Happy Birthday, J!

We celebrated J's 7th birthday yesterday (and no, internets, I am not telling you the actual day, you identity stealing scourge!) with an Angry Birds (and) Space party.  Originally, it was supposed to be your usual Angry Birds Space fete, but once we got the plates and cups and a book of mazes, we ran out of readily available themed decorations and opted instead for additional space themed decor and games.  It was a great day!

J has had a big year.  Last year for his birthday, we had only been in Qatar for a few weeks so we invited his Primary class full of strangers over for his party, which ended up being a great way for him and us to meet some new friends in the ward.  Several of those kids have since left but a few are still here and came to this year's party as well, along with some new friends from the compound and his classmates at school, just one measure of the distance he has covered between then and now.

In the past year, J has started a new school, discovered that lobster and salmon are his favorite foods, learned to ride a bike, graduated from Kindergarten, returned to the US, caught his first fish, learned to swim and dive, visited Sri Lanka, started first grade, begun to learn Arabic, designed his own rainbow loom creations, started playing the ukulele, and lost his first tooth.  Whew!  He has thrived here in Qatar and has been a big help to me and his brother as we have all learned how to be better world travelers and happy residents of the Middle East.  J is a lovely boy who likes to sing and draw and laugh and play tame video games and any board game you can give him.  He tries very had in school and has made great strides this year.  We are grateful we get to see his smiling (gap-toothed) face every day!

And now, birthday pics!

A shot from the actual birth day--it was really cold
that morning on the way to the bus!

Why yes, that is a homemade Angry Birds set made out of
assorted figurines and Jenga blocks with a giant basket of
sling shots--it was a huge hit!

These look like planets, right?

Painting our own styrofoam planets.

Time to sing!

Make a wish! 

Favorite party guests.

Many kids made homemade cards, it was so cute!

No one would stay still long enough for pictures!

Learning new rainbow loom variations....