Tanner Turns 7

Even though I have repeatedly told Tanner he is "not allowed to turn 7" he went ahead and did it anyway. We had his birthday party last Saturday. He invited 4 boys over and we drove two cars across town to the new bowling alley called Pinz.  We were greeted by our party organizer who stayed with us through the two hour event, keeping everyone organized, getting food and drinks, etc... It was great! The kids loved bowling and since the lanes had huge TV screens above them, they were also able to watch the BSU game during the party. After an hour of bowling we headed to the pizza room for dinner, present opening, and make your own sundae bar. Tanner tried a little bit of every topping on his masterpiece.  Each boy was given a bunch of tokens (now on a convenience little credit card thingy) to use in the arcade. After game playing we headed to the dreaded "Store" where we helped each boy use the "tickets" he earned (also now on an electronic card) to buy candy and trinkets. We headed home, dropped each boy off, and finished off the night with a few episodes of Gilligan's Island.

His favorite gift was the game Fibbers, which we played the next day. If you haven't seen this game I highly recommend it for Family Game Night. It's a lot of fun and even younger kids can easily play. You have to wear these silly glasses and each time you are caught lying you add a colored plastic nose to the frames. 

Tanner's real birthday was on Wednesday the 21st. I took the kids to see Wreck it Ralph at the REAL theatre. We usually only go to the dollar theater by our house so a trip to the big Regal Cinema downtown is a treat. Nana gave Tanner money for treats and instructed me to let them buy whatever they wanted so Tanner and Jake shared an industrial size Icee, a box of cookie dough bites, and popcorn. Faith opted for the Dreyers Dibs. And we all shared a vat of Diet Coke. 

That night Brian took Tanner out to his annual birthday dinner. This year he chose Applebees where he had chicken wings, sliders, and two Mountain Dews. They had a great time and headed home to do presents and cake with Nana, Sheila, Wayne, Shelby, and Sam.  He was very excited about the pop up soccer goals and soccer ball. He'll have some shopping to do with his Target gift card from Grandma Mary.  He was dying for a digital watch, but the only one we could find was Batman and he decided he'd rather have a plain one so we'll take him out to exchange it after this Black Friday madness is over.  

Tanner is such a light in our life. He makes us laugh, cuddles with the best of them, is a great reader, is a loving brother to Faith and Jake,  loves all sports, is easy going, and kind hearted.  One of the games we played at the bowling alley was a "Who Knows Tanner the Best?" game and when asked what three things he would take to a desert island he answered, "My family, my dog Jackson, and a tent". LOL. That's my boy.