To begin the festivities, Evan and Isaac spent the evening before his birthday making coffee s'mores pie together. It was very sweet. I sat in the living room and enjoyed hearing their conversation together as they measured and mixed.
We celebrated Evan's birthday over 4 days, with our family, friends, and relatives.
* * *
THE ACTUAL DAY
March 16th fell on a Thursday this year. We took the day off school to celebrate and had a special birthday breakfast set up when Evan woke up. His favorite game character is Sonic, so even though he was turning 12, we got him a stuffed Sonic (and Sonic was holding some cash too!).
It so happened that Evan was already wearing his Sonic shirt that morning!
For breakfast, he chose orange Danish rolls and scrambled eggs with ham and cheese.
Evan's been content lately and hadn't really asked for anything for his birthday. He thought it was fun to get cash and choose a gift. We went to Best Buy and got the new Zelda game.
There's been no video game time since Christmas break, but Evan got to try his new game that day. We were supposed to have choir at 3:30 but it was cancelled at the last minute so we just relaxed at home. It was actually disappointing to have choir cancelled since the kids were looking forward to it and we hadn't planned anything else. I tried to take a little nap and Evan though I was a comfy place to settle on. My sweet boy! I'm sure this was what I was doing 12 years ago too: trying to nap, snuggled with my baby!
Choir dinner still took place at 5:30, since everyone had already prepared the food. So we did go to dinner there and play with friends. The kids sang Happy Birthday to Evan right away and he had a great time playing Ultimate Frisbee until it was dark.
* * *
FRIDAY'S PARTY with FRIENDS
Evan wanted to have just a few friends over to hang out and play video games for his friend party. He invited the boys from his Classical Conversations class, plus his buddy Everett (who couldn't come), and Carson's little younger brother, Trey. Evan did not want too many people there. Three neighbor girls dropped in too, so in addition to the boys, it was plenty!
He helped design his Mario invitation, then decided he preferred Sonic paper goods, so the invite didn't match the plates and napkins, but no one cared.
Some favorite snacks: Spicy Doritos, cheddar and sour cream Ruffles, and Hi-Chews. There were also mini bottles of Pepsi and Mountain Dew.
The Instagram version.
Carson, Trey, Josh, and Marcus arrived at 2 and the gaming began!
I accidentally wore the perfect shirt for the occasion so we took this funny picture.
Midway through the afternoon, we took a break for pie and presents.
Back: Micah, Carson, Rachel, Marcus, Trey
Front: Lyla, Natalie, Evan, Josh, Hannah
"Happy Birthday, dear Evan..."
Not everyone loved the not-super-sweet strongly coffee flavored pie, but Evan did and that's what matters most!
Evan's cash stash grew during the party! After gifts, back to gaming.
Hannah and Lyla played waitresses and brought everyone their snacks and drinks.
We'd planned that everyone would stay for a pizza dinner, but none of the boys were able to stay that long. We sent the neighbor girls home too and had a quiet dinner as just our family, which was actually nice. Then we were able to talk over the party and Evan got to play some Zelda with his daddy, who had also been excited about the new game, so it worked out well.
* * *
SATURDAY'S SLUMBER PARTY with NICKELL COUSINS
The next day, on Saturday evening, we had a party with the Nickell side of the family. I was pleased that Evan wanted me to make the cake; it doesn't feel like a birthday unless I get to make a cake, and sometimes I don't! We used our current favorite cake and frosting recipes.
We were happy with the result!
Evan requested carne asada tacos for dinner; Diana made those. Everyone was there for dinner: aunts, uncles, cousins, Grandma & Grandpa Nickell, and Great Grandma Hershey.
After tacos, cake!
Evan got money and a Costco-sized carton of Jelly Bellies!
And then, the parents all left, leaving the cousins to spend the night at their grandparents' house. They had popcorn and watched Ratatouille.
Aunt Jamie brought their new puppy, Choncho, by.
The next morning there was hot chocolate, pancakes, and bacon for breakfast.
* * *
SUNDAY'S FAMILY DINNER with the CHANDLERS
Evan's final birthday celebration took place on Sunday night, at our weekly family dinner at my parents' house. He chose ham, mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots with cheese for dinner. Ezzy Boy helped me make the mashed potatoes and they turned out to be especially delicious.
For his final birthday dessert, Evan asked me to make molten chocolate lava cakes with raspberry sauce. Everything we had this year was chocolate!
And that did it! Evan was well-celebrated and has been doing all sorts of dreaming, researching, and reading up on things he might like to purchase with his birthday money.
One of my favorite things from this birthday was Evan opening a card that listed the number the minutes until he would be officially a teenager. With a glance at me and casual shrug, he said, matter-of-factly, "I guess everyone's going to be making a big deal about that this year." It was just so perfectly him; I loved his observation and the way he delivered the comment.
We love you so very, very much, Evan!
1 comment:
Can't believe (but yet, can) he is twelve!! Love that kid! And his choice of foods and desserts, yum.
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