Beau's Birthday!

I got one and only one good thing from attending cub scout day camp with Jacob - and that was an awesome presentation from a 17-year old kid about reptiles. Imagine sitting in a gym with over a hundred little boys for an hour and none of them making a peep. Those kids were fascinated.

So when Beau said he wanted to have a birthday party with his friends, inspiration struck and I found myself calling Lonny, aka the 17-year-old reptile expert who had captured the attention of all of the kids at day camp. He said he'd love to come and bring his reptiles and amphibians for a presentation for Beau's party.

I was so stinkin' excited. I was probably more excited than Beau.

On the day of the party (July 5th), Lonny came with his awesome sidekick mother. I want to be her when I grow up. Lonny started showing an interest in reptiles when he was 13, specifically bearded dragons. His mother made him research bearded dragons for years before she would allow him to buy one. She insisted on the same kind of informed approach to pet adoption before he could acquire his four different varieties of turtles, salamanders, and bullfrogs. She said she draws the line at snakes, though. No snakes. 

I think I'd be okay with snakes...

Here was the set up in my backyard: We had eight guests and then my own four children. Emily and Chip were in town for the weekend, so they came too.

Lonny started by telling the kids about the four different classifications of reptiles. If I remember right, those were lizards, snakes, turtles, and ??? Anyway, here he is with his bearded dragon Rosie. Rosie is actually a boy, but when he named him, he thought he was a girl, and when he found out later (it's hard to tell a reptile's sex until they are at least 6 months old), he decided it was easier to just keep the name Rosie.

Here is his mom letting the kids pet Rosie. They were instructed to only use their first two fingers, and they were very careful to do exactly as he said.

After the bearded dragons Rosie and Luna, he then showed off his turtles, salamander, and bullfrog. At the end of the presentation he let each of the kids pose for pictures with Luna the bearded dragon.

Yes. Bekah was the first to insist that Luna sit on top of her head. She is fearless. And slightly goofy.

I love this pic of Jacob. This is his "smoulder" look. His, "I am too cool to smile" look...

I told him he had to smile though.

I like Bekah's face here. Luna wasn't staying still and I think that made Bekah a little jumpy.

Then the kids all got to pose with the ornate box turtle. Isn't Beau so cool?

The turtle was trying to scratch Jacob and he was trying not to drop him.

After the presentation, the kids all went inside, got some snacks, proceeded to disregard the crafts we'd planned in favor of casual play, ate their dirt cake, opened presents, and that was that. Beau had a great time, so I count the whole thing as a success.
Beau's actual birthday was the next day. I had been working hard for the previous week on making him a desk because that's what he wanted. A desk and a lamp. Inspired by parts of different desks on Ana White's website, I decided to make it with cubbies on one side and a book shelf on the other.

I decided to just make it all out of 3/4" plywood with a clean contemporary look. There was no way to build it without Beau seeing, so we all conspired to tell him that I was actually making shelves for Dad. I didn't put it together until the last minute, literally, so it wasn't too hard to pull it off the deception.
I think he was happy with it...here was his reaction:

And here he was sitting at his desk. Such a big boy!

Bekah and Jacob were kind enough to help him organize his things. They put his art supplies in bins and filled the book shelves with his favorite books. Under his direction, of course.

I am so grateful for Beau! I feel blessed for the last 6 years our family has spent with him in it.
Bekah says the thing she loves the most about Beau is that he likes to play games with her. And that he likes to run around in his chones.
Jacob says the thing he loves best about Beau is that he sometimes gets a little crazy. He's a pretty energetic boy.
I know Marianne would say she loves that Beau watches shows on the iPad with her, hugs her and plays with her. He is usually her first choice when I tell her she has to hold someone's hand to cross the road.
I am grateful for his joy and love of learning knew things, for his ability to work hard, and for his fierce hugs and kisses. I'd say his greatest ability is that he can see a task to the end. If you give Beau a picture he will color all of it and if you ask him to scrub a toilet, he will stay with it until it is spotless.
Also, Beau would want me to mention that he has recently learned how to ride his bike really well. In fact at the 4th of July parade at church, he rode it 600 times around. (That's what the emcee of the event told him.) Also on the 4th, Beau ran a whole mile, without stopping, and won first for his age group.
I also love that Beau insists on "2 minutes of hugs" every night, without fail. He has a tender heart he is easy to love.
Happy Birthday Beau!