The Brown Brick Road

Capturing our adventures one photo at a time...

Legoland!

Because you only turn 6 once…and because we’re a little bit crazy…we took the kids to Legoland last weekend to celebrate Maxwell’s birthday a little more! We planned this trip a few months ago, long before we knew Hurricane Hermine was going to hit Florida the day before we were supposed to go! But, other than a delayed plane flight out, we had no other problems and barely even any rain.

The crew was excited to fly out Friday afternoon…

legoland

and we were all excited to meet up with GJ and Daddo and get to the Legoland hotel Friday night! Everyone loved the disco elevator and the cool pirate Lego room. It only took the boys about 3 minutes to figure out the code to open the treasure chest!

legoland

The hotel really was neat and the kids had fun the next morning playing with all the Legos in the lobby…

legoland

and then we walked down the path to Legoland!

legoland

We started out in Miniland visiting all the cities made out of Legos…

miniland

and then we raced cars, drove boats, saw Lego friends, and road rides!

legoland

legoland

legoland

legoland

We also melted because it was SO HOT and SO HUMID.

legoland

There were a few little rain showers but nothing too long or bad. Our favorite ride was the Dragon roller coaster that both boys could go on. We did that one twice! By lunchtime we were hot, tired, and ready to go. We stopped off at the Lego store (of course) and then grabbed lunch before heading out. We conquered Legoland and had another adventure to go on…to the happiest place on earth!  🙂

Avengers Assemble!

We celebrated Maxwell’s 6th birthday this year with an awesome Avengers party here at the house. He drew the invitations…

invitation

and we emailed them out to all of his old friends plus his new kindergarten class – 33 kids in all! We had a big group but thankfully we also had a beautifully sunny (and hot!) day for them to all play outside, jump in the bounce house, get their face painted, get a balloon made, bust open a piñata, and enjoy cupcakes!

We had the house all decorated…

6th bday party

We had treats for everyone…

6th bday party

And we had a very happy birthday boy!

6th bday party

6th bday party

6th bday party

6th bday party

Of course we couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of GJ!

6th bday party

6th party

The only hitch of the day was when they came to deliver the bounce house and we realized it was too big to fit in the backyard! Uh oh! We moved to Plan B and put it in the driveway and I think that worked out even better. The face painter was Maxwell’s favorite part and the balloon man was the surprise hit of the party! My smartest move of the day was hiring 2 high school girls to be helpers!

face paint

6th bday party

Maxwell had no problem blowing out his candles…

6th bday party

6th bday

6th bday party

and the piñata was a hit! Literally! Even if Robert did have to finish it off to finally get it to bust open!

piñata

piñata

6th bday party

Everyone had a great time and we all loved getting to party with Maxwell!

6th bday party

bday party 6th

bday party

I also have to brag on Maxwell because he had all his thank you notes written in 3 days!

thank you notes

It was a super fun party for a super awesome kid!!

6th bday party

I sure do love celebrating Maxwell!

Things

Catching up on things around here the past week or so…

A huge thank you to Susan for the awesome birthday gifts! Captain America, Hulk, and Cinderella!  🙂

susan presents

Another huge thank you to GJ for making the incredible Avenger masks! The Captain America and Wonder Woman masks were the party favors at Maxwell’s party. The Hulk will be used for Spencer’s part in October and the Wolverine and Iron Man were just for the boys. GJ’s the best!

masks

We loved having all of our favorite people in town last week to celebrate Maxwell!

family

In other good news, Samantha’s teeth are still white!! Woohoo! After the unfortunate fall, I was really worried her front teeth were going to turn gray but, we’re past the 2 week mark and they are still white so we should be in the clear. We went back up to the dentist this week and he was able to get an x-ray and good look at them and said they looked great. Phew!

dentist

In other not so good news, Samantha’s second day of school did not go so well. 🙁  She was having plenty of fun with brother before we left…

red shoes

and she looked awfully cute in her new red shoes…

red shoes

but she just didn’t have a good day. She was crying when I left and the teacher said she was just very clingy to her all day and could never really get happy. She didn’t even eat her lunch! They were worried that she was maybe getting sick but, nope. She was fine by the time we got home. When I picked her up at school, she didn’t even smile when she saw me but actually started crying – it was almost as if she was just overwhelmed with everything and was so relieved to see me that she just couldn’t hold the tears in. Break. my. heart. Oh, sweet baby. I guess the only way to get her to like school is to keep going – so, we’ll be back next week and will be hoping for a better day.

