Happy Birthday COOPER!!!

Cooper has been six for 2 days, and he already seems bigger and wiser.

 We went to Pekin for the weekend for a speech team reunion for me and for the Marigold festival, which seemed like an ultra-fun way to celebrate a six-year-old.  To me, anyway. Ben continues to be unimpressed with my favorite small town experience.  But I keep making him go.

We started the celebration Friday night at dinner, where in a sign of the children growing up, we were able to withstand the whole 40-minute wait for a table.

 Except Dorothy was a monster.  But that's nothing new.

 Also we had some wine.

 Then Ben and I took the kids to the Marigold Festival canrvial which, predictably, they LOVED.

 We played enough carnival games for everyone to win a prize.  Next time I am just going to flush $100 down the toilet and roll around in the dirt.

 But seriously, they LOVED it.

And I got to talk to the ride operator for an awkward amount of time since Dorothy wanted to keep riding the boats.  He said they've been to 11 cities in 10 weeks  and they sleep in bunk beds in the back of a truck.  OMG.  He seemed to really like it though--and he said he would miss it for the 8 months that he'd be waiting for the next season.

 Dorothy HATED HATED HATED the bid slide.  When she go down to the bottom, she said, "I did not like that AT ALL," and she seemed pretty serious.

 CARNIVAL SELFIE!

 He was having a pretty great birthday eve.

 The rode this at least twice.

 Love it!  She won the flamingo herself because she's a surprisingly good darts player.

 A carnivals-are-awesome picture, natch:

 Seriously, I think the whole thing was made even cooler because we went at night when we could have been putting them to bed.  And you know what  I think we might STILL be paying for their 10pm bedtimes.

We ragged all of Cooper's presents with us, and he was SO EXCITED to wake up to open them.  Especially because Ben told him e'd have to wait until we got home on Sunday because he loves to tease Cooper (who knew we were joking with about 96% certainty and was a good sport about it)

 My mom made Cooper a cake, and he LOVED it.

 The actual candle blow-out was abrupt, so I made him reenact it.  I LOVE reenactors.

 (Dorothy helped)

 Them Grandma and Grandpa's town threw Cooper a birthday parade!  I mean, it was really the Marigold parade, but who's counting?

 Dorothy loved eating cotton candy in the gutter and then scrambling in the streets for candy.

 We left after 90/150 floats, but that's because it was just too much awesome for us to handle

 Parade selfie!

 Scrambling in the dirty street for candy.  LIKE YOU DO.

 Some of the groups gave out water.  Jack was excited.

 As was I because I got to see a bunch of high school friends and their adorable kids.

 After lunch, Ben and my dad took all the kids to Chuck E Cheese, and then we hit up Art in the Park, which is a huge craft fair,  Harry and Jack wanted to buy just about every Cubs and Bears lawn sign they passed (and there were many), but all we ended up with was a sleeping bag and pillow for Dorothy's Wellie Wisher.

After birthday pizza from our favorite Pekin place, we made one final trip of the season to the world's best ice cream shoppe.

 Cookie dough arctic swirl, I will miss you until May.

 Oh, kids

 Six: Awesome.

 My view upon waking the day after Cooper's birthday: (he was carrying as many of his gifts as he could fit on his person)

 As SOONS AS WE GOT HOME (like, the moment we pulled in the driveway and Jack and I jumped out to grocery shop and Harry and Beatrix jumped out to lay on the couch and watch football), Cooper went to Toys R Us to spend the gift card my parents got him.

 (one of the things he bought was a gumball machine)

 SIX was FANTASTIC, and his friend birthday party is still to come.  Now what are we going to do for SEVEN?