Hannah is 13!!!

I've been remiss in not posting until now - Hannah has turned a milestone age! 13! We celebrated with a party, first swimming at Martha Lake, then back home to make pie iron pizzas, s'mores, have cake and ice cream, sing karaoke until the wee hours (staying up to mark her 1:01 birth time), and finally, the girls spent the night in the camper. I say "spent the night" because they DID NOT sleep at all. They stayed up all night, talking and carrying on. Jeff, Harrison, Arlie and Rylie slept on air mattresses in the garage (to "guard" the girls against things that go bump in the night). But it was all for naught, as the girls didn't sleep a wink and probably made our neighbors mad in the process (tent trailer walls are thin!). In the morning we had chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and Hannah opened her "family" presents. Then, she and her best friend Jessica slept most of the day away. The photos are of the whole group jumping in Martha Lake, Hannah in the morning w/ her "birthday table", and the cake Hayley made. We didn't have 13 candles, or a "1" and a "3" candle, so Hayley improvised with 8, 4, 1 (8+4+1=13). Good times!

Singers

Last night, in a rare opportunity of "quality time" with the kids, we played a game and then moved on to singing karaoke (at which point Hayley returned to her SIMS game on the computer - no singing for her!). Hannah and Harrison have been blessed with the rare gift of a decent singing voice (not inherited, I assure you, by either their father or I!). I mean, I like to sing and I don't sound like a dying cat, but let's just say there won't be any recording contracts in my future. However, these two possess something I don't and I'm amazed when I hear them sing. They belted out "The Star Spangled Banner" and it was amazing! They sang "Hero" and almost made me cry. Hannah sang "My Immortal", despite a sore throat and an ear that was clogged with pool water so that she couldn't hear herself sing, and it still was incredible. Now, if there is one talent I'd love to possess, it's singing. I've always wished I could sing in an amazing voice. Instead, I sing in an average voice with a limited range. Sure, it was adequate when I was singing "The Hayley Song" to her when she was a baby, and it's kind of funny when I do my version of "Shortenin' Bread" (especially in the middle of antique store in Snohomish), and I can "Bust a Move" on karaoke like nobody's business, but am I a singer? Decidedly not. Does it stop me from singing? Sadly, for the general public, no. But I'm really tickled to have these singing kids and I hope it takes them far. Perhaps not "American Idol" far, but far enough that they have this wonderful talent that sets them apart from the crowd, and perhaps entertains their own kids in the future - I have no doubt their lullabies will sound a lot sweeter to their kids' ears!

Girls' Night!!

I was faced with a most unusual situation this weekend. I had no kids and no husband in the house. What to do? I could have spent that valuable time repainting a bathroom or perhaps hand washing the blinds in the bathtub, but I hit upon an even better idea - have a Girls' Night! I quickly dashed out an evite before I changed my mind and spent Saturday cleaning the house, baking sinfully delicious Caramel-Chip Bars and chicken crescents, stockpiling the alcohol and arranging frosty cold beers in a large tub. Promptly at 7 p.m. my girls arrived, alcohol and food in hand! We had a rollicking good time, loads of alcohol was consumed, and we ended up displaying our varied talents at karaoke. The night finally wound down at 3 a.m. (yes, Tonya was the last to leave - I love her!), and at 3:45 I went to bed feeling like a naughty teenager. I don't think I stayed up that late even when I WAS a teenager. Who says 40 year old girls can't party? As the photos show, Tonya can belt it out with the best of them and yes, we did sing Captain and Tenille.