Well, my oldest, S, turned double digits on the 29th.  Wow!  Until your kids hit the big 1-0, they really still are little kids; at least, that's what I've been telling myself.  And then their birthday rolls around, they turn 10, and......Jeepers!  They're not little anymore!  They're all grown up!  It's rather unreal.  I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it'll take some time I think.

And nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a good standardized test (I'll bet you haven't heard that too many times!).  I feel a bit like Mommy Dearest for administering the Iowa Test to S this week, but it had to get done.  I mean, for goodness sakes, the public school kids' first day of school is August 25th!  So it's best that we wrap up last year, right, before we jump into our next one?? 

So she had a good mix of testing, card opening, playing with friends, and a free birthday supper at Red Robin.  My husband and I had bought our two oldest kids bikes this spring for their birthdays, but on her actual day, I also bought her two books from the Lily series that she enjoys so well.  My folks had bought her a new, comfy queen-sized mattress and box spring when they were visiting in June, along with a grown up pink and brown/tan comforter.  I then proceeded to paint her room, which turned out quite well, given that I'm not much of a painter.  So her room now reflects her new grown-up status.

In the aforementioned cards, she received birthday money from DH's side of the family, to use as S sees fit (I've heard talk of a new Webkinz).  My sister got her a subscription to American Girl magazine, something S has wanted for a while.   In addition, S also got pink roses from my sister, a treasured tradition that started when S was wee small.  S put roses on her birthday list one year, and my sister took her at her word and got them for S.  And that has stuck through the years, and has become a very special part of S's birthday.

Now we move on to the birthday party planning.  S will be having a party at Skate America  (roller skating)with seven....yes, you heard me right; SEVEN.....neighborhood girls.  Should be fun, although I'm sure DH may have different predictions for that day. 

So here are a couple of photos from S's special day.  Enjoy! 

S and Red after her birthday meal.

Can't you just imagine the sweet smell?