When celebrating Double Digits is still a good thing...

BAD things to have double digits of:
- a prison term
- number of bills that arrive in the mail monthly
- number of hours your flight is delayed
- number of minutes it takes for you to get up off of the couch

GOOD thing to have double digits of:
- penny slot machine payouts
- Christmas gifts
- number of carats in a ring

and, of course, there is the number one best thing to have a double digit for -THE TURNING OF TEN YEARS OF AGE.

begin old lady memory lane storyWhy, I remember when I turned 10, and I got my Bionic Woman Barbie Doll and Donnie and Marie Osmond Tour Bus Van and Nancy Drew Mystery Books and....end old lady memory lane story...but I digress.

And so the family found itself gathering ONCE AGAIN to celebrate another kid making the 10 year grade. Here is the newest member of the double digit club, in all her glory:


The party was a rare blend of trampoline use, drinks, candy, assorted kids, more candy, presents, more kids, BBQ food, more drinks and the occasional tantrum and soiled diaper. We start with the trampoline:

It didn't take long for the now "OLDER" child to move on to more interesting ways to pass the time...namely the ripping into stacks of presents:

She did manage to fit in some light card reading (or, as it's more commonly known - child acknowledging that some kind of paper thing came attached to present):

and then the fateful moment arrived:

Hmm, no Bionic Woman Barbie dolls anymore? SAD. More presents:

In the meantime, some adults took advantage of the trampoline being kid free:

while the birthday girl discovered a different kind of paper to acknowledge:

and others...well...

Meanwhile, at the adults table:

I noticed this gift among the many preferred offerings. What the hell is this??? This thing reminds me of those doe eyed children painted on velvet in the 1970's:

Time for a little "attempted photography" while the cake was being fetched:

Yeah, the poor girls had their retinas burned out while taking that shot. Except for the smart one in the upper right.

And then cake was served:

someone perked up at this point:

One small sampling of the cake and....

out of control 7 month old attacks cake plate!

The "older kids", more adapted to the cakes and how to enjoy them, showed the baby how it's supposed to be handled:

A few of the better shots I managed to grab throughout the day:

and a farewell from the kids: