Birthday Weekend (When Celebrating For One Day Just Isn't Enough)

Katarina turned 11 years old on Saturday. Kids are growing too fast these days. I was talking with some other moms about this on Twitter this week, and we have decided to try putting books on their heads and giving them coffee to see if that helps to slow them down. I'll let you know how that goes. But for now, we are celebrating growth and aging. We celebrated all weekend, and I have pictures to prove it.

Thursday: Birthday Party at Airheads Trampoline Arena

We spend a lot of time at Airheads. First, because jumping is awesome, and it is always better with air conditioning. Second, because the food is amazing (I have dreams about their nachos and buffalo chicken). And Third, because they have regular homeschool meetups that double as PE classes. So Airheads was a great place to gather some friends and party. And Lee brought delicious homemade cupcakes that were amazing.

Thursday Night: Nail Art
Katarina loves nail art, so this Academy of Colour 3D Manicure pack was a perfect gift. She wanted to try it immediately after getting home from the party. This is how it works: you put a coat of nailpolish on your nail, and while it is still wet, you sprinkle the glow in the dark beads over it and lightly press them into the polish. It comes with a little tray to catch the excess beads, and a funnel to get them back into the bottle.

There is no way to get a good picture of the glowing nails (we tried), but I will tell you that they glow really brightly in the dark. And they look textured and cool in the light, too.

Friday: Shopping And Bus Riding
We started Friday by sleeping in, which was one of Katarina's specific birthday wishes. Then it was time for a little shopping, and finding food to donate for Champions For Kids.

We took silly selfies while we waited for the bus. I like this one, because you can see the yellow sun rail train behind us, and because Katarina is making her "serious waiting face."

Friday Night: Guardians Of The Galaxy
We are all about the comic book movies in our family, so Katarina was very excited Guardians Of The Galaxy was opening the day before her birthday. It was awesome. And then we hung out with our new super hero friends after the movie.

Does that picture make us look short?
I guess we should just be happy we are taller than Rocket Raccoon.

Also seen while we were at the movie theater?

This poster for The Giver. SO exciting. Katarina read The Giver for the first time earlier this year, and loved it, so she is counting down the days until the movie premiers.

Saturday Morning: Haircut And A New Color

PINK. Need I say more? I didn't think so.

Tika gave her a combination of Magenta and Wild Orchid for the color.

Saturday Afternoon: Changing Plans And Finding Fun
Our original plan was to visit the Orlando Science Center on Saturday, but bus schedules proved to be a problem, and we are going to have to make that trip another day.

Instead, we went downtown to eat at Katarina's favorite burger place, Beth's Burger Bar, where I attempted to eat my weight in fried pickles, and Katarina had her favorite - a cheeseburger with peanut butter and pickles.

This is the only picture containing a fried pickle or french fry, because we were too busy eating all of them to worry about pulling out the camera.

After lunch, we walked around Lake Eola, and caught some live music at the amphitheater.

We were rained out of riding in a swan boat, but that didn't stop our fun.

We just skipped on, and visited the library, making sure to jump in all the puddles on our way.

Skipping. It is a must on birthday weekend. Because even at 11 years old (or 40-ish years old) you can still hold hands, and skip to the library.

At the library, Katarina was excited to finally be allowed in the YA section by herself now that she is 11. It was a milestone.

Sunday was for more sleeping in, opening presents and a HUGE card at the park, and reading new books. And then birthday weekend came to a close. It was a pretty epic celebration.

Happy birthday, Katarina!

I love you so much, and I'm looking forward to all the amazing things that will happen in your 11th year. It is going to be awesome. Love, Mom.

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