That’s it around here. Have a wonderful long weekend!

Celebration

Well, it was good to be Maxwell on Tuesday! He turned SIX and celebrated big! The day started with a giant cinnamon roll six…

six birthday

He then headed off to school with awesome Captain America cookies (NOT made by me!) for his class…

cookies for six

Meanwhile, back at home, the Bobbsey Twins thoroughly enjoyed the cinnamon rolls and birthday decorations!

bday

After school I got to hear all about how he got to be KING that day! He’s been waiting his turn and what better day to be king than on his birthday!

king

That night, we went to Cocina Superior (Maxwell’s choice!) and Robert had them sing to him. I would not say he really liked that! Not sure he could have sunk any lower in his seat…

6th bday

Spencer thought it was awesome though! ha!

6 bday

We then went home for cake…

cake

cake

cake

and presents!!

6 bday

We now have a stealth ninja in the house!!

six

bday

And we’re all getting to take a fun trip to Legoland and Disney to celebrate our favorite 6 year old! Now that’s how you turn six!!

bday 6

What a fun day! Happy Birthday Maxwell!

Happy Birthday Maxwell!!

SIX! It takes two hands to count his age now! My sweet, kind, incredible first born is SIX! It’s all gone so fast.

Just born…

just born

One year old…

mob one year old

Two years old…

two years old

Three years old…

3 years old

Four years old…

four years old

Five years old…

mbb 5 years old

and now SIX!!!

six

What can I say about this kid? He makes me so proud. He’s just a good, good kid. He’s smart and curious and the most observant person I know. He’s constantly taking in the world around him, remembering it, processing it…and then asking me all about it! Kindergarten is going to widen his world so much and that’s the best thing for him – just more to learn and experience! I don’t worry about him at all in groups of people. He’s kind and sweet and makes friends easily. He knows what he likes and can often convince others to follow along – but if they don’t want to, that’s usually ok with him too. He’ll adapt or just do his own thing. He’s responsible and likes to follow the rules. He’s not perfect – we’re working on some minor “back talk” and other little things – but that’s all part of growing up.

six

six

six

My favorite is to watch Maxwell with Spencer and Samantha. What a fantastic brother, leader, and role model he is for them. And he loooooves them both. Oh, how he loves them. He and Spence really are best friends and he loves Samantha more than anyone in this world. They are just as lucky as I am to have him….and he’s pretty lucky to have them too.  🙂

six

He still loves big cats and animals of all kind. He likes to study them and learn about them and act like them! Dressing up is a favorite activity – whether he’s a ninja, a superhero, or a tiger! He’s a Lego master, a sneaky spy, and a whiz on the gymnastics bar. His art and drawing abilities are something else – so creative and detailed. I’m constantly amazed at what he can sit down and draw. He’s learning to read. He knows how to tie his shoes (in a triple knot!). He’s trying more and more new foods every day (thought still not his strong suit). He’s doing life right!

six

six

six

A little interview with my favorite 6 year old:

Favorite book – If I Built A House
Favorite tv show – Ninjago
Favorite movie – Avengers
Favorite color – camo (RIP orange)
Favorite number – 6,000,095
Favorite restaurant – Mexico Lindo
Favorite thing to eat – cheese quesadillas and refried beans
Favorite drink – blueberry juice and water
Favorite friend – Butler
Favorite toy – Legos
Favorite animal – wolves
Favorite dessert – white cupcakes
What do you want to be when you grow up? No idea about that!

SIX

I don’t know how to accurately describe my pride in Maxwell or my love for him. He just constantly exceeds my expectations for what my kid could be. He’s awesome. He’s funny. He’s precocious. He’s respectful. He’s kind. He’s the best.

six

My favorite six year old in the whole world. I love him so so so very much.

maxwell

Happy Birthday, Maxwell!!