You see, June was a busy month. School was over, summer travel was kicking into high gear, and Alana turned six. But, she didn’t get a party, which wasn’t a big deal…at the time.

Apparently, Alana quietly stewed off and on all summer about this non-party. Her concern, as best we can tell, was that, while her birth certificate and the calendar might claim that she was six years old, the absence of a formal party to recognize the occasion might very well have thrown the universe completely out of balance. By Julie’s count, Alana had at least three separate “birthday recognition events,” but none of those included an Alana-centric gathering of her peers to recognize her next step toward teen-hood.

SO, she decided that a tea party was in order. Julie, not wanting to discourage industriousness, told Alana to have at it.

And then Julie got herself thoroughly sucked into the planning and executing the event.

Throughout the planning Alana insisted that this was a NO BOYS affair — an insistence that had every Y chromosome in the house breathing a sigh of relief about.

Like all good tea parties, this one included an actual silver tea service (which had been polished maybe once previously since it came into our possession):

The “tea” was served (actual tea was offered, but most of the guests opted for sour lemonade — made intentionally sour so that they would need to drop sugar cubes into it to sweeten it up):

The hostess welcomed her guests and outlined the rules of a game she had devised for entertainment:

Like all proper tea parties, after sipping and munching, the party headed to the basement for a post-tea spot of dancing.

And, like all good spots of dancing (or, at least, like all good events with a group of kids on a basement stage where a ceiling-mounted black light is available), the dancing turned into a rave:

With calories appropriately burned, the party returned to the first floor for candles and brownies with the NOW properly six-year-old hostess:

And NOW Alana feels like she truly is six years old.

Alana’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago. And she had a party. And she had a good time. And it would be truly awful if she looked back in 20 years and thought her dad wasn’t sufficiently engaged to document the event. So, here goes!

There were games:

There was a spinning chair-swing:

…which could even handle the big kids, like Benton:

Benton’s friend, Nick, took a turn in the spinning swing, too…and was woozy all the way through the pizza and cake:

Did I say cake?!

And, any party that wraps up with a zip line (which the birthday girl gets to go on TWICE) has to be a winner, right?!

Because we’ve hit spring break, it’s not a good time for him to have much of a celebration with his friends, so that’s been postponed until some time in May. But, he did request that, weather permitting, we do a driveway cookout with any neighbors who were around. Nice weather? In our neighborhood? A driveway cookout is kind of a given!

By my tally, we had 10 adults, 12 kids, and 5 dogs participate in the evening all told, which was a healthy crowd. One of the dogs was the newest pup in the ‘hood — Oliver.

And, to top off the homemade tortillas (also Benton’s request) and sausages, we had a green cherry pie (Benton’s favorite dessert is cherry pie, and he’s all about mixing it up colors-wise):

There was a good mix of kiddos (the beauty of neighborhood hand-me-downs — only one of the boys in this picture actually has any Texas roots…yet two of them are wearing Longhorn shirts):

Including a number of girls from the ‘hood:

The facility had a “pit”:

Of course, what’s really important is the cake!

And, later, a couple of the more photogenic presents, like this swimmer’s ensemble from her grandparents:

And this pink baseball bat and glove, from her dad:

Alana, Julie, and Aunt Cheryl headed out on Sunday afternoon so Alana could build her bear. She picked out a pink one (shocker!) and got to help fill it with stuffing:

Then, she needed to “bathe” it (with air):

And then, of course, accessorize! With Aunt Cheryl’s assistance:

Then, it’s a matter of striking poses with her bear in its carrying case:

And, finally, posing with the gifter before loading up and heading out:

As was expected, Alana enjoyed a lunch of chicken tenders with lots of ketchup.  She then followed it up with a slice of chocolate cheesecake.  Pictures tell the story best, so I’ll let them finish out the event.

Alana prepares for lunch by drying her hair and getting all dressed up

After what seemed like a long wait for Alana, all three ladies are ready to go

The best part of any meal: dessert!

And, finally, returning home to enjoy her vintage baby buggy,  which was enjoyed by her mom some 30+ years ago.

All the cousins gathered for dinner and playtime on the “Fort Brownlow” playscape.

The kids decorated cakes so Markus could celebrate his 1st birthday a few weeks early.

Carson prepares to hand off the cake.

Day of her birth:

Birthday # 1:

Birthday # 2: (celebrated with good friend Angela and one of Angela’s dolls)

Birthday # 3:

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