Colin's 8th Birthday

Colin's 8th Birthday was action packed! I flew in at 6am on Saturday and was home by 8am. Colin was so sweet. He waited for me to get home before he opened any of his presents. His joy brought a smile to my face. The morning started out with him opening his presents. He scored lots of Legos, a Pillow Pet, origami kits a paper airplane launcher and much more. He was so happy with every gift. They all seemed to be just perfect for this 8 year old boy!

Of course Legos are always a hit. He's built all of them that he has gotten so far. He just rolls them out. He has such great attention span when it comes to building.

After a breakfast of champions (that means donuts in the Silva house) we headed to the last basketball game of the season for the boys. Colin must have had some 8 year old confidence because he scored his first basket ever....and his second...and his third...and so on. That boy was on fire! He had such a great game!

Cam played a good game too. He played a good offense and a good defense. He was one of the youngest on the team but he did a good job hanging with the 2nd graders.

After basketball we ate lunch and headed out to the Harlem Globetrotters game. Colin's boy scouts pack presented the flags at the game. It was so neat to see how confident Colin was going out on the floor in front of all of those people. He did a great job. Again, I think that 8 year old confidence kicked in.

Here's Colin going out on the floor. Steve is his den leader so he was able to go out on the floor with his group.

Colin is in there somewhere. They got to present the flags and then at halftime they made a tunnel for the Globetrotters to go through. Colin was all smiles.

Camden was so proud to bring Great Grandma Willodean's stuffie (he named him Puddles) to see the Globetrotters. He has not let go of that little doggie since I brought it home to him on Saturday morning.

After the game we went around and got autographs. This guy's name is Flip. He was amazing. His flips and tricks defied gravity. The kids were very impressed with his talent.

This is Handles. He was the captain of the team. He talked the most and caused the most trouble. We were in line to get his autograph and they shut down the line two people in front of us. Colin was so disappointed. He started crying and I just felt so bad for him. I asked the woman that worked there and shut the line down if we could just get an autograph since it was Colin's birthday. Of course she said no which caused bigger tears. You can always tell when someone does not have kids of their own. I walked with Colin around to the front of the line and got the attention of the guy taking the picture tickets. When I motioned him over and told him it was Colin's birthday, he had us go around the line and put us in front of another section. Five minutes later we were taking our picture with Handles and getting his autograph. That guy definitely had kids of his own and understood the disappointment of a birthday boy. The lesson taught in that moment was that it does not hurt to ask. The worst that could have happened is that he could have told us no. Instead, he told us yes. We had a 50/50 chance and we got lucky. God bless that man. I'm not sure how long it would have taken us to get Colin out of that "no autograph" funk but I'm glad that we didn't have to find out. I love that Cam had Puddles in the picture too. What a great way to remember Great Grandma on the day she was laid to rest. It felt so good to laugh with my boys and share in the joy of Colin's birthday. He was so happy and I was so sad. Just being around my joyful kids helped me so much through that sad day.

Now we will jump to Sunday (the day of Colin's birthday party) and sing praises to my wonderful friend Angie who offered to make the Lego cake pops for Colin's party. I didn't know how I was going to get it all done. I spent Saturday in between the basketball game, the Globetrotters and a pizza dinner cutting out Lego letters, Lego dots and blowing up helium balloons. Those cake pops were not going to get done. I had actually taken Friday off of work since the boys were out of school and thought I would have all day Friday to get ready for the party. Instead I was in KS with no hope of Lego cake pops making themselves. In stepped Angie. She offered, I accepted. I think she might have been a little bit shocked that I jumped on that opportunity so quickly but I was sinking fast.

Can you believe they are so awesome?! She did an amazing job! I told every person that walked through my door that she made them. There was no way I was going to take the credit for these. The kids thought they were so cool. I did too!

Colin helped with the decorating. He has so many Legos. Every spare surface was covered with Legos.

Of course it wouldn't be a party without a pose from Addie.

And her sister Emma! My sweet Colin brightened my day more than once this weekend. He has such a good heart and a smile that lights up the room. I am so blessed to have him as my son.

The Silva's could never have a celebration without the Lee's. They have become some of the best friends that we have ever had. Liam is a great kid and a great friend to Colin. These two just "get" each other. Their love of Legos and Star Wars carries their friendship to places and conversations that I would never be able to understand. This is one of those friendships that will last a lifetime.

Some of the boys getting ready to chow down on some serious sugar!

It looks like everyone had a great time. They got to choose which Lego pop they wanted to eat. They were all decorated with different faces.

We had a surprise visit from a disguised member of the Lee family. Once again, this family is all heart. The sun was a little bright but we managed to get photos of all of the kids with the characters.

Cam didn't even attempt to open his eyes.

The last thing to round out the party was opening presents. Colin's friends know him so well. Every gift he received, he loved. Legos, crafts, sports, itunes cards...what a lucky boy!

All in all we had a great weekend. It took a lot to pull it off with smiles but we did it. I am so glad I was able to laugh and celebrate with Colin on his 8th birthday. He is such a great kid and has matured so much this year. I can't wait to see what this year hold for him. Colin, you are my heart and my happiness. Thank you for being such a sweet boy and a friend to everyone.