"Go Charlette, it's your birthday..."

When Braden was younger, we used to go all out for his birthday. You know, ponies, clowns, circus themes, dunk tank....whatever kind of party he wanted. As he got a little older, it became pricier and pricier to have this stupid party. So, we made a deal with him. You want a big, expensive party, you can have it. But then you'll get a very small present from us due to the cost of the party. Or you can not have the party (we'd still have cake for the family) and get $100 cash. Well, Braden loves to shop (for himself) so naturally he opted for the cash. After the first year, he asked if he could have one friend over to have cake with the family. But, now he has it down to a science. He asked three kids to come over and swim yesterday, then stay for cake with the family. He didn't invite any of the neighbor kids, and I wondered why. Now I know. As soon as the neighborhood kids see extra kids here, they all come over. At one point we had about 8 kids here, plus my family. This is Braden and his friends and his cake.

(Emma, if you look closely, you can see the back of tea lady's head)
All in all it was a good day. He's officially a teenager now. The big 1 3 !Everyone gave him money, so he'll be driving me nuts all day today to go shopping, but, hey, it only happens once a year.