Annika's Birthday Nails

This year (partially to save my sanity, partially to scale back and reduce the expectation that every year will include a big birthday bash), we (mostly I) decided that Annika could invite two friends to go out for mani/pedis and lunch.

Oh ... my ... goodness, did the girls have a great (and loud!) time. I picked up the kids on our way to the nail salon and it was quite evident they've missed seeing each other as often as they do during the school year.

We started off by hitting the nail salon for manicures and pedicures. The girls were full of giggles and chatter as they soaked their feet and enjoyed a little pampering. They did their best to act like grownups.... very silly, goofy grownups! The gals doing their nails were incredibly fast and even painted flowers on the girls' big toes ... really impressive, especially considering how small their canvas was!!

After their nails were painted and beautiful, I realized the nail artists were REALLY speedy and finished with the girls much faster than expected. Normally, that would have been great, but the restaurant we were going to have lunch at wasn't open for another 1/2 hour! So, we popped across the street to kill a little time at Starbucks... that and I definitely needed to refuel to have any chance of keeping up with the girls! The girls had cake pops .. I had a venti coffee... win/win!

After much more silliness and laughter, it was time to journey back across the street and have a bit to eat. I'm pretty sure that the highlight for the girls was each one ordered a drink that came with fruit on a tiny plastic sword. They came up with fantastical stories and creative uses for their swords. (I did put a stop to them trying to eat refried beans with the swords ... if I hadn't, we'd probably still be there trying to finish lunch!) The staff at the restaurant overheard that we were celebrating Annika's birthday, and surprised her with a sundae and rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday' in Spanish. She was all smiles and relished in the birthday attention.

Once again, I found us ahead of schedule (quite a shocker, considering I'm usually running late), so I opted to let the girls run off some energy at Carkeek Park. They ran to and fro, climbed trees, and came up with fantastical stories about mermaids, magical super powers, gems (or was it candy?) that gave people the power of mental telepathy, and more. I loved being a fly on the proverbial wall as they created a new world and roles for themselves.