Happy Birthday Athena!

Athena turned 10--10!--on Friday.
In our family, we don't have birthday parties past the age of 9. Mainly because it only gets more expensive to throw parties the older they get, but also because I wanted to deemphasize the getting of gifts. But I do let them pick something fun to do as a family--eat out, go somewhere, do something-- and then they get to invite one friend to come with them.

Once Athena realized that her birthday fell on a Friday, and that Hotel for Dogs came out on that same Friday, she knew that's what she wanted to do. The trouble was choosing a single friend. She couldn't do it. So in the end, we took both friends (we don't stick to our rules very well, especially on birthdays). My own review of the film: harmless tween fun with dogs, not painful to sit through, but nothing that hasn't been done on the Disney channel (for free). The kids review of the film: It was the best movie ever. (Aside from maybe The Christmas Story).

I ended up cooking dinner for them all since the movie was at 5:30 and we came back and had brownies. Her friends ended up bringing gifts anyway, so in the end, it turned into somethig pretty close to resembling a party. Like I said, we don't stick to our rules very well, especially on birthdays. Athena said she had the best time, though, and that's really all that matters.

Things I love about Athena:

• Athena is always so patient with Apollo. She is always ready to help him with a cheerful voice and a gentle hand, even if he is interupting something she's doing. She will be a great mother!
• She is intensely interested in everything. She wants to sing in the choir; dance; play soccer, basketball, volleyball; draw; write; design rooms; knit; play the guitar; make crafts; design clothes; run; cook; sew. The list could go on. She takes full advantage of every waking moment and is often frustrated that she has to pick and choose.
• She has had to make several sacrifices to live the gospel this year. She is one of the only girls in her ballet class not in The Nutcracker this winter or Cinderella this spring because all of the rehearsals are Sunday. She also had to tell her friends that she didn't want to search for ghosts because it gave her a bad feeling. Both of these decisions were very hard for her, but she hasn't complained.
• She is my ally in a house full of boys. She will side with me on everything from restaurant votes to what to do on Saturday. It drives Brian crazy sometimes but I'll take it while I can get it...I have a feeling it won't last forever.

We love you, Athena!!