It is great to be 8! Deacon turned 8 this year on May 19 and was so excited! Not only did he get to be baptized this year, but he also got to have a birthday party with friends. I have decided to give my kids a friend party when they turn 5 and 8, and then maybe 10 and 12. Deacon has been invited to A LOT of birthday parties over the years, so he was super excited to have one all for him. My plans changed quite a bit, but we ended up having his party at Tolman Park on Saturday, May 15. I was planning to do his party the Saturday after his birthday, but the weather looked better on the 15th, so we did it then. The weather turned out to be great that day, so I was happy we did it then. There were a total of 10 kids there including Deacon (Deacon, Emerson, Livy, Garrett, Kyle, Piper, Oliver, Analise, Abby, and Madden). He invited 2 other kids, but they couldn't make it. One boy that couldn't come, Blaine, was so sweet and still got Deacon a present, which was a Minecraft Lego set he loved. I thought that was very sweet.
For the party, we met at the park at noon and everyone played until all the kids showed up. First, Deacon wanted to do a little "get to know you game," so he had all the kids say their name, favorite food, and favorite animal. Next, we played a create-a-monster dice game where the kids roll a dice to find out which body, arms, eye, legs, and mouth of a monster to draw on a paper bag I gave them. After that we played birthday bingo. This was fun, except the wind kept blowing the cards and pieces away, so we moved to the ground for the last few rounds. Next, we had lunch, which was sandwiches, chips, carrots, and drinks. Once everyone was done eating, they got to make an alien craft. We then had donuts, sang happy birthday, and Deacon opened his presents from everyone. That was probably his favorite part. After that, I let everyone run around and play on the park for a few minutes. They got tired of the park much faster than I expected. We then played a few rounds of Red Light, Green Light, and then had a "dinosaur" egg hunt in the small forest area. The kids opened their eggs and made a few trades with their candy and stickers. Overall, I thought it was a great party and the kids seemed to have a fun time.
On Sunday, Deacon met with the Bishop in our ward for his baptism interview. Then during primary, all the kids that are turning 8 this year met with the Bishop and their parents to talk about baptism and to help them get comfortable and understand what they would be doing. They got to go into the font with their Dad's to see what it would feel like and have any questions they had answered. I hope this is something Deacon is getting excited about. We are planning to have him be baptized on July 10.
On Tuesday, May 18, I took Deacon to a store called Five Below after I picked him up from daycare and let him pick out any 3 things he wanted for his birthday. He picked a Spy Set, some handcuffs, and a Treasure Dig Set. His spy set came with 2 stick on mustaches, and he and Emerson went around pretending to be spies with their glasses and mustaches all night.
That evening, we got together for a small family birthday party for Deacon. His Mecham grandparents, Livy, Mandy, Mecham Great-Grandparents, and Grandma Nelson all came. Deacon was excited for this party, too. He opened some presents and then had some cake roll and ice cream. Deacon was a great host and got everyone's dessert orders, brought them water, and helped clean up their bowls/cups. It was fun to get together and see everyone.
Lastly, on Deacon's actual birthday, he went to school and handed out a treat to his class. His class all made him birthday cards and his teacher gave him a little gift. I picked him up from school that day and then we all went to Boondock's. We played mini golf, went on the bumper boats, rode the go-karts, bowled, played some arcade games, and watched and XD movie. Deacon really wanted to do laser tag, so he and Matt played laser tag while Emerson and I went on the Kiddie cove playground area and watched another XD movie. Since it was a school day, this made for a late night, but overall, I think he had a great birthday! We got some dinner on our way home since it was after 8pm, then he opened a few more presents.
Emerson said he was "playing in the sand" here:
HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY DEACON!
