Happy 9th Birthday!?!?!?!?!?!?

Nine years old?!?!?! It is hard to believe that Our Boy is 9 this month! We've been celebrating all month. We went to a restaurant this month for his birthday, and the waiter asked him if he wanted some birthday ice cream. Do you know what he said...he said "no thanks." Back up...wait a minute...who...I mean who has ever heard of turning down free birthday ice cream? Well...I'm about to introduce you to him...it's our 9 year old!

He did tell DoDo that he would like a white cake with white icing and vanilla ice cream for his birthday. He likes to say that he prefers things "ordinary." DoDo did ask permission to add sprinkles. As you can see, the BD boy said it was ok with him:

white cake, white icing, vanilla ice cream:

Nana has a fun birthday tradition that everyone gets to decorate his/her own cupcake. Our Boy asked for his to be decorated for him. Want to know what kind he asked for...you guessed it...white cake...white icing:

Nana and Papa surprised the birthday boy with treasures from their trip to Las Vegas: a magnet from Pawn Stars, a magnet from Rick's Restorations, a $1chip from The Mirage, and a Rick's Restorations t-shirt signed by Tyler.

Over the past few years, we have given the kids a choice. They can have a big birthday party or they can go on an adventure. Our 9 year old chose the adventure this year. We visited the Tellus Science Musuem for Part 1 of his adventure. There were lots of neat exhibits there. We didn't know it, but it was Family Night...so we got to stay for some extra events. 

 He loved checking out the Solar House. He's always been a fan of solar panels.

This picture is my favorite from the trip. Because we were there for Family Science Night, we got to go in the Observatory. It was cloudy when we were there; therefore, the scientists were gathered around trying to see if they could predict when the clouds would clear for a view with the telescopes. Here's a picture of the scientists...oh yeah...and there's Our Boy too!

I wish my high school astronomy/meterology teacher could see this set-up. There were 3 telescopes and a camera in the Observatory plus multiple telescopes that they could set up outside the Observatory.

Here's one of the kids favorite exhibits: Gem Panning. You can keep the gems that you find.

 And who wouldn't love a pictures next to this huge truck from a quarry?

 

The 2nd Part of the birthday adventure was the next day at the Southeastern Railway Museum.

There were lots of trains and other transportation exhibits. It was fun to see sleeper cars, dining cars, passenger cars, frieght cars, and more. Here's the boys checking out a sleeper car:

 Look...a Pullman:

There were also buses that you could check out.

Our Girl said she was driving us to the beach! Let's go!!!

We had a great time on our adventures, and we can't believe that our oldest baby is 9 years old! Happy Birthday to you!