Samuel turns 8

Can I really have an 8 year old???  A tradition I have for the kids birthdays is making a homemade cake the night before their birthday and it is a surprise.  I love hearing their little feet on the stairs and their squeals as they see what kind of birthday cake/theme I have chosen for them.  So, you can imagine my disappointment when I baked Samuel’s birthday cake and the cake was a huge flop.  It was too moist …  a yellow, moist cake that used 9 egg yolks, leaving me only 1 egg left.  My plan was a treasure chest cake … a cake in the form of a treasure chest and candy hanging out of it.  What a huge mess!!  The lid ended up too heavy and I tried to make hinges out of the gold candy I had bought.  The back of the treasure chest gave way and so I made chocolate frosting but it was too thin and it wouldn’t patch up the falling-apart cake.   I stood there, looking at this cake, and cried – yep, literally cried.  I only had one egg left, not enough sugar to make another cake, no cake mix.  I was frustrated.  I threw the entire mess away.    Samuel woke up early and I apologized to him and he said, ” It’s okay, Mommy, I am thankful for anything!”  What a sweet little boy I have!!   Unfortunately, Sarah did not have the same reaction as she cried in her room for about 20 minutes because she was counting on a chocolate cake. ( She is my chocoholoic. )   Well, we had a wonderful family day without our traditional homemade themed cake.

I made Samuel his own coupon book.  It has about 18 coupons in it … like staying up late with Daddy to play a game,  lunch date with Daddy, ice cream date with Mommy, no school work for a day, his choice of what he wants for dinner,  etc, etc.  He loved it!  I  am going to make this a tradition at birthdays from now on since the girls are begging for their own coupon books.

We spent the later morning/early afternoon at the zoo.  They have a petting zoo with goats and a pig and rabbits that the girls just love.  We fed the ducks and just enjoyed being together.

We went home and Samuel opened up a couple gifts.  He got a Transformer from his Mama and Papa in FL.  And a Spy Watch from his sisters.  AND …  a new bike from Daddy and Mommy!  Bob found bikes on clearance for 50% off – probably because in 2 months there will be snow on the ground.  His nice bike from the USA got stolen while our container set on the dock here when we first arrived.   Samuel said yesterday that he is the luckiest boy in the whole world!!

So, we went for a bike ride last night.  And we ended the day with a famiy movie night and Samuel got to talk to his friend Nathanial which was a treat.

Just an added picture … we love our Rosebud!!   Westies make such a great family dog!!