Eight is Enough

A little young to be hobbling around the kitchen making applesauce… cap the growth on this girl!

Rose enjoyed THE BEST school year, in-person first grade. She bounded out the door each morning (except the day she caught her toes in the door) with an exuberance I wasn’t sure school would ever rouse. She brought her big sister caretaking with her, made sweet friends and emerged a self-motivated, book-loving learner!

So when it came time to celebrate year seven and welcome eight… we went a little overboard!

No, Rose did not choose to party in Huelva where Columbus launched and ship replicas are on display, but it’s along the route so we stretched our highway legs and had a look around.

Instead, she picked Zoomarine for a day of waterslides and attractions everyone was happy to take part in.

Kind of.

Lucy: “Hey girls! Wait for me…”

Lucy: “I’ve got my new duds on, pretty in pink, I’m coming in!”

Parents: “It’s ice cold! The suit is merely for protection from the UV rays.”

Lucy: “Ouch. Remind me not to come here for my big day.”

Crackers and spectating.

Lucy and I patrolled the wedgies while the girls and Ken rode the slides and stayed damp all day.

Another birthday in the books? Not quite.

For all the Nancy Drew and Geronimo Stilton stories read in this house… clue detection seems to slip right past them.

Ken rinsing the patio and setting up tables and chairs?

Cases of drinks stacked on the floor?

Lucy: “Party! Party! Wake up, sis! They are throwing you a surprise PARTY!!”

Rose: “What are you babbling on about?”

A trip to the pizzeria for a two-week supply? No red flags apparently.

“Happy Birthday!”

Ken’s “Are you sure about this?” face registering the knife set I picked out for my sous-chef. I saw it on him when I suggested we throw a birthday party too.

Rose waited patiently for presents, and most everything else this year, growing older in the shadow of the baby sister she absolutely adores. Which is why when cumulative sleep deprivation speaks, you listen, and throw the party. Some years, when made easier by a very special girl, beg to be memorialized with games, friends, treats…. and of course, a little trick!