Happy 9th Birthday, Abigail!

Our little girl Abigail turned nine years old today! She still has the same bubbly, energetic personality that she had when she was born, and Susan and I enjoyed telling her stories about her birth and what she was like as a baby. Now she's old enough to tell her own stories; Abigail is today's guest blogger:

"I woke up and had this funny feeling: it was nervousness and excitement because it is my birthday! I got upstairs, and there were Daddy and Mom, and they were both wishing me 'Happy Birthday'! Mom was making waffles for my birthday breakfast, and they were very good.

"Then we started getting ready for my birthday party. Suzanna and I made signs that told where we were going to have the party [in the family room downstairs]. The games that we set up were Pin Your Name on the Purse, Charades, and Cake Station, which is a coloring station at our craft table with cake-themed coloring sheets [which they found on the Internet and printed off; they also set out markers, crayons, stickers, scissors--all the things they figured kids would want in order to decorate their own birthday cakes]. That took a long time. We made signs that said, 'Partyland This Way!' and 'Warning! Now Entering Partyland!' Another sign we made was 'Presents,' and we put it over the presents area.

"At dinner time, we went to Sanford's, and Suzanna and I shared the Where the Buffalo Roam salad [featuring chicken tenders in Buffalo sauce with bleu cheese dressing], and Hillary had the Humpty Dumpty [a fried egg sandwich]. Daddy and Mommy shared a chef salad. For dessert, they served me a triple-scoop ice cream sundae on a giant chocolate chip cookie [this is Sanford's' gift to customers who come in on their birthdays; faithful readers will recall that we usually make a stop at Sanford's on our birthdays just for this reason!].

"Then we dropped Suzanna off at band lessons. After we picked her up again, we came back home and did more preparations: finished decorating the purse with the rest of the stickies; organized the Cake Station; did last-minute cleaning; and finished the clues for a scavenger hunt, planned by Suzanna. And then, 'Ding-dong!' and in walked Hannah! We gave her a tour, and she put her present down, and she put her stuff down for a sleepover. A few minutes later, yet again: 'Ding-dong!' and in came Kaina! We gave her a tour, she put down her present, and we just sat down and talked

"In a few minutes, pizza was ready, so we came upstairs, got our pizza, and we went onto the veranda to eat with our tropical punch. After supper, we loaded into our van and went mini-golfing. Hannah won, of course. Then we came back home, and we had our scavenger hunt. We had ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, and then we opened presents. Then we went downstairs and played Pin Your Name on the Purse and then Charades. Then it was time for Kaina to go home. We changed into our pajamas. Hannah and I chose a movie (High School Musical 2) and watched it. Now it is time for us to go to sleep.

Abigail, Hanna, Kaina (back to camera), Hillary, and Suzanna eating pizza, carrot sticks, apple slices, and celery boats (some loaded with peanut butter and some with spreadable cheese) and drinking Kool-Aid on our veranda.

Abigail's warming up on the first hole.

Suzanna's unorthodox golfing stance allowed her to extricate her ball from beneath the fire engine trap on the fifth hole.

Abigail, Hannah, Hillary, Kaina, and Suzanna pose at the lighthouse on the 18th hole.

Kaina, Abigail (notice where she has the chin strap), Hannah, Suzanna, and Hillary

"My birthday was awesome, and I was glad I could share it with my family and friends. I even got to talk on the phone to my aunties Cathy and Cheryl. Here are the presents I got:

• from Hannah: an eyeglasses case and a T-shirt, both of them with High School Musical logos on them


• from Kaina: an "A" necklace, a pink-with-butterfly T-shirt, some candy, a purse, and a ballet shoe charm to attach to a backpack


• from Hillary: a Barbie car and clothes for Banana, my Build-a-Bear


• from Suzanna: a Lil' Kinz dog and Webkinz clothes for it


• from Mom and Dad: the Disney Mania 6 CD, a purple personalized piano bag to carry my music for piano lessons, clothes, and a body book


• from Cheryl and Arron: a savings bond, T-shirts and jeans, and Polly Pocket Pop 'n' Swap Fashion Frenzy toy


• from Grandpa and Grandma Moberg: a card with a check in it for me to buy my own present


• from Cassie and Nick: pajamas, a dress, a pencil, a sharpener, a pencil top stamp, an eraser, and a pack of stationery"

It's so fun to watch Abigail open gifts; she's so delighted by and grateful for everything!