Favorite Photo Friday: Celebrating Caleb

I'm not gonna lie. These last two weeks have been rough. I've had zero desire to sit and blog. My heart has been in a constant state of pain. While we've had some wonderful times as a family these last two weeks, they have been clouded by sadness that just won't go away. I realize that sadness and pain is not what people want to read about. I'm just being honest here. My heart has been weighted down....terribly. But I'm gonna try to do my best to share some fun. Here goes.  

Doesn't everybody have one of these in their town? Yep. I think it's a given that most skating rinks are called Galaxy. At least that's been my experience. Anyway, we headed there two weeks ago this Saturday for some good ole fashion fun. The cousins were the first to get out there on the floor.
 

Little Joshua had to lay low this time around, but he handled it well.
 

Some of the party goers got out there for some Hokey Pokey fun.
 

Caleb had such a fun time. He was super speedy that even Mommy and Uncle Andy had a hard time keeping up with him. It was so precious.
 

The kids stopped a bit for some pizza, chips, and soda. Not quite what we typically serve at Caleb's birthday parties, but we had no choice. And it was an easy one.
 

The kids also had a chance to play in the fun zone when their little feet couldn't skate another step.
 

On Caleb's actual birthday, the 12th, we ventured over to the Magic Kingdom, as is the tradition. It was the warmest birthday on record visiting the Big Mouse, and we were not the only ones who thought it a great idea to do so. We did have some company that was clearly welcomed, though the longer than usual lines not so much. Our dear friends from our home town happened to be vacationing at Disney World all week. And as scheduling would have it, they happened to spend part of their Thursday (yes, last Thursday) with us! Caleb has always enjoyed his birthday at the Magic Kingdom. But I have to tell ya that spending your birthday at the Magic Kingdom with your friends just.can't.be.beat!
 

When not skipping around with his friends and riding on the rides in Tomorrow Land, Caleb did a lot of this.  

He loved locating things on his Disney map. It was so stinkin' precious. Before heading over to Epcot to eat, Daddy snapped a photo of Mommy with the birthday boy.
 

And then my dear friend snapped a photo (insert gasp) of the four of us!
 

Yes, I realize I'm blinking in the shot, but I just had to share it. 
 Anyway, as we waited to take the monorail over to Epcot for dinner, Caleb was very curious about the number of people celebrating their birthdays either the day before or the same as his. Here he is trying to count them all. 

We had a delicious dinner at the Nine Dragons Restaurant in China...naturally. Then afterwards, we watched the 360 movie. I can't ever watch it without crying. Oh, how it makes me want to go back. We also picked up a little gift for both Caleb and Madeline at a gift shop. The funny thing about the end of the night is that, while riding the monorail to Epcot, we met a lovely family visiting from Ohio (who also happened to be celebrating a birthday). Then as we were taking the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, we ran into the very same family! It was like all our jaws dropped in unison. How funny! 
 Anyway, we truly had a wonderful week celebrating Caleb's birthday. And the thing that was so terribly precious was that Madeline wished Caleb a Happy Birthday a gazillion times. She would just randomly wish him a happy birthday throughout the day, in the sweetest little voice. Oh it was precious. 
 For more Favorite Photo Friday fun, check out Lisa's blog.