Six

These cheese balls, plus Ruby and Jackson, made up the group at Chuck E's.



For months, Freestone has had June 19th planned out. It's his birthday, and he informed me back in February, "We're going to Chuck E. Cheese June Ninteempf." He said I always make him have superhero birthdays and this time was going to be different. Somehow, the kid that can't keep track of two shoes always knew how many days were left until June Nineteempf. This morning when Freestone's dream was finally realized, he was very, very serious about doing the Chuck E. thing right. The pictures show how careful he was with his tokens and tickets and how serious he was. He didn't cut loose like the other kids, but he did everything just right and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience in his own way.

The little band of trusty friends burned up all their tokens in a blaze of fun, after which we picked up Little Caesar's and went home for pizza, cake and presents. Perfect!

Chuck E. Cheese wasn't the only dream that came true for Freestone today. He has been saving his money for two more controllers for the PS3 so four people can play Little Big Planet at once. He has a big box about two feet tall that he saves money in. He talks about the box daily, about how when it's full of dollars, he can get two more controllers and Ruby can go to Paris. I love that he was going to fund Ruby's trip to Paris. In this economy, jobs are scarce for kindergartners, so Freestone had two one-dollar bills and a five that he stole from me, and things weren't looking much more lucrative than that. Scott worked his retail magic and came up with an old gift certificate and a sale. Freestone got his two controllers. He was elated! He looked at the package and said, "Oooo! Now I can save up my dollows for something else!" The kid was in heaven all day. I kept telling him he could do whatever he wanted. All the kids got cheese danishes for breakfast and treats at the pool, he played video games during dinner, and we stayed out until 11:30 watching movies under the stars at a neighbor's house. Close to midnight, with blue snow cone-stained lips frozen in a smile, our baby boy finally closed his tired eyes on the perfect birthday.