Mikey turns 7!!

Mikey is 7!!! On the day of his birthday, he blew out candles at breakfast in a cinnamon roll and we went to his favorite place, Chuck-a-Rama, for dinner.

Later that night he got a few special presents, but most importantly, a bike.

But the true celebration happened a few days later when pirates invaded our house. 

Here was the front and back of his invitation.

Welcome to our pirate ship!

A few games...

 A little pirate lady to oversee the shenanigans....

 A little treasure hunting....

Some overly rowdy 7-year-olds....

 And, of course, a pinata.

 And what's a party without pizza and cake.

Mikey was not disappointed with his "booty."

The lucky little pirate lady even got to invite her best friend :)

They smiled at each other across the table.

 Unfortunately, they had to be locked out of some of the crazy big-boy fun. 

Here is one more cute little pirate :)

And just because it took me all night, here are few more of the cake ;) 

Happy Birthday, Mikey!!

Spring Break! (almost...)

Mikey's spring break was the last week in March. Luke's spring break was the first week in April...Lance couldn't take off either of those weeks. So we took the kids out of school a couple a days before Mikey's break and headed south to try to warm up a little. We went to Vegas. Aside from a quick over-nighter to break up the long drive to CA, they kids had never been. We found plenty of fun kid stuff and pretty well avoided the non-kid stuff so the kids had a blast! Which was the intention! However, now my kids are constantly professing their love for Vegas....I might not have thought that one through. Oh well. Here are all the fun times that were had. 

Circus Circus Adventure Dome:

The older boys loved the pirate ship!

But if you look closely, you can see Lance consoling a frightened Joe. It was a little much for him.

Luckily, there were plenty of other rides that were perfect for our little Joe.

And Elise just loved watching her big brothers.

Joey was a little nervous, but he ended up loving this one.

Mikey and Luke were clearly well entertained :)

All three boys loved this bouncing Frog one.

When it's just Elise and me sitting around waiting, and I have a camera in my hand, what else do you think could possibly happen. :) I just love her little profile pictures here.

She loved this new little piggy one of her brothers won.

I love the look she's giving piggy in this one. :)

Joey just sat in this thing forever! He couldn't get enough. 

And no park excursion can be complete without a Merry-Go-Round. 

The Coca-Cola Factory:

Luke wasn't too keen on the Coca-Cola Bear so he stayed away, but everyone else loved him.

The Rain Forest Cafe:

The food was very so-so, but the kids sure loved the atmosphere.

Yes, Mikey is picking the gorilla's nose. 

And just some other stuff:

Well, if anything, at least it wore them out!