McKay’s 6th Birthday

My sweet baby boy turned 6.  I know Andi is my baby now but I’ll always think of McKay as my baby, too.  He is the most adorable, most affectionate, kindest little kid.  My heart skips a little beat every time I look into his sweet, dark brown eyes. I thank my lucky stars every day that he’s mine!

His birthday happened to fall on the first day of Ben’s Alpine Family Reunion this year, so we celebrated him a day early which also happened to be Lucy’s 3rd Birthday.  We arrived into Utah late on August 1st and Christy picked us up from the airport and we went to the Haggard Home.

On the morning of August 2nd he woke up to a cutely decorated house, cousins to play with, and a few presents to open.  He requested that I keep his birthday plans a surprise.  So, all throughout the day we had surprise destinations planned, delicious meals, and a present for him to open after each activity.  He loves a good surprise!

We started the morning with Kolachi’s, a Czech pastry.  I thought they were delicious!!!  He took a few bites and then asked if he could have a bowl of cereal 🙂  Fine by me.

After breakfast we quickly got ready and headed up to Sundance Stables for a short little horse back riding session for each kid.  Children under 8 can’t ride unsupervised so the employee at the stables took each of the kids on a 15 minute walk through the forests.  It was beautiful and the kids had a fun time.  Poor Jax got a little carsick and lost his breakfast, but everything else went smoothly!

 

After horseback riding and a present we went to Sundance to ride the lift up to the top of the mountain.  We had planned to hike to Stewart Falls but the 3 mile hike sounded a little too exhausting so we skipped it.  We loved the peaceful ride up the mountain.  Sweet Andi nursed and slept the whole ride up. I loved holding her sleeping little body and taking in all the mountain beauty!

We ate lunch at Bearclaw Cabin at the top of the mountain.  Beautiful scenery in all directions!

After the lift and another present we headed to Blickenstaff Toy Store where we let McKay pick out a toy.  They kids enjoyed wandering and exploring; it’s a very interactive and interesting store.

Next we picked up Maddy and went to Scales and Tails – a warehouse of reptiles in West Jordan.  I think this was the highlight of the day for the kids.  It was so hands on – the kids could hold and pet any non dangerous animal that they wanted!  An employee stayed with us for at least an hour and a half showing us animals, teaching us about the animals, making funny jokes about the animals, and letting the kids pet and hold the animals.

After that….another present!  Then we grabbed Thai take out and ate McKay’s favorite meal, Panang, at Christy and Matt’s house.  Cliffie and Natalie joined us.  We ended the day at the fire pit two blocks away from the Haggard Home with fire building, smores, and the final presents.

I think he had a fun, surprise-filled, exciting birthday!

You never know how many birthdays you’ll be blessed with in this life so I think it’s important to make each one really special 🙂

I love that little boy!