like a little puppy dog. They have the funniest conversations together! I wish I could replicate one for you now, but I'm too tired.
A week or so before his birthday, Benjamin sat and watched the entire 25th Anniversary concert edition of "The Phantom of the Opera." He was so engrossed for the whole 2 1/2 hours. Afterwards, they began bringing out actors who had played the part of the Phantom in the past - and their faces weren't scarred! It was like a light went on for Ben that it had all been fake - up until then he couldn't comprehend that it wasn't a true story. He finally understood what we had been trying to explain to him about plays and actors and stage makeup, etc. He can play a little bit of the Phantom motif on the piano. He describes the Phantom as the man who kept "interrupting" everybody when they were singing. :)
I'll leave this little Ben tribute at that. Every day is a gift with our little man. We are so blessed to have him as our son. We love you, buddy!
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