Last of the Tweens

Welcome back, folks.

Today the Houghs celebrate the last year of our tweenage years:  Abby turns twelve today, and this marks the last year of us raising pre-teen kids.  From here on out, it's all teenagers, all the f***ing time.

Not looking forward to it in the slightest.

Anyway, as I've discussed in previous posts, Abby couldn't be more different than her sister when it comes to birthday 'parties.'  So Alayna takes after Yours Truly when it comes to social gatherings:  she's an extrovert, and therefore prefers a huge party with horde of her friends on hand, lots of noise and activity, lots of chaos.  Abby takes more after her mom, who is also an introvert, and would prefer a more low-key get-together, with only a handful of very close friends opposed to a bigger crowd.

Taking this into consideration, we did away with trying to push full-blown birthday parties on Abby years ago, and gave her what she wanted - a more simple affair featuring two or three kids (opposed to Alayna, who basically brings the house down every year.)  Way easier on all folks involved.  This year centered around taking Abby and her two best friends - Ella and Sophie - out about town, treating them to teas and treats, pedicures, shopping at the mall, etc.  Simple stuff.

So yeah, here's a brief synopsis on how all that stuff went down this year.

Check it out:

Kris wanted to buy Abby a new wallet this year, and figured since Abby likes going out and shopping, or hitting up different restaurants, tea joints, etc. we'd just fill the wallet with assorted Visa and gift cards.

I didn't realize Kris also got video of this - whoops.

Later on in the morning, Ella and Sophie came by so that they could give Abby some birthday presents.

Chokeholds pass for hugs around these parts.

Group hug chokehold.

The Squad

Kris had these color-changing cups made up for the girls from. . . somewhere.

For lunch Kris took the girls over to Grove Tea, where they ordered fancy foods and teas and posed for pis on this random Thunderdome.

A couple selfies from Ella's phone. . .

After lunch, Kris and I ran the girls (and Alayna) up to the mall for some shopping.  While they were up there, you popped into some not-shady-at-all nail salon for pedicures.

While Kris waited for the girls at the salon, I walked around the mall to kill time.  A lot of the stores in the mall have shuttered over the last twenty years - as they have in most malls across the country on account of increased online shopping and other such changes in consumer spending - and have been replaced with random things like antique stores.  While browsing around one of Midland Mall's antique showrooms - formally a Yonkers - I stumbled across the exact same picture that used to hang in Mom's dining room/kitchen back in the mid-90s. Like, same matting, frame, everything - an antique seller snatched it up for resale after Mom sold it in a garage sale years ago.  Not sure it's worth $40, though. . .

Chiseling away at feet.  Still.

After their pedicures, the girls continued shopping, and Kris and I met up with the Johnsons (Ella's parents) and poked around in a few more of those antique stores around the mall. The girls at some point ducked into one of those photo booths and had this done.

Later that afternoon, once the girls were funned out with the mall, we came back to our place - here's a weird pic one of the girls took of their freshened-up toes.

Cake time (thanks, Costco.)

Not sure why she's looking so damned depressed in this picture. . .

And that's how we celebrated the last of our pre-teenage years, America.  It was fun while it lasted.

- Brian