Mack's 9th Birthday and other August Fun

Last weekend Mack turned 9. He is obsessed with anything golf, he still LOVES legos and will build for hours if he can't go play golf. He is such a funny kid that always keeps us laughing. We never know what he will ask or tell us. He is full of information and words. He still likes to get up early on Saturday mornings. His favorite foods are still steak, white rice, and tacos. He will tell you that he "reads at a 6th grade level." This fall he is playing football and golf, and so far, he loves the 3rd grade. I say it every year, but I really can't wait to see what Mack will do in life. He brings energy, joy, and excitement everywhere he goes, and I pray that this will continue throughout his life. 

Since he always has a plan for everything, his birthday party was planned back in May. Top Golf with a few friends was his request, and Worth and I delivered. We drove 7 boys plus Emma and one of her friends over to Jacksonville in 2 vehicles for a birthday party at Top Golf. 

The party was the easiest party I've ever done, and if Top Golf was closer we'd do it all the time. However, the drive over to Jacksonville was quite an adventure. I had 6 children in my Suburban and Worth had 3 children in his truck. Worth, in his "get there as fast as possible" self, took off out of the driveway and left us in the dust before I could even get the iPad movies pulled up for the boys. (The movie screens in the Suburban no longer work.) The trip was uneventful until we were about 20 minutes outside of Jacksonville. I heard "Uh oh" from the backseat, quickly followed by, "Ms. Ashley, Luke threw up!" 

By the grace of God, we were right at an exit, which is rare on I10 between Valdosta and Jacksonville. I pulled quickly off the interstate and into the first gas station we came to. As we were pulling in, Emma yells, "They have vacuums!" Sure enough, the gas station had a car cleaning station with vacuums, air freshener, and scrubbers. I got Luke out of the car and checked him over (apparently he gets violently car sick- which I wasn't aware of until that moment.) The boys were all screaming and hanging out of the windows trying to avoid the vomit odor.  I decided to let Emma and her friend be in charge of the 4 boys while I ran inside to get  drinks, clorox wipes, paper towels, etc.  I was able to get to a vacuum station and get the car cleaned out while they played in a dog walking grassy area nearby. I was praying the whole time that no one got kidnapped. 

The crisis was resolved, the car smelled better than before the vomit episode, and we were finally back on the road to Jacksonville. The party was awesome, as mentioned before and everyone seemed to have a great time - including Luke, who pulled it together and made it all the way back home without an issue. He was a trooper. Mack had his closest buddies around him doing his favorite thing, so it made me happy no matter what. 

A few other pictures will show what else we've been up to this month. 

The birthday boy waiting his turn at Top Golf

Lining it up and talking the whole time:)

Mack had friends at the party that were from 3 different schools, but they all got along great!

Cookie Cake again for the win! 

Top Golf even decorated for us. It was an awesome place to throw a very easy party.

After a Saturday party, he woke up Sunday morning (his actual birthday) to some fun surprises.

The 9 year old

Emma had to get in on the picture. 

After church, Mack had a relaxing day of lego building, a 2+ hour game of Dawgopoly with his sisters, and outside playing. We had the dinner he requested - Taco Bell. We finished up our dinner with left over cookie cake for dessert, and Ellie participated in holding the candle for him to blow out. 

To top the weekend off, Mack mastered his front flip on the trampoline. 

On another note, I came home from work Tuesday to this. What used to be our master bedroom. We were having the flooring repaired due to some water damage that happened in the spring when our hot water heater leaked. We thought they would be popping up only the few damaged boards and replacing them. We had no idea that we would be moving out of our bedroom for the unforeseen future. 

For a birthday gift, Worth took Mack to play golf at Sea Island last Wednesday. Mack got to miss a day of school for it, and he was pumped! They played with our friends, the Sheltons - Mike and Brooks. 

Brooks got to miss school too, and I think they  had a blast. 

Sweet beach friends, even though Brooks is a foot taller than Mack. 

Emma took part in a basketball clinic this weekend with middle and high school girls. It's just a skill building clinic but she got to play some varsity girls that were there. She learned some, and sweated a lot. 

She was the youngest and shortest there, but she said she had fun.