I feel like every year I make a joke that we only know how to throw one kind of party and it's a pool party. But, we do throw a good pool party! This year I asked Abby if she wanted to do a kid party with the kids from school or a big family pool party like we've done in the past - she made the choice and she picked a family party. I'd by lying if I said that she didn't do quick math to account for the number of presents she might get with each option (LOL! She is 11 now, and whip smart).
The kids have realized that Auntie just can't say no to them and that she likes the challenge of decorating a special request cake for them. Abby requested "A Golden Retriever sitting on library books". You can't say she's not specific! I gotta say, Auntie delivered once again. Check out this cute cake she made!
I supplemented the cake with fancy schmancy Walmart cupcakes. I debated going for the good ones, the ones I knew I'D personally want to eat, but honestly, the kids don't care, the adults like the cake...and it was just fine this way. I'll order the good ones for my own birthday :)
Ugh - does that look like a teenager to you? Because it sure looks like a teenager to me! Look at that cute little outfit my mom picked out for her. A cute little skort and crop top combo that came in three cute colors. She's already worn every single one of them and some of them more than once. It's a good thing I can also say I did laundry once in the middle.
Ryan and I went back and forth on what a good birthday present would be for Abby and we landed on giving her a "Yes Day" on Sunday. We kept it small (just the 4 of us and Auntie for part of it) and we let Abby pick whatever she wanted to do that day. She asked for Bubby Pancakes for breakfast and then we booked seats for an 11 am showing of Barbie - the hot new movie that everybody is talking about. It's PG13 and it was fine for both girls to see, because neither of them really understood what was really happening. I wonder if the new Haunted Mansion might have been a better choice, but Abby feels very adult that she got to see this big kid movie.
After stuffing ourselves full of popcorn and gummy worms we skipped lunch and went to Urban Air for a few hours. I knew the kids would pick this - they've been dying to go all summer. Ryan resisted getting a ticket for less than 30 minutes before he decided it was too boring just watching. He followed the kids around and jumped and zip lined and ropes coursed the heck out of the place for a few hours.
After that Abby asked to go to a hibachi restaurant. I thought I'd really pulled a rabbit out of hat when I found one just down the street. It opened at 4pm and seeing as we'd been at Urban Air for what felt like forever, and we skipped lunch, we headed out and figured we'd have no trouble getting a table for hibachi. Turns out...you have to make a reservation even at 4pm on a SUNDAY in Crystal Lake. Wah wah - maybe the only bummer of the day is that we weren't able to sit down and watch the show. We grabbed a table nearby and ordered all the same food, just without the cool table and fire and show.
We ended the night with a family game night and played one of the new games Abby got for her birthday. It was a fun day and really quite nice to hang out just the four of us. We LOVE having tons of family and friends around, but I also really like the quieter moments like these.
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