GR8

David John turned 8 today. It's hard to believe that our mediumest child will be getting baptized next month. Normally, we would have a big birthday party with friends for an 8th birthday but David John requested a family day in Bismarck instead. I was happy to oblige him. I guess he remembered that last time he had a big birthday party with friends he felt overwhelmed. Smart boy. So, we went to Bismarck yesterday to do whatever David John wanted to do.

We headed to the science museum first where the boys spent several happy hours playing. I don't have too many pictures of David John from our fun day because he isn't one to pose for pictures but I have pictures of the other boys having a lot fun. David John really enjoyed the topographic sand table, the robotic arm, the air cannon and the paper spinner. There was a big tantrum when it was time to leave the museum. It wouldn't be a day all about David John without at least one epic meltdown after all, but luckily we were all able to recover and restore good feelings.

Elijah and I are in the human kaleidiscope.

Benjamin made a carbon chain that snaked all the way into a different exhibit. He was pretty proud.

Elijah was sad to leave his construction behind. He really wanted to make it two stories.

We had lunch at a park where the boys discovered a merry-go-round-like spinny thing. 

David John got sick and climbed off of it and then had a second melt-down because now he wasn't sure he wanted to go to the Superslide Amusement Park because he didn't feel well. I know that name sounds made up, but it isn't. We went to Superslide anyway and he ended up having a fabulous time as did everyone else. Except Benjamin. I mean, Benjamin had a great time but lost it at the end because he was out of tickets and hadn't made it to the top of the hardest rockwall face and it was time to go. As a result he claimed that he had "the worst time ever" and I had to half-carry, half-drag him out of the amusement park where he promptly died on the grass next to the parking lot. I stood next to his lifeless body and waited for Marc and the other boys to catch up. Marc helped me carry him to the van where he miraculously returned to life just in time to have a melt-down about wearing a seatbelt. 

We managed to get the boys belted in and went to HuHot Mongolian Grill for dinner. David John loves loves loves that place. He was so happy. Elijah was not. Elijah started to have a meltdown, but thankfully stopped. There are sometimes advantages to kids getting older and being more able to have a rational conversation. The grill guys all sang "Happy Birthday" to David John and he got a free chocolate wonton with a little scoop of ice cream. 

It's a shame the only smiling picture I got is blurry.

All the other pictures look like this. David John often tried to be emotionless like the "meh" emoji.

We watched Tangled on the way home. David John loves that movie because he got it for his second birthday. It started raining when we pulled into our driveway and the movie wasn't quite finished so we left the van running and Marc and I climbed into the back to snuggle in with the boys for the last few minutes. It was a very satisfying and happy way to end a turbulent day.

Today has been much calmer. David John had his special sugar cereal for birthday breakfast- Chocolate Lucky Charms. We did cake and presents before church. He initially requested a guinea pig shaped pink velvet cake. I am not a baker. Everything I looked at for guinea pig cakes looked really hard. Thankfully, Walmart happened to have a sale last week on Marvel Tsum-Tsums. If you aren't aware of Tsum-Tsums they are ridiculous. But cute. But ridiculous. The best description I can give you is that they are well-known movie and comic book characters created in the shape of a guinea pig. You can get them in three different sizes and they stack on top of eachother. They also come in plush form. Our boys have a large number of Star Wars Tsum-Tsums. Whoever created these must also have boys that have a great love of superheroes AND guinea pigs. So, like any good mother, I bought 15 Tsum-Tsums and stuck them on a pink-velvet cake that I made from a box. I may be a pancake snob but I am all about a boxed cake mix. Anyway, he loved the cake and he was thrilled about his presents. 

I realized after I put the Tsum-Tsums on that they looked like a swarm of mutant insects attacking the cake. Oh well. David John was happy with it, and it tasted good.

David John was super excited about this LEGO set. He's already been playing it. He's creating something called "The Annoyance Maker". Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. So much. He's also got a red "ooze tube" on the floor next to him from Oma and Opa. It's really cool to watch the ooze. The minion model set and Magic cards are from us.

David John is obsessed with emojis lately and has been coveting the emoji pillows every time we go to Walmart. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa. For real this time.

It is now officially our tradition that when our kiddos turn eight they get the entire Calvin and Hobbes set in paperback. He has many many hours of happy reading ahead of him.

He was even exceptionally good at church today. In our faith, age eight is known as the "age of accountability". In other words, when you are eight you should know better and be responsible for your own actions. Given David John's mercurial nature, I've been torn between nervousness about David John being ready to be accountable for himself and relief that I'm no longer theologically liable for his actions. The good news is that he has a good heart, an incredible imagination, a sharp intellect and his difficult times are usually short-lived even if they are intense.I hope that this year, for you David John, will be just GR8.