Sunday was our second-born’s birthday. He turned 6. We have a rather large extended family, so having everyone at my home is a major undertaking. While it is always fun and I’m happy to do it, it wears me out! This year, Benjamin wanted everyone to join him at Tannehill State Park (we spent an afternoon there several weeks ago and he had so much fun he wanted to return with all of his favorite people).

The festivities began with lunch at the Furnace Masters Restaurant. Sorry, no beautiful cake to show off. We had Rice Krispy Treats. Actually, I did make cupcakes and treats with real butter for those without food allergies. Our boys were born with the allergy trifecta: food and environmental allergies, eczema, and asthma. Benjamin cannot have anything with nuts, eggs, milk, or soy. You’re asking yourself, “What in the world does he eat?” Only whole foods. Not much pre-packaged stuff. Lots of fruits and veggies. For his past birthdays we have had Jell-O “cakes” and Rice Krispy Treats. Last year I made a volcano of Oreos (for any Star Wars fans, that’s Mustafar).

As usual, I forgot something. This year I forgot the candles and matches. The inevitable question became, “Do you sing “Happy Birthday” when there are no candles to blow out?” The answer to that is “Yes!” When the birthday person is below a certain age, say 28, then you can sing the song no matter what. (I know this because I turned 29 last month and no one sang the song for me at my “party,” and I was ok with it).

After lunch, it was over to Bubbling Springs, a natural spring that bubbles up from the ground. It was freezing, but felt good in Alabama’s 95 degree heat. Karl taught the young ones how to skim stones across the water. We chilled a couple of watermelons to enjoy later. Everbody loves watermelon! Well, almost everybody. Have you ever heard of anyone allergic to watermelon?! After Benjamin ate his piece he started to swell up and itch. I was so thankful that I DID NOT forget the Benadryl.

Then, we rode the train. Who doesn’t enjoy an overpriced train ride? C’mon!

After the train ride, the heaven’s opened up and it rained for about 30 minutes. That helped to cool the air a bit. We had snacks and ice cream at the Sweet Shop while we waited for the rain to quit. Finally, Benjamin donned his knight suit for a duel with his favorite older cousin. It was a great day with the fam and Benjamin was blessed with a very happy birthday.