Jack is 7!!!

Jack woke up this morning and was so excited to open his presents and cards! He was showered with love from relatives and we feel so thankful that they take time to send him cards, money, and presents. We went over to Donut King so Jack could get his bag of free donuts for breakfast :) He posed with "The King" and got a chocolate sprinkled donut, some donut holes, and a filled donut that he traded with his father for a hot glazed :) Happy 7th birthday, Jack!!!

School Celebration

I must thank Jack's teacher, Mrs. Schaal, for taking these pictures for me today. I sent in the Lego cupcakes and little treat bags with the Lego suckers to class today. Looks like everyone enjoyed the treats! He sure was excited to bring them in this morning. We sure have been blessed with sweet friends and a wonderful teacher this year.

Recital and Dinner

Jack gave his grandparents a piano recital today and played 6 songs: Dreams Come True, Night Storm, Jackson Blues, Ode to Joy, Saints Go Marching In, and First Noel. He played 4 of the songs from memory and used the fingering (numbered keys from sheet music) for the remaining 2 songs. Jack introduced each song and then thanked his grandparents for coming to his recital. We were all incredibly proud!!! He was awfully proud of himself as well, especially for only have been playing the piano for about a month.

Jack picked sushi for dinner and I'm proud to report that both of his grandmothers actually ate sushi (although they protested) and liked it! The sushi chefs sent a special plate for Jack that made him feel so honored. We sang "Happy Birthday" at exactly 5:58 pm and then had Jack's favorite chocolate cake for dessert. What a fine evening it was :)

Jolly Rancher suckers

I got silicone Lego/Duplo molds from Ebay and made cupcake toppers using candy mold pieces. Super easy and cute! Just melted the candy pieces down in the microwave for a minute, stirred to soften them, and then poured into the molds. I popped them out after they had cooled in the fridge for an hour.

I decided to forgo making my own hard candy for Lego suckers and tried Jolly Ranchers instead. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and baked one candy piece in the smaller mold (2 in the larger mold) for 10 minutes. I let them cool just a minute or two before putting the stick inside. I stuck them in the fridge for about 5 minutes to cool further before popping them out of the molds. So easy, cheap, and cute!!! What an easy party favor :) Silicone molds are the way to go!

Rainbow cupcakes

I am fast at work making treats for Jack's 7th birthday on Wednesday! I knew he'd love rainbow cupcakes for his class treat, so we went to work this afternoon. We mixed dots of food coloring in the individual bowls to make purple, green, orange, yellow and blue. I scooped a little from each bowl into each cupcake liner and then swirled them with a toothpick. I will ice them and top them with candy mold Legos and Duplo men.

Jack and Theo loved licking the bowls (since there were so many).

BBC

I hosted my book club on Thursday night and Sara brought fresh sushi, straight off the boat! We had a great discussion about Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua.

Sunday Soccer

The Saints played a makeup game today and won handily!!! Jack scored a goal and assisted on another goal. We sure are proud of him.