Our son and daughter-in-law came to help celebrate. We played Apples to Apples and a few rounds of Scattergories while we waited for supper to be done. DD asked for Cheesy Potato Sausage soup for her birthday meal. I also made bread and some pepperoni and cheese rolls for DS who doesn’t care for soup.

Twelve candles. Not sure how she got to be that old this fast.

Her sister-in-law made this cute Softsquatch for DD.

It’s two days later…today we had a snow day. Watched movies, DD cleaned her room and sorted through all her clothes. We had shrimp for supper and cake for dessert. Not much birthday left…

~~Rhonda

Like me, she prefers white cake over chocolate. I decided to add some sprinkles to the batter to give the cupcakes a bit of fun color. Ummm…maybe a tablespoon? I didn’t measure.

Don’t add the sprinkles until the batter is completely mixed. Work quickly to stir them in with as little mixing as possible. The color will begin to melt immediately.

Cool completely before frosting.

I have a drawer full of sugary sprinkles and cookie decorations. But these tiny little balls have always been my favorite.

And inside, little bits of color.

She transported them in the cupcake tin. Easiest way to do it. White cake, lots of frosting. The only way to go.

~~Rhonda

Much laughing and squealing with delight!

After they had them for a few minutes, they found out they could run with the balloons.

Static girl…

The twin in the dotted jams was much more adventurous. She liked the entire bunch. The twin in the stripes was very happy with just one. The entire bundle was a bit overwhelming after a while.

Needless to say, they had a ball with the balloons! ~~Grandma

Here he is with his lovely wife during a visit to the Botanical Gardens last year. Not sure how they grow up so fast…

Happy Birthday, dear son!! Lots of love, ~~Mom

DS shares his birthday with his grandfather, my dad.

Happy Birthday, Dad! Lots of love, ~~Rhonda

At suppertime, DD opened the box that came in the mail from her sister. Eight little gifts, all wrapped in pretty tissue paper. She had a lot of fun opening those.

Then it was party time. Of course, you can’t get six eleven-year-olds to all sit still at the same moment in time…

Amidst the piles of sleeping bags, pillows and overnight bags, they found room to play Apples to Apples, one of our favorite games.

I think it was about 3:30 a.m. before the last party girl fell asleep. They were tired, but they had fun! By 10 a.m. Saturday, the girls had been picked up by parents and we spent a good part of the day resting and watching a movie. DD had a basketball team party that evening, which DH took her to. I stayed home and recovered.

Sunday afternoon, Aunt Genny and DS and his wife came to celebrate DD’s birthday. This marks the end of an era for us. For almost thirty years we’ve had at least one child under the age of eleven. No longer.

Aunt Genny’s gift was the donation of a pig to a family in China in DD’s name. She gave DD a bookmark with pictures on it to remind her of how much the gift will impact the life of that family. Another favorite gift was this Abe Lincoln chomper from DS and DDIL. He nibbled on everything all evening, including this rubber duckie.

Niko received some special attention during the party.

We played Apples to Apples, then put together the Illinois puzzle she received from her brother and SIL.

1000 pieces! It took about three and a half hours to put together. A lot of fun! And we learned a lot about Illinois in the process.

After the puzzle was done, dismantled, and back in the box, we had pizza. A fun evening, and a good ending to the birthday weekend. Poor DD was dragging this morning, after three late nights in a row, but managed to get ready for school without fuss. Hopefully, we’ll have an early bedtime this evening!

~~Rhonda

She wants ice cream cone cupcakes for the sleepover with her friends this evening. I made cake batter using the directions on a white cake box mix, divided the batter into three parts, and colored the batter green, pink, and blue. We filled the cones about 2/3 full. Setting the cones in a mini muffin tin helped hold them upright.

After baking, the cones were top heavy and some of them fell over as I pulled them from the oven. The frosting will cover any flaws. If I make these again, I will try wedging the cones into the muffin tins with aluminum foil.

I used buttercream frosting to ice the cupcakes.

I think she’ll like them.

~~Rhonda

I used a butter cream frosting instead of the traditional cooked frosting for the red cake. Easier for me, and all approved of the frosting choice, so it worked out well. The traditional frosting isn’t my favorite. Tastes odd to me. I also dusted the sides with some cake crumbs just for fun.

First piece is for my honey. Happy Birthday!

~~Rhonda

Panda didn’t seem to care for that first bite of almond flavored frosting, but she got into it.

Tabby, not so much.

Now they are a year old! ~~Grandma

DD had a full day. After school DH took her to Dairy Queen for a treat while I finished decorating the cake. I met them at school, took DD to music lessons while DH did some shopping. We went to one of DD’s favorite restaurants for supper, then back home for cake and ice cream. After opening presents, DH and DD went next door to visit Grandma, taking a piece of cake to her.

We have had the kitty cake pan for years. I’ve made lots and lots and lots of kitties! In many different colors. Had to decorate this one in a hurry. DH and I went shopping for a dining room table and chairs yesterday and were home just in time to get this done before taking DD to music lessons.

What does a ten year old girl like to unwrap? Littlest Pet Shop, horses, a book about science experiments, a pair of bluejeans with a top, and some DVDs.

Dad enjoyed watching her open presents. Seemed very odd having only DH, myself and DD here for a birthday celebration.

Adding to her collection.

She said she had a very happy birthday.

~~Rhonda

Gifts included leather garden gloves, a short shovel for digging in flower beds while on his knees (an idiosyncrasy of his which I’ve never understood), and a heater for the bird bath. He has been using the heater we have to keep the half barrel pump/fountain thawed so the outdoor kitties have access to a drink. Now the birds will be happy, too. He also received a cycling jersey and I ordered the 2007 Tour de France 12-hour DVD for him, as well. It should be here this week. Also a special cycling t-shirt which I think he will enjoy.

He is planning his annual “ride my age” birthday ride for New Year’s Day. Fifty-three miles and the weather is supposed to be a high of 27* with 22 mph winds. Yikes…a few friends have committed to going along. Doesn’t sound like an ideal day for cycling, though, does it?

~~Rhonda