Abby's Birthday: Coronavirus Edition

Kris' in-a-pinch 'under the sea theme' for Abby's 10th Birthday.

What's up, gang.

So this whole Stay-in-Place Order from the governor has, obviously, made everyone's lives incredibly difficult.  As I've said before, I'm pretty okay with it, but I'm a guy who doesn't mind his Brian Time to catch up on things and otherwise just mind my own business.  Our kids, for sure, have suffered the most from their forced quarantine, as they've been isolated from the majority of their friends since the middle of March.  The only kids they get to interact with are those kids in the other nine families we regularly interact with (the Larsons, Johnsons, Colliers, etc. etc.)

Yes, Kris stole this idea off of Pinterest. . .

With this in mind, we knew that Abby's birthday was going to be a difficult affair this year - she wasn't going to be able to have her friends from school over, with the exception of Ella (the Johnson's kid) and Jackson (the Larson's.)  She assured us that she was okay with a smaller party this year, but Abby always puts on a brave face when she's stuck in a crappy situation.  Kris and I knew she was kinda down about things, regardless of what she was telling us, so we decided to splurge a little with the gifts this year to make up for it, and Kris orchestrated a drive-by parade of cars so Abby could see more people.

The result was a really, cool day for Abby, and everyone came out on the other side happy. . .

. . . with the exception of Yours Truly, who got his ass handed to him (as you'll see below.)

So, Internet, I leave you with this large assortment of pictures and videos chronicling Abby's first double-digit birthday.

Enjoy. . .

A card from Grandma Jordan. . .

Abby had been wanting a set of LED lights for her bedroom after seeing them on TV, so I set this up for her later on in the morning (as you'll see in the pictures and video below.)  They're pretty sweet.

Some more Our Generation doll crap (this was a skateboard and outfit, which will be abundantly clear in a sec.)

And now for the main event. . . 

She had been asking for a skateboard for a couple months, so after doing a crap-ton of research - and consulting with my brother, Chris - we picked out this particular board (she loved the design when she saw it online, back when we steered her towards a handful of options.)

The dogs always get caught up in the excitement of opening gifts.  Who knows why.

The new skateboard.

So when I first hooked up the lights, I didn't connect the one side properly, so the big reveal was a little underwhelming with half of it out.  I eventually got it, though.

Later on in the morning, I broke out the SLR as we prepared to take Abby down to the school parking lot to try out her new board.

Kris borrowed a set of giant yard letters from Mees.

Did a ton of research on safety helmets as well.

The sidewalk isn't the most optimal place to skateboard, what with all the bumps and and cracks.

Abby took to skateboarding waaaaay faster than we thought she would have - she was apparently born to do this.

Turning is definitely posing more of a challenge than just going straight.  That's pretty normal.

Kris, mid-scolding her older child who was whining about being bored.  Having kids is AWESOME.

Maybe the balloon helps with balance. . . .?

Didn't take her long to start showing off on it. . .

Time for some mid-riff.

After an hour or so of skating, she was down for taking a break.

While Abby rested, I decided that I would give skating a whirl. . .

This was, consequently, the first time I had skated in about, oh, 25 years.

The results are to be expected.

It's incredibly telling - the girls ran after the runaway board following my collapse, instead of checking on their injured father.

Abby's balloon makes a break for it. . .

 

You can't really tell from this picture, but I scraped up the entirety of my calf, from the knee down to my toes.

This spot on my ankle got the worst of it though, took the skin clean off.  Still, injuries aside, it was super fun riding on that skateboard, so I've decided I'm going to buy a longboard and get back into it.  Call it a mid-life crisis, or whatever, but I'd like to do it again before I get too old and regret not picking it back up.  I'll update you with my board once I order it.

Back at home, following our skating session at Chestnut Hill.

Abby with her sign.

Stopping by Grandma's house to pick up one of her presents (the other is back-ordered.)  Mom picked Abby up some knee, wrist, and elbow pads for skating. . . which would've helped me out a TON about, oh, two hours prior.

After visiting with mom and John for a bit, we swung out to 7-11 for some Slurpees (on a kid's birthday, they get whatever they want.)  Following that, we stopped off again at the school so Abby could skate a bit more.  Alayna was better this time around, having some sunglasses on her this time (they were Kris') and something to keep her cool.

Abby threw a tantrum for a solid ten minutes about having to wear her safety gear when she skated, as it was 'too hot outside.'  We held firm, and the bitch skated with her safety gear on.  We don't negotiate with terrorists.

We didn't skate as long this time around (and I didn't get on the board at all, which was a smart move on my part.)

Back at the homestead, Jackson and Ella stopped by with Jackson's little sister, Sophie, to hang out with Abby for the afternoon and play with her.  Around dinner time, Kris and I lied to the kids and told them that we wanted a picture of Abby and her friends in front of the sign.  I fumbled with my SLR, pretending to adjust the settings in order to kill time - the real reason we had them outside was so that Abby could see her scheduled drive-by parade (which was taking place at 6pm.)

Kris snapped this as we waited for the cars to approach.

Dave and Sherri, our next door neighbors, were nice enough to get the girls some googles, towels, and pool toys as birthday gifts (they gave them both at once to make things easier.)  They have a pool, and the girls swim over there regularly.

The first car to roll through - not part of the actual parade, though - was Abby's friend, Larkin.

(Larkin hand-made a card and friendship bracelet for her.)

Our friend group took up the bulk of this parade.  Here they come around the bend down Whitewood Drive. . .

Abby had no clue this was going to happen.  Mission accomplished.

Most everyone continued along, but a few people did a lap around the block and then returned to stop in front of our house to visit for a bit.

Some moms catch up on gossip.

Abby, Ella and the Larson kids.

Alayna rescues Samson from the front yard (he's a bit of an escape artist.)

Sophie tries out Abby's new skateboard.

After everyone left, Abby and her friends came inside for cake and ice cream.

In the evening, we had ourselves a chill bonfire with a few other couples and the neighbors across the street the Claytons.  The end of a very fun, very jam-packed - and, for me, a very painful - tenth birthday.

- Brian