My future pilot turns 9!

What a year it has been for my son Lucas! His fascination for all things airplane has grown by leaps and bounds (much to the chagrin of his teacher, who had to remind him more than a few times not to draw airplane pictures on his homework - silly boy). It is wonderful to see him so passionate about something - and I can definitely see him going far. He even did a research project in school earlier this year about Neil Armstrong and discovered that the famous astronaut loved airplanes when he was a boy. So much so that he got his pilots license before he learned how to drive. So of course Lucas is determined to follow in Neil Armstrong's footsteps - and become the first man on Mars!

Earlier this summer, Lucas got to take his first ever flight in an airplane. (actually, he was in an airplane at the tender age of 8 months, but that doesn't count because he can't remember it and mom and dad would rather forget!) The EAA has a program called Young Eagles, and chapters all over the country offer free flights to kids aged 8-17, to expose them to the wonderful world of flight. Here he is, waiting for his turn - pretty excited, don't you think?

When his name was called, he started jumping up and down - I swear I thought he was going to float away all on his own! Here he is in the plane with pilot Ken, and again after their 15 minute flight. Lucas actually got to take the controls for a little bit, too - what an amazing experience!

When his birthday came around, I knew I just had to make a cake with airplanes on it. I thought of drawing pictures of the Blue Angels (which we were going to see perform, but the show was cancelled both days due to fog), but the day before his birthday we were at our parish festival, and while playing the kids' games, he won an airplane toy. I thought it would be perfect for a cake topper. The hard part was getting him to part with it, since he wanted to play with it right away.

The cake itself is lemon cake with lime curd filling. Very summery and perfect for a warm July day!

Happy Birthday Lucas!