The entire experience was perfect.
Sigh.
I am so happy for him!
Joshua chose to have his party at "The Party Pit." It is an indoor playground filled with inflatables and a couple of arcade games. I have a long standing rule, no little boy parties in my house if it's cold outside! I learned long ago that boys HAVE to move, climb, wrestle, and run. Finding a fun place to do those things in fall/winter in Bismarck is not easy. Thankfully JG chose well!
Joshua's littlest buddy.
I adore this kid!
Chad took Jamison and Sierra hunting. Luckily Brenna decided to stay home and help me! She had fun, AND she was a great helper!
Joshua and his BF Isaac.
According to the teachers, these two share a brain. Where one goes, the other follows.
Good form!
The only girl that Joshua talks about is Sammy.
She braved a party full of boys.
And yep. . . they chased her a lot.
This is a picture of confidence.
The sweet teen "hostess" grabbed JG and told him to go into this tent.
Without a blink, he did.
Then she turned on a blower and told him to grab as many papers as he could.
He laughed and laughed as he grabbed at the flying blizzard of paper.
I watched with amazement and joy.
Even a year ago, he would have refused. Especially because he had never seen it done.
Today, he climbed into the machine without a blink and had FUN following unexpected instructions!
We had lunch - pizza, of course.
Joshua loves pizza, but he was way too excited to eat.
He begged and begged to have cake and candles.
He was thrilled to blow out the candles.
But he did not eat even one cupcake!
He was WAY too excited to open gifts!
(I adore normal!!! Birthdays have been hard, scary, grief has been close to the surface. Not today! Thank you Jesus!)
Before we left for the party, I gave the standard pre-party lecture. "Greet your guests! Include everyone! Say thank you even if you do not like a gift! Make sure to thank each child for coming and say good-bye!"
He got stuck at the "Say thank you even if you do not like the gift." He could not imagine not liking a gift.
Thankfully he was correct.
He adored each gift.
He was so stinkin' sweet.
It was a wonderful party.
However, after parting like a 6 year old, this momma was tired! I stumbled back into the house, helped Joshua get all of his new toys out of the packaging, and promptly took a loooong nap!
The entire time I slept, I could hear Joshua and Brenna playing. They were so sweet together. My heart was full.
Eventually they climbed into my bed for a cuddle/giggle session.
The greatest of life's joy comes from the simplest of things.
My heart is overflowing this evening.
