Bean Dip's birthday party was this weekend, and I am pretty sure it was a success. My mom was here, and Katherine and Collins came as well. We also had the neighbors, Alex and Mary and the kids, and Ivy came as well.

We kept it simple this year. We did pizza for the meal and I just bought mini cupcakes for the cake part. My cherry cake for his actual birthday was enough baking this week. I also had fresh fruit and veggies and hummus as well, something healthy to balance out the delicious pizza. My mom was a great help in that she did all the food prep while I tore around the house cleaning up.

We had the pool and the slip'n'slide and games set up in the backyard.  BD and Ivy picked up right where they left off and and ran around playing all afternoon. G and Cameron spent (quite literally) hours in the pool. They came out only for the science experiment, food, and presents. And the occasional cupcake. They swam until 7 p.m.

We did the silly putty experiment for all the kids. I also just had that as the "goody bag" for the kids. They got to take home the results of their experiment. Basically, we mixed glue, water, and borax to make a wonderful goop like silly putty. The sound of the kids saying "wow!" all together when the mixture came together was priceless. It was fun, a little messy, and a lot of fun.

After that, we ate, opened presents and had cake. This year, I got all the birthday stuff wrapped up fairly quickly, and then I could relax! We spent the rest of the evening hanging out. BD put together all his new Legos, finally quitting at almost 10 p.m. when he couldn't function any more. Win had to help him with his last one. It was a great party, and I know BD was really happy.

Silly Putty Recipe: http://pagingfunmums.com/2014/06/13/frozen-silly-putty/

Another big first for us this week -- we attended our first first military ball. It was sort of a last minute decision, so I only had two weeks to find a dress, shoes, etc., but I managed, and we attended.

It was at a hotel in downtown Nashville, and we rode down with our good friends. Mom came to visit and to babysit for us. It was fun, and definitely an unique experience. I can only imagine what all the people checking into the hotel thought of the hundreds of soldiers in dress blues and spouses in the black tie formal milling about.

The ball was filled with lots of formality and tradition. Some of my favorite parts included the singing of the national anthem. The soldier chosen to sing was really nervous and could not get through it. So everyone started singing with him, to finish it. I also really enjoyed the guest speaker, a retired general who had once been the commander of Fort Campbell. He spoke for a long time, and he was incredible because he gave real, direct, truthful advice and opinion about what is currently happening in today's Army and the world. And the last event of the evening was the grog ceremony, which I don't know anything about, except that it honored all the former conflicts and resulted in what must have been a fairly undrinkable concoction that lots of people were lining up to drink.

We left when the dancing started, because we had to get back home. But that was fine. I'm glad we went.

Bean Dip's birthday was really nice. We didn't do a whole lot that day -- swimming lessons in the morning and cake in the evening. But he was happy all day, and not horribly impatient about getting to open his presents. He's maturing in that aspect, and it is wonderful.

Swimming lessons went well, even though I forgot their goggles. On the way home, I asked BD what he wanted for lunch, and he picked Subway. Perfect. He ordered his sandwich, much to the delight of the workers and the old guy behind us. The sandwich he picked was: roast beef on Italian bread, no cheese, heated, with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, olives, yellow peppers, jalapenos, and steak sauce. He ate the whole thing and said it was delicious.

We did a little science experiment that afternoon. We made silly putty. It was a project Win found on the Internet. Basically, you mix glue, water, and borax, and it turns into the crazy goop. We used clear glue and added food coloring and glitter. It was super easy and so awesome to watch it change from liquid to solid. BD has been into chemistry lately, so this was a fun, easy experiment.

We went out to dinner at Olive Garden that night, a nod to BD's "Italian" heritage. Olive Garden is the most "Italian" restaurant in Clarksville. We had a great time, and the food was delicious. Baby G ordered spaghetti with marinara sauce and shrimp, and BD chose one of the small plates off the adult menu -- polenta with shrimp, olives, and capers. It was really good -- we traded plates after a bit so he could eat the rest of my risotto while I ate his polenta.

