Addison has had her 5th birthday planned since the day after her fourth. She, of course, gets her planning from her mother. Addison's plan was to have her friends over on Thursday, June 4th, for a pizza eating-tie dyeing-dance 'til you drop (or win a prize) extravaganza. And anyone that has experienced the northwest knows that it's not entirely safe to plan outdoor activities in June. Addison's guests were to arrive at 5:00 pm and this MONSOON of a midwestern storm arrived at 4:15 pm. There was a tornado warning (some lunatic sighted a tornado in the vicinity) a few miles south of us and it was heading directly at us. It was eerie but invigorating. Being the caring parents that we are we decided to head for the basement. (That's right! We have a basement). I kept running upstairs to witness this storm. It was intense .. full of high winds and an incredible amount of rain fall .. gutters were no match! And neither were the sewers as our side street was flooding. I have it all on film! Although, this lunatic did not sight a tornado or funnell cloud. As the winds and rains died down Addison's guests slowly began to arrive .. and the party took place in the house. I felt bad for Chelsey as she had the itinerary set to the minute (we actually had a practice run the day before). All was good as the girls had a nice time.
However, Addison's OTHER birthday plans took place the following day, on her actual birthday, at the Oregon Aquarium in Newport. Since we were on the coast we decided to spend a couple of nights at Gran Annie's in Florence, Oregon.
As Addison begins to plan for her 6th birthday I must take the time to brag about my daughter as she is one of kindness, caring and creativity. The pride that she gives me on a daily basis is, at times, overwhelming. She loves her sister and I can't think of anyone else that I would have Gwyneth learn from.
