FJ turns 9!

My baby turned 9 on Monday - it's hard to believe, time has gone so fast.  He's the tallest in his year at school, wearing men's size 7 shoes, and occasionally sprouting a whisker on his chin - which he promptly pulls out!!!!

I told the kids that I wasn't up to doing really technical cakes this year, so this is what he chose - a Lego Ninjago cake.

The cake is"The Amazing Orange Cake" which if you like orange cakes, you absolutely have to try.  It is so easy - rich but light, moist and LARGE.  The one recipe made two 22 cm cakes - perfect for the base of a Ninjago temple plus vehicles that FJ and Miss 13 invented for the characters.

I then invited three of FJ's best friends around for a play - and had the most stress-less birthday afternoon ever!

We tipped the Star Wars lego out on the pool table and said make whatever you like...

And since they're all lego nuts that kept them amused for an hour till it was food time...

Party pies, chips, homemade chocolate chunk cookies, apple juice, and of course the cake.  (If you look really carefully at FJ's left ear, you can see one of his birthday presents - it didn't hurt - much!)

Then I chucked them all outside with a nerf gun in hand and off they went - NERF WARS!!

The girls got to be hostages and it was a beautifully fine day - I didn't see them (certainly heard them, though) until it was home time.  One very happy, tired 9 year old was the result.