Bean Dip had decided he wanted a party on his real birthday. We settled for sharing his cake with the neighbors. So after we got home from dinner, we got everyone together (that included Scott yelling across the cul-de-sac to Earl) for cake and ice cream. This year, BD requested a cherry cake. I ended up making a vanilla cake layered with homemade cherry filling, homemade vanilla butter cream, and fresh cherries on top. It turned out amazing -- I think I've finally mastered buttercream (the secret is to have the butter really soft). So we all had a little party in the driveway, and BD also got to practice his skateboarding.

We got him a skateboard for his birthday, which I think was a complete surprise for him, and he loves it. He also finally got his much-wanted alarm clock, a Lego Darth Vader one. And of course, more Star Wars Legos.

Seven!

A Detour

On our way home on Sunday, we hit traffic almost immediately upon leaving. Instead of sitting on the highway, we took a detour and ended going home via I-55. The route took us south through Missouri, with us crossing the Mississippi in Cape Girardeau. We then hopped on The Great River Road in Illinois (Illinois Route 3), and meandered through small towns until we crossed the Ohio River in Cairo, Ill.

So, here's the deal. I had always heard of Cairo and always wondered why that area of Illinois has all these Egyptian names (Lake of Egypt, Promised Land, Olive Branch, Alexander). Then we drove straight through Cairo.

That was an experience. I was expecting a fairly large, normal southern Illinois town. Well, it was large, but desolate. Beautiful old buildings completely abandoned. Falling down buildings, a few open gas stations, and just a few people wandering around. It was quite shocking.

So after we crossed the bridge into Kentucky, I started googling and found out Cairo has quite a history I knew nothing about. It is essentially an abandoned town, due to economic collapse and the evacuation of the entire city in 2011 due to flooding. But before that, there were decades of decline and racial strife. The city was at its peak during and just after the Civil War, when it was a key port city for General Grant. After that, and after the bridges across the river were built, the decline started.

I found it fascinating. I had no idea it had such a history. I'm glad I learned something new, but I don't think we will take that route again.

For more information: The Cairo Project
                                 A Trip to Cairo, Illinois

This Week ...

1. This guy:


2. And this: Elliot Rodger is a madman that we as a culture have created 

3. This blog: Mozzarella Mama. She is a journalist living in Rome, and recently she was part of the journalist group that traveled to Israel with the Pope. I also loved this post about an artist/architect in Rome.

4. This article: Why team Obama was blindsided by the Bergdahl Backlash.

Happy Saturday!

I just read this blog post, which was pretty much exactly what I was going to write about today, minus the sponsor, of course. The absolute best thing about where we live right now is our neighbors. And now that it's summer, we are spending more and more time outside with them.

Kellie (from across the street) and I joke about our "stalker" children. They are always watching out the window to see if the others are outside playing. The minute they do, it's constant begging until we can go outside. I don't mind, because they have so much fun together, and Kellie and I can hang out while they play.

Yesterday, we headed out. It was cool, and Kellie had her windows open, so Gwyn and Lem stood at the curb and yelled across the street to tell Cameron (in the window) to come outside. About 5 minutes later, they were out. Soon after, Earl showed up on his bike (he lives next door to us) and started teaching Lem to play four square. Then Kellie's next door neighbors showed up -- Sherlique and Jemaya. And soon after, Caleb from a few houses down joined in the game as well.

So there was a lot going on, and we spent the whole afternoon outside. It's so nice for many reasons -- being outside, unstructured playtime, socialization, and a break for me. Eventually, we had to come inside for dinner, but soon after we were back outside so Lem and Earl could play two square, and Cameron and Gwyn could pretend to be birds and dogs.

I think this is what summer is all about.

Yesterday ...

Lem was in the bathroom, peeing, and he yelled: "Did you know that pee is 95 percent water and 5 percent uraine?"

Me: "Uraine? Don't you mean urine?"

Lem: "Well, I read it uraine. Maybe that's the way the French say it."