My Birthday!

Hello internet friends! Today was my birthday! The weather was just right: sunny, not humid, and with a warm breeze! The best kind of summer day. I spent most of my day playing outside with my friends at the Midcoast MTTB. Later in the afternoon, though, Skye asked me if I wanted to open presents!
"What kind of question is that?" I asked jokingly. Of course I wanted to open presents!

First, I opened the presents from Skye.

I always look at the cards first.

My card was signed by everyone at the Midcoast MTTB, and there was $50 inside! I'm going on vacation out west next week, and we're going to go to the American Girl place in Chicago, so I think I'll spend it there.

I opened one of the little pink bundles next. It was soft and squishy, so I guessed it was a stuffed animal or clothing of some sort.

It was a Hello Kitty plushie!!!

I opened the other pink one after that. 

It was another Hello Kitty plushie, only this one was shaped sort of like an egg! It was like a Hello Kitty egg!

I opened the big rectangular-ish one.

Yum! Vanilla Hello Panda cookies! These are some of my favorites, along with Yan-Yan.

I opened the last one from Skye. Isn't the paper pretty?

It was an adorable panda t-shirt!

The next present was from Skye's friend. She had been in Japan this summer, and had mentioned she was going to bring something back for me. 

I opened up the box, and this super-duper adorable kitty change purse was inside! I picked it up, and it felt like there was something inside. I unzipped it...

...and saw that there really was something inside!

It was a lucky cat, or maneki-neko, figurine! Aren't they both super adorable? Thanks, Skye's friend!

This next present was from Saoirse.

I opened up the box and unwrapped the tissue paper to find these super soft and fuzzy bunny slippers! Thanks, Saoirse!

The next present was from Jess.

I pulled the card out of the bag. Look at the pretty paper she used! I love handmade cards.

In the first package I opened up, there were these totally awesome moccasins! Jess hand mentioned in her card that she got them in Arizona. 

I opened another bundle.

Check out this mirror! Jess customized it herself by gluing sea glass all around the edges. What a cool idea! I really needed a mirror for my room, too!

I opened the last bundle in the bag from Jess.

It was this beautiful sea glass necklace! She made it herself. 

Thanks, Jess!

After putting on the necklace from Jess, I began opening the bag from Charlotte and Zoe.

I grabbed the card first. Look at their super rad handmade card! It just pops with color!

There was a tissue paper covered nub coming out of the top of the bag, so I opened that first.

It was a big Hello Kitty plush! She even had a lollipop in her paw!

I opened a little box in the bottom of the bag. It was full of colorful, handmade bracelets! 

Don't they look great? Charlotte and Zoe are so creative.

Skye then brought out a cake in a box! She said that Charlotte and Zoe's mom had made it, and sent it in the mail special so it wouldn't get ruined.

Thank you, Charlotte and Zoe!

Here's all my loot! I'm so lucky to have so many friends who think of me on my birthday.

When I was done opening presents, we opened up the cake and began cutting it! It was chocolate and vanilla layered, with creamy vanilla frosting, cherries, and chocolate sprinkles on top! It was positively delicious. 

I had such a great birthday! I love getting to open presents and eat cake. What do you like best about birthdays? What do you do to celebrate?

This has been Dani, dabbling in celebrating her birthday on a sunny summer day. Over and out!

Adventures with Friends!

Hey there everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in so long! The part on my camera that hooks into the cord that gets the photos onto my computer wasn't working, so I had to trouble shoot that. I can put my memory card into the computer, though, so we're back in business! The weekend before this last one (the weekend of the 20th) Saoirse and Jess came over!

I was talking with Nicki when I heard lots of giggling, talking, and footsteps. The door swung open, and a whole herd of girls swarmed in.

It was Saoirse and Jess, of course! All of Saoirse's time traveling friends came as well!

"Dia duit Dani!  Tá mé chomh bís chun fheiceann tú! I'm so excited to see you!" Saoirse exclaimed.
"I haven't seen you in forever!" Jess remarked.

We all gathered together for a group hug.

While we caught up, Saoirse's friends Kaya and Josefina went over to see Emily and Molly. They knew each other even before I got to the Midcoast MTTB, so they're pretty good friends.

Azalea went over to check out Julie and Ivy.
"Hey, are you guys, by any chance, from the 1970's?" Azalea inquired.
"1974! You bet!" Julie and Ivy said in unison. Azalea's face lit up.
"Groovy!" Azalea smiled. She then proceeded to ask them all about their favorite songs and what artists they knew and/or liked. How did I know she would befriend them? ;)

Nicki had been sitting on her bed quietly patting Sprocket when Caroline walked over.
"What a charming creature," Caroline said, "What do you call him?"
"This is Sprocket," Nicki said as she massaged his ears. "You can pat him if you like."
Caroline smiled and ran her fingers gently through Sprocket's fur.

It was super hot and humid again, so I thought maybe I'd take Saoirse and Jess over to the stream if they wanted to. They both loved the idea, so we moseyed over to the trails.

There are a ton of blueberry bushes on the trails as well, and it's that time of year when they're just beginning to ripen! Naturally, we had to stop and pick a few to snack on. Saoirse got really into it; after only a few minutes, her hands and lips were stained purple by the colorful little berries!

After a few more minutes of walking, a beautiful breeze began to pick up. The day was turning out to be just perfect, and I felt like turning cartwheels! 

All of us ran through the tall grasses of the field next to the trail until we were glistening with sweat and out of breath.

After that, we got back onto the path and sauntered down the trail closer to the stream.

Before long, we came to the steep hill leading down to the little bridge!

I led the way down the hill, being careful of where I stepped and how I placed my feet.

The girls followed along.

FINALLY! We had made it to the stream! We sat down on the edge of the bridge, testing the water by dangling our toes in.

The cool, rushing water felt so good on our sweaty and sandy legs! Saoirse jumped and kicked her feet around, splashing Jess and I. We didn't mind, though; the cold water felt good everywhere!

"Dani, Jess! Let's all grab hands!" Saoise urged.
"Why?" Jess said.
"If we all get together and jump at the same time, we can make a really big splash!" Saoirse squealed.
"Ooh! That sounds like fun!" I thought aloud. We all held hands, and when Saoirse counted to three, we jumped as high as we could. When we came down, the water splooshed up all around us, getting our shirts wet. Laughing, we all got out of the water and climbed back up the hill to the rest of the path.

We walked back through the sand, with our arms around each other. Jess slowed down.
"Hey, guys?" She said.
"Yeah?" Saoirse and I responded.
"Well, you know, I'm going to be moving out Arizona in a few weeks. You know how I lived in Belize for a while when my parents were doing archaeology there? Well, they got a permanent archaeology gig in Arizona, so I'm going to be moving there with them." 

We all stopped, and Saoirse and I looked at Jess. I couldn't believe it! I felt like I had barely spent any time with Jess, and now she would be leaving. 

"Tá mé ag dul a chailleann tú an méid sin! I'm going to miss you so much!" Saoirse said.
"Me too! We need to stay in touch." I said. 

"I'll try to write often," Jess said, smiling. We threw our arms back around each other and skipped down the trail towards home. 

It was so good to spend time with Saoirse and Jess! I'm so sad Jess is going to leave, though. She's one of my best friends! I'll try my best to stay in touch with her. Have you ever had a friend move away? Have you ever moved away from your friends? What do you like to do when you spend time with friends?
This has been Dani, dabbling in hanging out with her blogging buddies. Over and out!