Gearing up for fireworks!

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" This northern slang phrase was a favorite with my Dad's side of the family--often said after something ridiculous was uttered or done by someone else. It also sums up my slowness at posting lately! The Ribclan has been busy--reorganizing our home after the garage sale (amongst other usual "to do's") and eagerly preparing for the holiday weekend otherwise known as Kdee's birthday! It seems like only yesterday that she was being born to the sound of fireworks on the 4th of July (born at 10:31, 1 minute after the fireworks finished...had I been on the other side of the hospital, I could have watched the fireworks!). She truly is our little "firecracker". As to be expected, she is SUPER excited about her birthday. I think she's also excited because, as one of the youngest in her Kindergarten class, she will now join the exclusive ranks of 6-year old. (There was a chart in her class that showed who was 5, who was 6...she was 1 of 3 left on the "5" year old side at the end of the year...) She hasn't made too much mention about what she wants for a gift this year, despite her parent's attempts to get some clues from her. Initially, she told us it was a secret and we explained to her how that would NOT work in her favor, so then she thought harder about our request. So far, she still hasn't come up with anything so we'll see what creative gifts we find! Oh, but on second thought, I don't want an adult daughter to hold a bad grudge against us for "that birthday, you remember the one, where you guys bought me that horrible gift".

What we do know is the party plans! Our holiday weekend will be spent up north at the family cabin--lots of swimming and playing in general, always up the birthday girl's alley. We're hopeful to do another fireworks show as we have in the past, especially since ribB attained a "pyrotechnic" license a couple of years back. ribB usually gets some wonderful help from his Uncle B and his cousin's husband J, so I'm sure the boys will be back at it with a bigger, better show this year. Some folks across the lake also put on quite a show, so all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the entertainment! After the holiday weekend, we'll prepare for the "friend" party on Saturday the 8th. Kdee has requested another water play party--complete with a triple-racer slip & slide, pool and lots of water balloons. We'll then let the kids decorate their own cupcakes (last year was a hoot to see how differently the boys & girls took on this task--girls meticulously decorated theirs, boys just loaded on tons of frosting and gobbled). It was a great time, and Kdee is excited to do it all again. She's also very excited to see a couple of her old daycare friends that go to different elementary schools than her, therefore she doesn't see much anymore. Last night she spoke to one of them (a boy, J, whom she's long said she'll marry...him or her friend E :-). Well, I got my first taste of watching my daughter talk to a boy on the phone. Complete with hair twisting and giggling. Me getting "shusshed". Oh my, this can only get worse!

With all of the birthday hoopla, little B is going about his days pretty well. He's begun to "sing" to the radio, which is a hoot. The other night he started to sing back to me as I rocked him before bed, and we just giggled. Very sweet. He is getting closer to opening doors--eek! He is definitely finessing his twists to door knobs around our house, with technique that will soon require those clunky, white, child-proof protectors. Like his sister, Little B is charming the opposite gender. At daycare, he regularly smooches a little girl, but I hear he also shoves her when she tries to sit on a chair with him. Ahh, here starts the long history of love-hate, even at such an early age. This past weekend his Kdee and him played on the slip-n-slide, and had a blast. Little B kept falling down on the slippery surface, but it didn't phase him from enjoying every moment of the fun.

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of being Aunt D & Cousin A's date to Kathy Griffin. It was such a fun show! As a woman with too much memory retention for celebrity gossip and pop culture, I loved Kathy's schtick of "gossiping" with the audience. Let me tell you, I learned plenty that night that isn't privy to regular media, and I was eating it all up! As always, Aunt D & Cousin A were awesome to hang out with--I always enjoy time with them. (Cousin C, you were missed, too!) While I was at the show, ribB had fun IM'ing and talking with my brother J about his very cool new ride. Congrats to him on his new wheels...

Have a wonderful & happy Holiday weekend! Eat lots of treats, enjoy a couple of lemonades and kick back in the sun!