grass stains: Nick's 10th birthday party

Nick's been a smidge unhappy about the circumstances surrounding his 10th birthday.

And by "a smidge," I mean MIGHTILY.

I had to fly to Houston the day before his birthday, then work there all day ON his birthday, returning home that night. The fact that I was going to the trouble to get home that night meant nothing to him ... he was so focused on the fact that I would be gone all day that he refused to cut me a break for the entire preceding 45 days.

Not that I'm holding a grudge about it or anything. I mean, what parent DOESN'T enjoy being alternately frozen out and then blessed out by a child due to circumstances beyond her control? Repeatedly. For over a month.

Bygones.

For his cake, Nick requested a Pekka design. That's a character from the video game Clash of Clans, in case you're not intimately familiar with it. As we are.

Our poor cake lady Vickie. She never knows what she's gonna get with us.

As usual, she did a great job with the design she was asked to recreate ... but that thing sure is ugly.

Nick was THRILLED with it, though. As was his friend Drake, his spend-the-night guest.

By the time I arrived home from the airport, Drake had been there for an hour and they'd devoured a lot of pizza. It was time to light the candles and sing Happy Birthday.

Amelia wanted to help blow the candles out, and she totally surprised Nick by blowing out more than half of them herself!

So Nick asked me to light them again so he could have a turn of his own.

He'd chosen his very favorite combination ... strawberry cake with buttercream icing. It's got to be Vickie's best! So delicious.

Nick's gift from us was two sets of Bumper Boppers, which I thought looked like a lot of fun. (That's an Amazon Affiliate Link to the Bumper Boppers, you guys.)

Let me just tell you about these things. The kids played on the trampoline with them for an hour on Friday night, four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday.

EASILY. Might have been longer than that.

They had more fun playing with these things than I've ever seen them have with anything, really.

It's a lot like Sumo wrestling, but instead of an entire suit to bounce against, it's just an innertube.

I laughed so hard while I was watching them play, and Nick had to, um, go change his shorts at one point because he was laughing so hard he soiled them.

I MEAN, REALLY, is there any better advertisement for a product than THAT?

Or THAT combined with this photo? I THINK NOT.

I'd get your Bumper Boppers while there are still some to be had.

Anyway. In my opinion, Nick was all bent out of shape over nothing. I think his birthday turned out PRITTY WELL all things considered.

Well, except for Sunday afternoon, when his brother cut a piece of cake like this: