Birthday Weekend for Tanner

I cannot believe Tanner is 6. How fast the time flies. We had a fantastic 6th birthday weekend. Geemie and Poppa arrived Friday night which was very exciting and a big highlight - thank you both for making the long trek. Poppa, with Mike's help, very kindly spent a lot of Saturday doing some major repairs to our bed which we are SO grateful for. But Tan still got lots of playtime with Geemie and Poppa and on Saturday night we had a very special dinner out at American Flatbread in Waitsfield (Tanner's choice) which in Tanner's words has "the best pizza in the whole world." (I would definetely agree with his assessment!). I think it might also have the best atmosphere in the whole world. They gave us a fantastic seat right by the fire. Dinner took 2 full hours and I have never seen our kids so still and mellow at the dinner table. I think the combination of the fire, the warmth, and the bustling sounds around them somehow lulled them into a state of calm after a busy day.

Sunday, we had Tanner's party. Tan had requested a CandyLand theme this year, and we had a great time putting it together, and pulling it off. Mike and I spent Saturday night setting up, and Sunday morning Mom and Dad took the boys to their favorite park for 2+ hours while we finished the cake and decorations. It all turned out well. We pretended that evil Lord Licorice had kidnapped King Kandy, and we had to go search for him through CandyLand. We played a lifesize version of CandyLand and made stops at Plumpie's Plum tree (to help him pick - pop! - plums), Minty's ring toss, got stuck in Gloppy's sticky caramel puddle and had to get ourselves out with teamwork, visited Grandma Peanut, and went pretend ice fishing at Princess Frostline's. Then, Lord Licorice had left us a licorice tangle which we had to sort out, and as we were following it out the window and through the yard, Lord Licorice appeared. Poor Cammy was a little terrified by Lord Licorice, but Tanner loved it! The boys battled him with Silly String and eventually were able to make it past the licorice tangle and find King Kandy and of course the cake and presents. We then ate Pesto pasta with corn (again Tan's choice) and cake and played with toys. Tan was really happy (which of course makes it all worth it) and we all had a really fun time.