Happy 6th Birthday, Evie!

Evie had the best 6th birthday ever!  She got to play hooky from school and then plan the entire day.  I was just her chauffeur...her wish was my command.  And boy, was it commanding!  Actually, it was jam-packed, but it was SO fun...for all of us!

The day before her birthday, we brought a cake to school to celebrate.  The kids also did their birthday rock celebration for her and it was just so sweet.  One friend said, "Evie, I really appreciate what a good artist you are.  You are so good at drawing.  And you are also a really good friend."  Another friend said, "Evie, I like how you always play with different people.  You are a good friend."  I almost cried.  Of course when it was my turn, the first thing I said was, "Happy birthday, Eulee!"  Wow.  Mother of the Year right here!  Yikes.  And now we'll stop talking about that.

Here was the birthday girl's itinerary:

1.  MACARONS

This girly girl LOVES her macarons.  They are her weakness!  So we went to Bakery Lorraine just to have some food and to pick up the best macarons in town.  Yum!  I wasn't complaining!

2. PUMP IT UP

She and Eulee jumped and slid and bounced for almost 2 whole hours.  It was super fun!  This ball jumping one was their favorite one.  We came a few months ago and Eulee couldn't even complete this course and now she's tall enough to do it on her own.  Growing up!!
3. RED ROBIN

One of Evie's favorite meals is mac n cheese with broccoli from Red Robin.  I can make it at home, but she tells me that it's not the same.

4. CAKE and PRESENTS

We went home to rest and wait for the older kids to get home.  After they got home, we had an ice cream cake and opened presents.  Evie got so many shiny, fancy things.  She got a gold purse from Elina.  She's been asking for a purse for quite awhile now.  Elina added a pretty compact in it as well.  Evie was in heaven.   Look at this face while she's admiring the compact mirror!!

Eulee gave her a much-needed wallet.  Eli and B and I all got her rock and mineral related items because she is really into rocks now.  Eli got her a mineral dig...we got her geodes, a rock hammer, a rock and mineral ID book, and safety glasses.  Evie also got a kids' camera, a box of rocks and minerals (that she has been sorting), roller skates, a unicorn helmet, fashion plates, and a gear toy.  She was thrilled with everything!

5. INCREDIBLE PIZZA

This place always makes it onto our kids' lists for birthday fun.  Needless to say, they all had a blast!

6. SUSHIHANA

Evie loves shrimp tempura, so we had to go to Sushihana for dinner.  And of course we ended the meal with green tea ice cream...although now they don't serve it in a martini glass anymore!  They broke the tradition...but it was still yummy!

So what about Evie's birthday party?  Well, this was a tough one this year.  As usual, she didn't know what she wanted exactly.  She threw around the ideas of the Kiddie Park or an art party.  In the end, both didn't pan out.  I asked her what she absolutely loved and she said, "I just want to go to Six Flags."  Then I told her we could invite 4 of her friends to spend the day at Six Flags with us.  She was ecstatic!  In the end we had the party 10 days after her real birthday and only 3 friends came, but all of them had their moms with them, so it worked out really well.  One grandma came as well and I was so thankful for her because she was willing to watch Eulee while we went on the bigger rides.  Phew!

The thing was that B and Elina weren't there when we first got to Six Flags because it was the same day as Elina's entomology contest (more on that later).  What luck!  So I definitely appreciated that grandmother's help!

First we all met at the house for morning cake.  Luckily Evie doesn't like icing and prefers bundt cakes, so we celebrated with the Jewish pound cake again this year. I dressed the cake up all in gold because that's Evie's favorite color.

Then Evie opened presents and she received so many art supplies!  She was so excited!

Then we all went to Six Flags.  When we first got there, there were a lot of people at the gate.  The first thing Eli said was, "Why are we here on a Saturday?"  They know how we roll because we usually avoid crowds, which means we usually avoid Saturdays at theme parks.  But once we got in, we managed to hit Evie's top 5 rides right away--Roadrunner Express,

the log ride,

Wave Runner (love these pics!),

Pandemonium, the swing ride.  We also did a few rides not on the list, but that were still fun.  We also treated everyone to Dippin' Dots because my kids always ask if they can get it and I always say no.  I figured I would say yes this time and the kids loved it!

We ended up staying at the park from 10:30am until 4pm.  It was a long day, but Evie thought it was so fun to ride the rides with her closest friends.  Awesome!  And these kids were all so well-behaved and they really enjoyed each other's company.  They all held hands and waited for one another.  It was the cutest bunch of kids.  I love her friends!

Talk about an amazing birthday, right??  Happy 6th birthday, Evie!!  We love this sweet girl!