Yes, it's yet another birthday party in the family. This time a freshly minted 8 year old niece, as seen below:
Ain't she a cutie? I went all out and hand drew the inside of her card: 
She seemed impressed until she tossed it aside. When I showed up at the house, after an hour in the pouring rain on I 80, carting along another 8 year old nephew asking countless questions about bridges, tunnels, wishes, Christmas presents, underwear, camping, and bears...we both smelled fresh cake:Oh dear:
and this was the cake we encountered upon entering:
Apparently, there had been issues with the pans and flour and butter and stickiness and so on. The finished product was great, strawberry cake with vanilla frosting, a kid favorite:
I decided to take some snaps while awaiting party action:
While wandering the house, I encountered the horror of Hannah Montana themed party goods:
The humanity!!! At least we could cover most of it with pizza, as the boys of the party happily did:
Some kids had too much soda. I WON'T say who:
The party girl could wait no longer:
Let the ripping and tearing commence!
Some people were having problems with seating. I WON'T SAY WHO:
And then, of course, I attempt to take a group photo of all cousins present and accounted for:
And I tried again:
and finally gave up:
Ahh, the perfect photo of a kids party and all it entails: 
Some balloon foolery while we await cake time. Presenting Mr Ballywho Balloon, Esq:
and his neighbor, Pinkalicious Balloonatis:
and the freak down the street, Baffoony the Balloony:
Between a balloon and a hard...well, another balloon:
Meet the new boyfriend, Baballoony:
The always amusing to a6 year old... "static reaction":
and the totally inappropriate but still hilarious...BabyMama:
Meanwhile, the more mature girls were hanging with the new toys:
Off to the side, one young man discovered the joys of Cheetos:
And finally, it was time for cake:
The child is no fool...take care of yourself first, then cut cake for others!
