8 is Great!!

My youngest just celebrated his 8th birthday & has proclaimed it to be "the best birthday ever!". I can see why - the end of school year, a birthday celebration with school buddies, another birthday BBQ with neighbors & family friends; what's not to like?

I can't believe my youngest is 8. Wow. I remember when my oldest son turned 8. I remember witnessing the transformation from little kid into big kid. The sassiness, appreciation of potty humor, demand for more independence. I truly believe these changes occurred at 4:56am - the moment of his birth. I'm hoping my youngest takes a little time before the transformation takes hold. So far, so good.... he still likes to cuddle, sleeps with his lovies "Hippo & Puddles", and can charm the pants of Attila the Hun. Granted - he's only been 8 since 6:19am.

To celebrate, all he wanted to do was to invite a few of his school buddies to see the latest Shrek movie (it's cute!) & have a sleepover. Pretty simple. We were fortunate that the weather was spectacular. It helped me feel less guilty about having 5 8-year olds inside for 2 hours knowing that they could all run around outside until late into the evening. Alaska summers are great like that.


Like the goggles? We're all about safety here at Chez Arctic Knitter. During the ultimate Nerf Gun wars between adults, older siblings, neighbors & the gaggle of 8-year olds safety goggles are a must. While I'm sort of sad that my youngest is getting older and marching toward independence, I do appreciate that at this age I don't need to constantly entertain. The extent of birthday party planning involves making sure there's enough food (pizza!) and candles for the cake. 8-year old boys can entertain themselves for hours with Nerf guns, Wii, Nintendo DS, a trip to the park, and numerous outdoor toys.

We capped off the birthday weekend this afternoon with a BBQ for our close friends & neighbors. Certainly I'd have to agree with little IJ, this was the "best birthday ever!"

More craftiness soon..... Ciao~