Spencer's Spurs Birthday

Birthday season is over! (Do I sound too happy about that???) We've had 4 birthdays, 3 parties, 1 baptism, Valentine's Day, Easter, and an Anniversary all in the past two months. I'm beat!! I thought this was supposed to be the SLOW time of the year!! Well anyway, it has been fun and eventful, with rarely a dull moment. There is something to be said about that, I suppose. So Spencer is now 11 years old. I have been warning him that last year was his last "themed" birthday party, and that now that he is in 5th grade he's just getting too old for them (I know, I'm so mean). Of course I told him that he could still invite a few friends to go to a movie and out for pizza or something along those lines, but he's pretty much done with parties. So then I get what I think is a fantastic idea - why not go to a Spurs game instead of to a movie? I mean honestly, the price of a nose-bleed Spurs ticket is about the same as a movie ticket, and wouldn't that just be fun?? Of course we can't go to a Spurs game for a birthday without having SOME sort of a Spurs invitation! And, as is always the birthday dilemma, how can he invite just a couple of boys without making others feel sad or left out?? And what are the chances that they will all come anyway? (FYI...they all came.) And why not make a basketball cake, just to go along with the game...it's not that much harder than a regular cake anyway, right? (Wrong, by the way.) So now this "non-party" has turned into a full fledged two van loads of boys all coming to our house for cake and presents, and then heading down to a Spurs game!! Sounds a lot like a party, doesn't it. Oh well. It was a lot of fun, and as you can see from the pictures, Spencer was the happiest kid in town. His friends gave him some sweet loot (good thing, since his parents gave him a Spurs Party for his present...I mean non-party), and he was so excited about all of them. Bryan was lucky enough to drive one carload of boys down to the game, while our friend Mark (another dad) drove the other bunch. From what I hear, the volume in those two vehicles was so loud that Bryan claims he may have permanent hearing loss from it. Fun, fun stuff! Now next year, we've already told all the kids, we are skipping parties altogether and taking the family on a super fun trip. That's our plan, and I really want you all to make me do it. No more of these non-parties!!!