He’s 6!!

Six years old…time is flying by!  Elliott’s birthday occurred in the middle of the  work week this year but we didn’t let the day go unnoticed!

Of course, the day began with the birthday boy waking up to his very own birthday streamers – a tradition passed down from David’s family.

And, what kind of birthday would be complete without a tasty breakfast?  Cinnamon rolls and eggs were served up in style and with a candle for this sweet 6 year old.

Gifts from mom and dad followed.  David and I figured that since Elliott is a reading machine that it was definitely time to buy him his very own Bible.  David did lots of research and finally decided on the Grow Bible.  It’s fantastic.  It’s got lots of pictures and extra information boxes, along with maps.  But, it’s also got the complete scripture.  He has enjoyed reading through it, and bringing it with him to church.

After breakfast we headed out to pick up Nonnie on our way to the Omni to see a film about the ocean.  We ate a picnic lunch in the courtyard leaving us just enough time to make it to the theater and climb all the way to the top where we found our seats!  Nonnie treated everyone with popcorn and Benjamin surprised us all by sitting through the entire movie!  Everyone “oohed and ahhed” over the beautiful scenes, and the birthday boy sat, intrigued, the whole time!

We left the omni and headed over to a cute little candy shop called Pop Corn ‘n’ Ice Cream for dessert.  We were the only ones in the shop so we got to sit in the coveted elevated truck bed booth.  Here, Nonnie gifted Elliott with a super cool Herocia Lego game that he had been asking for and a very, very special treasure box that belonged to Papa.  Inside the box she put a magnifying glass and a tin box full of unique and vintage coins.  This gift was perfect for Elliott!  Since then we have added a lock and he puts all of his “treasures” that he finds in the box as well.  As a mom trying to stay as neat and organized as I can with three young boys in the house I appreciated this gift for other reasons!  Elliott is always bringing home random items from nature or little trinkets that he doesn’t want his little brothers to get their hands on and it’s always been a challenge trying to find the best place to put them.  For several years he used a cardboard treasure box from VBS that had long lost its decorative jewels and looked quite junky to be honest.  This special box is not only practical and  a sweet reminder of a man who we loved dearly and will miss greatly, but it’s also beautiful!

Jude was happy to celebrate and partake in some ice cream!

Nonnie also treated the boys to a bag of candy.  Talk about sugar overload!  This little shop is so cute.  The boys loved going around and using the shovels to scoop up the candy that they wanted.

Benjamin enjoyed getting his hands on some wrapped candy that he could reach!

The celebrating didn’t stop there, though!  For dinner, we let the birthday boy choose the restaurant.  We were not surprised at all when he declared Pizza Inn our destination!

This is not a great picture, what with Elliott’s stunned/unhappy expression and Jude running across the parking lot, but it’s all I’ve got!

After filling our bellies we headed over to the pet store so that he could pick out his very own pet fish!  Elliott was considering getting a turtle for a pet, but when we did a little research and discovered that they aren’t the best pets he decided that he’d like to have some fish.  This was the big gift from David and me.  A few days earlier our friend, Brandon, who is an aquarium expert, came over and helped Elliott set up his very own aquarium.  He instructed us to wait a few days before adding the fish so we figured timing it with his birthday would be the perfect day to introduce them to their new home.  Brandon recommended starting with Platys so Elliott chose 4 and named them all that night.  Sadly, Mr. Mickey Mouse passed away shortly after we added him to the tank.  A few weeks later we came home from being out of town to find Scaredy Waredy floating lifeless in the tank as well.  But, several months later, we are still really enjoying King and Dancey Pants.  Dancey Pants is a show stopper, swimming up and down fast – hence the name Dancey Pants.  And, King is named King because he seemed to rule the roost from the moment he was let loose in the tank.  Our plan is to keep adding more species to the tank.  Frogs, snails, sucker fish, and more colorful fish are on the list!

Proud 6 year old and his new pets – looking so grown up here!

This was a perfect day spend celebrating a perfect 6 year old!  I just can’t get over how COOL this kid is.  How fortunate we are to get to know him and love him and have him as our own!