Nathan is NINE!

I still can't believe we've kept him alive this long...he hardly eats anything. Not only is Nathan is alive, but he is FULL of life! (And sometimes just "full of it.")

I felt a little guilty for rushing through Nathan's birthday this year. We had gone out to eat two night earlier, so that wasn't rushed. But this year, Nathan's b-day fell on the same night as my Relief Society meeting and I had to do something for it.

So we had a quick dinner and moved onto presents. Luckily, we'd scaled back and Nathan didn't have as much to open. That didn't lessen the magic any.

And then it was time for brownies and ice cream. (My sincere thanks to Nathan for wanting brownies. I would have had a hard time decorating a cake this year!)

Nathan said he wanted the brownies warm, so they were baking while we had dinner. They were cooling while we opened presents. Too bad they didn't cool longer. Do you know what happens to wax candles when you stick them into hot brownies? I wish I'd thought ahead about 10 seconds.

See the candles tipping over? It was not pretty in more than one way.

While the wax was dripping on top, it was melting inside. We were nearly left with only the candle strings!

I assured the kids the wax would not hurt them, though it might stick in their teeth. What a lovely birthday for Nathan. Sorry, bud!

But they were troopers and undaunted by the blue wax. They ate 7/8 of the pan. I had my share when I got home. I think I got a wax-free piece. (Thank goodness!)

Nathan's favorite gift was a little hex bug he got. He's still dreaming up what to do with his birthday monies, but hasn't sent any thank you notes, so he isn't allowed to go shopping yet. I think more hex bugs are in his (our) future.