Three Days of Birthday!

Cruise had an awesome birthday, despite the anxiety he had because of the changes in schedule. But he loved all the wonderful things he got to do and the awesome gifts he received. Here's how the three day extravaganza went:

Thursday: Thursday was Cruise's actual birthday. Dave & I had stayed up late the night before blowing up balloons and making the modeling chocolate figurines and the fondant for Cruise's cake. We blew up green & white balloons using our air compressor. Good thing too because I think we would've passed out just after a few! Since Cruise wakes up around 5:30-6 (and we don't), we thought a good surprise would be to fill his playroom with balloons of his favorite colors! So that morning he was so excited to find a sea of balloons to play in. All the boys loved it, especially Miles! It was like baby balloon heaven!

After Dave & I woke up, I made pancakes and then we had Cruise open his presents. We got him the complete series of the Magic School Bus t.v. show. I also got him his first chapter book called the 13-Story Treehouse which he is loving! Once he's done with that, I'll get him the 26-Story Treehouse.

Typically on the boys' birthdays, I take them to JCPenney to get their picture taken. Cruise refused this year. He refused to wear what I wanted him to wear (which was what he would normally wear for school). He wanted to wear basketball shorts and a white t-shirt. And he did not want his picture taken. So we had to cancel. Hopefully his school pictures will turn out okay.

So instead of doing that, I got started on making the cake. For the cake part, I made a chocolate pound cake, which I hadn't tried before. I prayed the whole time it would turn out okay. It cooked and looked perfect! It wasn't the exact flavor or consistency I was hoping for, but it was good enough.

Once the cakes came out of the oven, Grandma & Grandpa Ybarra came over to wish Cruise a happy birthday and to give him a very special present: a microscope! Cruise loved it so much he hugged it! Thank you Ybarras for the wonderful gift!

After their visit, Cruise for some reason wanted to go to the mall. We needed to get lunch too, so we decided to visit the South Towne Mall in Sandy. There wasn't anything good in the mall, so we walked next door to Mimi's where we had horrible service and not very good food that we had to wait about 45 minutes to actually eat. So that was a bummer. But afterwards, we went back to the mall and Cruise & Jett rode the carousel.

We went home and Dave had to leave for work and I got started on decorating the cake. I wouldn't say it's the easiest thing to watch 3 boys, decorate a cake, and make dinner all at the same time, but somehow I was able to manage it. I put the finishing touches on the cake at about 9pm and I was finished! I was happy to be done with it before midnight, because I was tired!

The cake itself was, like I mentioned earlier, a chocolate pound cake. I also made a regular vanilla buttercream that I frosted between layers as well as on the top and sides. I made four colors of fondant: light green, green, brown & dark brown. I used gel food color for the greens and cocoa powder (regular and dark) for the browns. I used scissors to fringe the green to make them look like grass, and then I had to measure and hand cut the squares for the checkered pattern. I made the modeling chocolate in red, black, yellow, and white. The fish/shark was all modeling chocolate, the rings I made by taking licorice ropes, connecting them together with toothpicks, and wrapping modeling chocolate around them. I bought some yellow edible glitter and dusted the rings with it. I used blue gel to mix with the buttercream for the water. I bought the flavored sugar crystals at Zurchers to be the Chaos Emeralds from the Sonic game. I placed Sonic on top using a toothpick and frosting. I thought I was done, but Cruise pointed out that Sonic needed a chili dog (Sonic's favorite food), so I grabbed some brown fondant, red modeling chocolate, and made a hotdog to put on top. This was such a fun cake to make!

Friday: Friday was the big birthday party! I got up early, got ready and headed over to the store with the 3 monkeys to pick up the balloons for the party. We got home and I fed the boys some breakfast then we headed out to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. 

(Cruise obviously wanted a Sonic themed party this year. So all the plates, cups, napkins, etc. were Sonic. I also got each of the kids their own water bottle with Sonic on it. I figured parents don't need more stuff sent home with their kid that they'll just end up throwing away. Anyway, here is the invitation for the party I had made on Etsy:)

We met Cruise's friends at the museum and they got to play for about an hour and half. His friends Nico, Leif, and Jack from school were able to make it, as well as his friends from the neighborhood, Aiden & his little brother Connor. Quite a few siblings and all the parents attended as well.  I left the museum early to pick up the pizzas, grab the cake, balloons, and party stuff, and booked it back to the museum. Dave met me curbside and helped me unload and set up at the outdoor tables. We ate lunch, had cake, and Cruise opened his friends' presents.

By then I was completely drained and needed a nap!

We went home and that's exactly what I did: I passed out. I was so tired!

Saturday: Friday night my folks flew in from California. So Saturday after Cruise's ABA therapy session, we met my parents and my sister Abby & her husband Casey at Tucanos in Provo. We ate as much meat as we could stomach, and then Cruise & Jett inhaled a giant piece of chocolate cake. I mean, the thing was gone in about 5 minutes! It was incredible! Cruise opened some presents from my family. He got some money from Grandma & Papa Greer, money from Grams, some legos and a water game from Aunt Abby & Uncle Casey, and an awesome knitted snake from Aunt Ruth that Cruise named Agent, after his real snake. Thank you for the wonderful gifts family!

Cruise with his snake.

After eating, I put the boys' swimming suits on and they got to play in the splash pads outside. Once they were bored of that, my parents took them to Provo Beach Resort where they got to play in the arcade and ride the carousel. They had a blast! We finished off the afternoon at my parents' house where they got to play with Grandpa for awhile.

And that was Cruise's birthday! Whew!