Birthdays, Buckets and Bonfires

So, we had two birthday parties yesterday.

One for our youngest niece, who just turned 2.

And one for our oldest niece, who's just about to turn 20.

Both parties were fun. We enjoyed visiting with both sides of our families, enjoying good food and lots of excitement. And Sweetie made out like a bandit, getting fishie party favors at the first party, and a Valentine's Day gift at the second one.

But what I liked best was my and Sweetie's grand entrance to the second party (which happened to be a bonfire party).

I guess my sister-in-law had been a bit concerned about how I'd be able to get back to the fire. But my brother told her not to worry, he had a plan. He had it all worked out.



See above? That's me and Sweetie, riding in the bucket of my brother's tractor. We travelled from their driveway, up a little hill, and on back to their backyard to where all the action was.



No, not the greatest picture of me, but it certainly shows my shock and amazement at what I'd just experienced. And, no, Sweetie doesn't seem all that thrilled in this shot. But she was excited, let me tell you!

In fact, I think the whole experience must have been nothing but thrilling for her. She'd never seen such a big fire before. There was ice cream cake, marshmallows for roasting, music to dance to, and kids and family of all ages to play with and make new friends with.

Plus, hey.... two birthday parties in one day! What kid wouldn't love that?!

It was a late night for us. Sweetie didn't fall asleep during the car ride home (but she did on the car ride between parties). And we didn't get home until 10:30pm. But she went right to bed and hasn't given us any crankiness problems today.

It was a lot of driving around too, but I'm so glad we got to both parties. It was important for Hubby and I to attend both nieces' parties, and I knew how much both Birthday Girls were looking forward to us helping them celebrate their big days.

Family is so important. I'm so glad we live close to so many members of our families.

And thank goodness for creative thinking and heavy equipment! Without it, I'd never have been able to attend such exciting events!