First, I apologize that I am SO behind in getting these important birthday posts on our family blog! I cannot believe I am 4 months behind with Noah's 6th birthday post and nearly two months late with Cody's 36th birthday post! Sheesh.
Well here are both anyway. Better late than never I suppose.
We've started a new family tradition. For Cody's 35th birthday, he wanted to get away somewhere as a family. That's what he wanted, family time. So for his birthday last year, we made our very first trip down to Grapevine, Texas for a two-day vacay at Great Wolf Lodge. We were immediately hooked. Indoor water park, middle of the week trip, no lines, no crowds, practically the place to ourselves. We knew we'd be back.
So for Cody's birthday this May, we made our annually trip and celebration down to Great Wolf again. Noah and I called ahead to Great American Cookie Company and ordered a fabulous cookie cake for Cody's big day complete with golf clubs on the green.
Noah and I picked up party favors, some really cool slap bracelets (above). Yeah, they're making a comeback. (Side note: Those of you born in the 80s, grew up in the 90s, remind slap bracelets?! I was obsessed with these!)
We did take Noah out of school for one day to make this trip happen. He was insistent he pose by the big stone wolf outside the hotel and send the pic to Ms. Rowe, his Kindergarten teacher.
Noah's favorite thing was the lazy river. It's shallow enough he can touch, but deep enough he can swim well on his own. Cody and I just float on the complimentary rafts as we circle around the liquid trail watching Noah have fun.
My dad stopped by to play on the second day. Our hotel room came with four passes, so we had an extra for Papa John. While Papa John and Noah went down a few rides together, Cody and I hit up the Howlin' Tornado...It's the ride that you are barely in an inter-tube. You're barely sitting on it hanging on to these flimsy handles. And if you ask really nicely, which my husband did, the operator guy will spin you backwards, which he did me, as you plummet to your death. Praise the Lord Noah can't ride it yet because I'm sure I probably said some choice words during the vertical drop that were not appropriate for my sweet boy to hear. Once you hit the bottom on the drop, you are knocked senseless back and forth inside this funnel. Talk about whip lash! Then you are dumped back down a tube til you reach the bottom. (Ok, it's not that bad. I over-exaggerated a little. However, your stomach does end up in your throat on that first drop!)
Noah is 47.5 inches tall. You have to be 48 inches to ride all the rides. Cody and Noah made a deal we'd come back to celebrate Noah achieving 4 feet tall. We measure him practically every day now. :)
We had such a great time as a little family of three. It being just us is so nice.
So for Noah's 6th birthday in March, he opted out of a party. We gave him the choice to either have an all-out party, like I always throw for him, or go on a trip. Noah chose a trip which was fine by me. Got me out of party planning (although I love it!) and cleaning the house for guests (also love to clean!), but glad to not have to fret and make everything perfect in the Alison way. So where did Noah choose? Yep! You guessed it! Great Wolf Lodge! Noah didn't want to miss school on his actual birthday, so we scheduled this trip during spring break. Our friends, the Carlsons, were also planning to take their family there at the same time. We told Noah he could take a friend. He chose to take Miles, a good buddy from pre-K. The boys shared bunk beds in the hotel room. Too cute.
The boys enjoyed Story Time in the lobby before bed.
Not only did we spend two days at Great Wolf getting wet, but we also enjoyed an afternoon at Legoland. The boys enjoyed building and racing cars, touring the Lego city of Dallas and riding the amusement park rides there at Legoland.
If you look very closely at the top, you'll see the boys on the staircase making their way to the giant yellow tube. You'd think two rowdy boys would enjoy the big slides, the fast slides, the fun slides. You'd think you'd be climbing the stairs over and over and over again to get in as many turns down the slide as possible...Nope. Maybe a few, but if you're these two rowdy boys, you'd prefer the wave pool. At the wolf's howl, the waves start rocking and those boys get to giggling! Their mission: to beat up (by slapping and punching) the incoming waves as if they will be able to defeat the waves from hitting the shore. Too cute to watch. You can't help, but laugh along with them!
We had a fantastic time celebrating a belated birthday for our boy. I'm sure next year, he'll be asking to go again!
NOAH'S ACTUAL 6TH BIRTHDAY
(pictures in random order)
We kept Noah's actual birthday and the celebration low key since we would take him to Great Wolf during spring break. He was born on the 10th of March. Spring break is just the following week.
It's not a real birthday breakfast before school unless you get bacon! This kid LOVES bacon. He could eat a whole pound (and more) if we let him. I don't blame him. Bacon is meat candy.
We made Noah wait until after school to open gifts, so he wouldn't be pining away at school all day. We got him a Nintendo DS, a handheld video game system. He was thrilled! Especially since we'd been telling him he had to be 8 years old to get one...
We decorated his bedroom door with streamers and balloons.
He went to Build-A-Bear and made Iron Spider, our newest stuffed family member and then met some buddies (Cashton, Kynlee and Daphne) for fun and games at Hey Day!
SCHOOL DAY CELEBRATION
At the Monday morning school assembly, which happened to be Noah's birthday, Noah was awarded a library book with his name in it for meeting his goal of reading 200 books during the school year. He didn't get to keep the library book, but was the first to check it out to read! His name is written on a sticker inside the front cover. It's a pretty cool accomplishment. Kids love seeing their name written inside the books.
In the afternoon, we celebrated Noah with his classmates and a Lego cookie cake. It was super fun!
I can't believe Noah is 6 years old. Where has the time gone? Now at this point when I type this, Noah will be in first grade soon. Too soon. He loves to wrestle with his daddy, swim in our pool, play video games on the PS3 in his room or on his DS, loves math and solving problems, has pretty good penmanship, and loves to eat Fruity Pebbles (and so does Cody. I should buy stock in that cereal). This summer he is taking art classes, golf lessons, swimming lessons, piano lessons, going to Safety Town to learn street and bike safety and a whole lot more! He is a good helper and listener. He is compassionate and thoughtful. I believe he has the spiritual gift of intercessory. He is a wonderful pray-er. Church is his second home. He's ticklish, funny and bright. He loves to tell jokes and get people to laugh. He is learning when and what is appropriate to get people to laugh...He's sweet for the first 10 minutes that he wakes up. I tell him "ornery Noah has to stay asleep" then it's not too long after that he's pinching my nose or tickling me. He prefers to wear nothing at all, but when in public, athletic shorts and dry-fit shirts are his choice of attire. He's learning how to tie his shoes and how to read more than he already does. He talks ALL THE TIME. He loves to have your attention. He likes Ninjago, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and still likes Scooby Doo and Tom and Jerry cartoons. He is really good at building Legos. His favorite songs are "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen. I just can't believe my baby is this big. He makes me want to be the best mommy I can be and better yet, the best godly woman I can be. Cody and I just can't get enough of him. We are so blessed to have such an incredible son. He's such a gift from God.
