Have y'all heard? Elijah's seven!

We celebrated by declaring it a No Pencils Day and heading out for some fun.  

First, he opted to spend quite a chunk of time at Pet Smart doing things like tapping on the aquariums and watching the fish scatter and lobbying for a mouse...or hamster...or guinea pig...or parakeet....or Heaven help me, a chinchilla.

I narrowly escaped with my common sense intact.  It's a lot harder to shoot down a birthday boy lobbying for a "classroom pet" than you might think.  

A lot harder.  

I was able to distract him with the promise of a tasty lunch at the location of his choosing, Chick-fil-A.

He was particularly pleased by his surprise "very special guests."

Mary heard there was a party and couldn't stay away.

Not really.  God just knew we all needed some hugs.  For real.  He knows stuff like that and quite often makes it happen.

It's because He loves us.  A lot.

After a couple of hours filled with chicken-y goodness and new friends in the shoeless zone we moved on to phase three.

That would be chocolate Ben & Jerry's with a side of Cherry Garcia for the teacher.

I sure do love this face...

Happy Birthday, Elijah!