I'm doing this again???

Well, it was just about a month ago, Sept. 10 to be precise, when I hosted Pickle's birthday party at the house. It was his 13th birthday and I figured the last formal party he'll likely have. Probably in the future, it will be one or two friends at Putt Putt or something similar. So, we tried to make it a fun one. Kids this age try to be cool, but most of them are still just kids and Pickle has friends who are just as goofy as he is - as evidenced by the motley group here. To try and eat some time, we had a jump contest on the trampoline. Hot Rod did the madman first off with the water gun.

My "other" son, J, did a twisty flip, which was pretty impressive. I was just concerned he'd snap his neck and I'd have to tell his mom.

Pickle did a School of Rock thing here. It was actually pretty cool, too.

And, I'm planning on posting this one larger than life at J and Little Bit's marriage in about 20 years. Won't they have gorgeous children? I think it would be perfect. I love this kid and could keep him in the family if he married Stinkerbelle. Hmm, I wonder about arranged marriages these days?

And, Pickle's best pal of 'em all: Q. He insists she is not his girlfriend, but look at that mesmerized expression on her face as he regales her with some goofy tale of anime. He had "Viking Day" at school today and said he spent most of it hanging out with Q. I'm sure you did. :)

Here is the gang after the Darth Vader pinata was destroyed. Notice the helmet that remained on Pickle's head. And, the big stick in the grumpy kid's hand on the far right, that was some tube that a bolt of fabric was on. AoD spray painted it to look like a light saber. Aren't we clever? :)

And, so, today, I'm doing it all over again with an unknown amount of 4- and 5-year-olds for Stinkerbelle's 5th birthday. I love how no one RSVPs anymore. It is most definitely a lost art and I assume that I am one of the last people who actually does it. I know of at least four kids whose moms have said they're coming. So, that is a start, I suppose. Wish me luck. My semi-annual case of bronchitis has occurred and, while I'm feeling better overall, I have no voice. Zero. Zilch. Nada. No voice whatsoever. Since my mom is still having to be cautious and no yelling and there will be no LabKat at this party, I guess I'll have to get AoD more involved to yell at the kids to direct the flow of the party. Heck, this might be nice, for a change, to be a little less involved.