Haden's 9th birthday

On June 5, Haden turned 9.  I can't believe that he is 9 already!  He's got a full year of cub scouts under his belt, is now taking drum lessons and will start 4th grade next week.  He continues to be our little comedian.  It's fun to watch him continue to become more and more witty.  He is just naturally funny...I can't believe the things he says sometimes.  For example, we were in the car with the whole family and I said to the kids, "Dad and I are going on a date tonight, so I need you to be well-behaved  for Kenedy and Hallie."  Haden's response, with a bit of sarcasm, was, "Oh! I should have gotten you some flowers.  I didn't know you were going on your 200th honeymoon tonight."  Crazy boy!  He is a great kid with a great personality and I'm looking forward to watching him continue to grow.  Who knows what number honeymoon Jim and I will be on by the time he's 10!  ;-)

We had to celebrate his birthday without Jim because he was in Bend helping with arrangements for his father's funeral.  Jack passed away on June 3.  I only mention it briefly here because I plan to do a proper post about him and the funeral.  We didn't go out to eat like we usually do as a family, but he was able to open his presents and have cake and ice cream on his actual birthday.  We went to Bend the Sunday after his birthday and Jim had gotten him a very cool race track.  All in all, I think he had a great birthday.

I have to throw in another story about Haden's comedic antics.  During the pack meeting in May, Haden was going to be getting his Wolf badge.  We had pack meeting in the gym and were sitting facing the stage.  The different dens were doing skits throughout the meeting and awards were being given out in between the skits.  Haden's den did a skit and came down off the stage to sit down.  Right after they sat down, Haden's name was called to get his awards.  He stood up, turned around and said, "Just a minute", then ran out of the gym.  I couldn't believe that he was getting up to go to the bathroom when he was about to get his award.  Well, he wasn't.  Instead, he ran up onto the stage where the curtains were closed, told the Cub Master to say his name again, then opened the curtains dramatically and said, "Here I am."(or something like that...I can't quite remember)  It was quite an entrance and something I will never forget.  He is always trying to get a laugh out of the audience. ;-)

Haden giving me the pin after his dramatic entrance to get his awards.

Opening his drumsticks...I don't think he had any idea what they were.

He might be a scary drummer!

Money is always a good present.

A joke book...perfect for Haden.

Haden wanted a very plain cake this year.  All he asked for was chocolate cake with orange frosting and the writing in green.  He helped me by writing Happy Birthday Haden!

This race track is amazing.  He has had a lot of fun coming up with tons of different designs for the track.  It can race up to 3 cars at once, I think.  

Just thought I'd throw in a close-up of one of the cars on the track.