Tweens are springing up this Spring!

Another niece has joined the ranks of all other tweens out in the world! This tween's current loves include:

* Horses - any kind, any time, anywhere

* Country Music

* Her aunt - uh, that would be me

* Purple - lots of it

* Animals of all sorts, including animatronic varieties.

The party celebrating 11 years of her greatness commenced on a sunny Saturday in early May:

Here she is in all her glory!
The party theme was Wild West (at least that's how the kids were behaving) - Cowboy and Cowgirl hats were the accessory of the day:

The "Star"
The "Sheriff":
The "Stinker"
The "Pink lady"
even Grammy got in on the western wear! Go Grammy!
Soon enough however, the cowgirl shifted her focus from cowgirl hats, rounding up wild cousins and rustling candy to the ever important "grubbing for gifts":
...and she did very well! Apparently this cowgirl lives on a modern range - a range that requires some sort of "Nook" or "laptop" or "iPod":

Then this "horse lover" moved on to a horrifying display of what happens when horses are made of candy:


This was all that was left of the poor victim...sick!!!
After the kids recovered from beating a candy horse to death, it was time to settle down for some sugary goodness:

some people, I WON'T SAY WHO, were a little demanding where dessert was concerned:
While in the background, others were having a hair raising good time in the trampoline:
Here are some last portraits I took of the birthday girl:

Greetings from BirthdayLand...

Another niece had another birthday. Again. I was invited to attend. Again. I showed up. Again. I was asked to make the cake. Hmm, this was a new development.

However, the day before the tween hit twelve, I had invited all 10 of the niece and nephews to trick or treat at my corporate headquarters:

Needless to say, after walking all 6 floors to gather the goods, I was a bit tired out when it came time to craft the special order cake for the party. I was requested to use the following supplies:

- chocolate cake mix

- chocolate fudge filling

- chocolate icing

- chocolate chips for deco

- butterscotch chips for deco (hmm, branched out a bit here)

And so, after dropping off the last of the kids to the last respective house, I started to bake. It was already 8pm. Here's how far I got by 12am:

around 1am I was finally done!
Please note: Betty Crocker Baby! The decoration ideas were all mine however.

So Saturday dawned cold and rainy, and I schlepped over to attend this THRILLING foray:

a few shots of the birthday girl had to be taken:

Some people, I WON'T SAY WHO, were simply not enthused about parties or photos that day:
Others couldn't wait to show off their photography tricks:

Finally, the tween had had enough and insisted we move on to more important matters:
Namely: PRESENTS! She got cash, a new bike, movie ticket passes, more cash, and auntie lowered herself to purchasing Justin Beiber CD's at Target. I was terrified someone I knew would see me in line!I also got her some bling: Blue costume jewelry to match her green/blue eyes! Here she is with her cousin, checking it out:
Some people, I WON'T SAY WHO, were un-enthused by all the gift opening and moved on to other, more interesting activities:
Finally, it was time to reveal THE CAKE:

Comments I heard included:

- Damn, that is some cake!

- Auntie, I don't want a piece, it's too big for me.

- I smell chocolate. Do you smell chocolate?

- You didn't make that.

- That's a lot of chocolate.

Then the tween posed, blew out the candles and cut the cake:

while others waited to dig in:
after that fun activity ended, it was time for some general photography:
and some Halloween photography:


Then a few more casual shots before I made my escape:



This one is my favorite of the day: