Amazing Race Birthday Party

Today, my Ed turned seven years old. Wow. That is hard to believe. He is my second child. (My first will be 13 in a couple of month. How did that happen?) We had 5 of his friends over for a birthday party today. We did our own Amazing Race. Each child was given a Magic Tree House reference book about space, and a map of the house with different rooms labeled the names of the planets, Pluto, and the Moon. (Some of the planets were outside, too.) Anyway, they were given clues and had to figure out using their books which planet they were supposed to visit next. Some of the planets had tasks for them to do, like bowl three frames of Wii bowling, or do 10 sit-ups. They all had a blast. One of the teams could read much better than the other teams, and they won. I did follow one team around so I could help them with their reading. But really, they all had a lot of fun. And, of course, no one was ready to leave when their mom came. And one mom said, "Leave it to Julie to have a birthday party game that requires reading!"

Here is a picture of my kids a the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.