Sweet 16

As we were contemplating what on earth we could do to make Allison's birthday special, we went through a flurry of ideas....all of which were kept secret from her much to her curious frustration. She decided she wanted an extended birthday beginning the day before her birthday and ending the day after with the stipulation that the presents be opened the first day. She had the whole schedule planned out. : ) We tried to switch things up a little bit so the presents would be opened the day after her birthday, but she would have none of it. : )
So after racking our brains, searching the internet, and making billions of phone calls, we settled on what we thought was the perfect thing.

Because of the chosen activity, it was decided that she should indeed go ahead and open her presents as opposed to waiting. : ) She was happy about that!

The Birthday Girl

"Is it really in here?"

"It is!"

Rompurr, the festive kitty cat


After the presents were opened, we hurried off for the mysterious destination. Allison was trying her best to guess, but all the "clues" were too evasive. Ray said it was neat, Valerie said it was fun, there was a water park, there was horseback riding.........really, what was she to make of it?!? At least she had a partner in the dark. Sara was just as clueless as she. : ) The worst part was, we traveled for an hour and a half! How horrible to keep someone in suspense that long!!!!! : )

Wait! Is that Christmas lights?!?


Yes, indeed it was! We went to the light show at Tanglewood in Clemmons. What a beautiful display!
These pictures are just a taste of the beauty......

Getting back at 12:30, we all headed straight to bed. The next morning, on her birthday, Allison had a doctor's appointment in Charlotte, so we decided to make it a girl's outing. Not far from the office was supposed to be a neat little doll shop, so after her appointment, we went in search of it. What we found was a dream! It was a store alright, but one where people rent little nooks and set it up as a store within a store. There were hundreds of these little "shops" among which we spent about 2 hours just browsing through all the curiosities.

There was something for everybody. From girlie things....

....to baby things....

....to smelly things.... (hmmmmmm ~ this one must not have been the right flavor : )

....to precious things....

....to outlandish things....
(these are rubber cleaning gloves)

....to something perfect for someone's 16th birthday! As this was not a normal amenity, it took a little persuasion. Allison and Valerie had decided a couple of years ago that fifty years from then, as little old ladies that could barely hobble about, they would have a toenail painting party......as if they really would be able to bend over for that long. : ) Well, now they (and Christina!) were going to get a little bit of practice! Add to the Piggy Paint a little bit of Redneck nail polish (White Out) and Voila! : )

Lest the term "Piggy Paint" be somewhat elusive (as it was to others), just think of the little ditty "This Little Piggy" and all will become clear......... : )

Happy Birthday, Allison!

We Love You!!!!