Pond Jumps & Bieber Fever

Long overdue is a recap of the 9th birthday of Eli the Squirrel...from the land of Fruits and Nuts.  We decided Eli could invite every girl in her class since we planned to stay on the reservation AND she may not be in Cougarville the next time her birthday rolls around.  We didn't quite realize the havoc 8 giggling, frenetic little girls could create in less than 12 hours. 

The girls came bounding off the bus and dropping backpacks and lunch bags everywhere.  Eli obsesses about her birthday year 'round, so much so that we had to make a rule that she couldn't talk about her birthday until April 1st each year.  You may think that is harsh but LITERALLY the girl would bring it up every day if she could - enlightening me on the latest activity, guest list, and cake flavor she currently planned to ask for.  So when the actual birthday party happens, she is goes into a whole 'nother stratosphere of hyperactive and starts running from room to room, showing off her "treasures" while talking a mile a minute.  We call this "company mode" as she starts acting like she can mouth off to her parents and break all the rules.  A quick nip from Momzilla reminds her that she's getting a little big for her britches. 

Supper with the girls went well and then Eli decided that she would show the girls how Lumpy and Spazzoid, our spastic black labs, like to swim in a nearby pond.  This led to the girls all trying to throw dog treats in the water from the dock while Lumpy and Spazzoid swam in circles trying to gobble up the treats - only to get mouthfuls of pond water that would make them hack and gag. 

  

 Then one thing led to another and the girls decided they were going to jump into the pond...fully clothed...in mid-May.  The water had to be less than 60 degrees but when they asked if they could do it, Husband and I just looked at each other.  I could see his wheels turning.  On the one hand, this could lead to a huge disastrous mob of wet girls with pond scum hair.  On the other hand, the girls would remember this party forever.  We decided to channel our childhood memories and said, "Sure.  But watch out for the snapping turtles."  We hoped to scare the girls into rethinking their decision.  No such luck.  One by one, they jumped into the pond except for the one girl who couldn't swim.  The dock did not have a ladder so Husband and I took turns pulling the girls up out of the water. 

We trudged back to the house where I shuttled all the girls to three different showers and dumped a load of stinky pond scum clothes into the washer.  Freshly scrubbed, the girls had cake and ice cream while Eli opened presents.  Then on to the basement for the viewing of the Justin Bieber movie "Never Say Never".  Quite frankly, I am about tired of hearing about "Bieber Fever" but the girls were enamored.  I came down the next morning to find lip and hand prints on the television.  Oh dear...

But I guess we all had our crushes.  I gazed adoringly at Kirk Cameron in "Teen Bop" magazine and my first poster to go up in my own room (when I finally didn't have to share with Erin) was Jason Priestly from "Beverly Hills 90210".  My sister Susan hid posters behind the clothes in her closet...Jackson 5, Duran Duran, Kenny Loggins.  She also had posters from "Dirty Dancing" (and the matching plethora of cut off jean shorts with rolled cuffs to match). 

So after much dancing to Taylor Swift, Bieber Fevering, and late night snacks, the girls finally drifted off to sleep.  And managed to sleep until dawn when they came bounding upstairs to make the most of their final hours together.  While Husband and I blearily came downstairs and tracked down missing shoes, made breakfast, and otherwise were thankful we only do this once a year per kid.