Birthday Festivities

Our little birthday girl had quite a day yesterday. At school, she got to pass out treats to her classmates (packaged cookies--at our school kids are only allowed to have treats from the grocery store. NO BAKING ALLOWED). They all sang "Happy Birthday" to her and she got to wear a birthday crown. She was thrilled because, as you can see, it was quite something:


When she got home, she got her presents. She asked for two things. Balloons and a photo album. I think the balloons were inspired by repeated viewings of UP! over the last couple weeks. Carter picked up this butterfly one on his way home from work. It went over very well.


Don't worry, her grandmothers pulled through on the photo albums. One got her a traditional one and the other got her a portfolio to keep her artwork in. She also got plenty of other neat gifts. And visits from one of her great grandfathers and her grandparents. It was hard for some people to just watch her open gifts:


Nothing like a sibling's birthday to remind you that you aren't the center of the universe. It's a cruel world. But everybody perked up when it was time for dinner. Chloe selected the restaurant:


I hoped they washed their hands at the one we went to (yeah, I forgot to bring the camera). I also wonder how long McDonald's will be the coolest restaurant in the world to her. After that, we headed to the dollar movies (it was our lucky day because on Wednesdays they actually charge just $1).


We saw Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. The irony that we found it in the Red Box at McDonald's as we were leaving was not lost on me and Carter. But we went for the theater experience anyway. Half the kids fell asleep. The birthday girl stayed awake, though. Chloe really liked this movie. I thought it was so so. But it was thought provoking. I spent much of the movie contemplating which studio came up with the voice contraptions on animals premise first: Sony or Disney. Because Steve the monkey from this movie and Doug from UP! are very similar concepts. Somebody MUST have copied somebody. After I was done thinking about that, I tried to guess which celebrity voices the movie featured. The only one I got right was Anna Farris. How I figured that out is beyond me.

Overall, it was a great day. But the celebrations aren't over yet! Chloe gets to take her friend to the Dinosaur Museum on Saturday. So stay tuned! Thrilling tales and pictures are sure to come.