::The biggest bestest birthday candle ever::

ids parties are always hard work. How to balance the food, the fun, the kids. . . This past Saturday, Caelah's party began with a bang, ended with a bang, and was stuffed with loads of good stuff in between. Mom and I were puzzled over how to co-ordinate 10-12 appetizers in the oven, and in the frenzy of getting things ready, a cold glass dish was placed on a hot stove-top burner and BANG! It shattered across the kitchen. Tiny shards were strewn through the first set of meatballs. Garbage. So sad. We didn't want to lacerate any throats.

Dad spend a good 15-20 minutes, vacuuming. Then I pulled down a serving platter and the tiny glass bowl that was nestled inside it shattered to floor. More vacuuming. Rather than start to cry we all started giggling. It's the better way. . . An hour later, the house was packed, and the food was out. Glass explosions all but forgotten. The kids provided some good anecdotes for the retelling. Elyssa began to address our dog Cooper as "Pooper." Funny. And Matty thumped Summer over the head with a Bible at one point, eliciting a; "that boy is trying to convert those dogs!," from my clever sister. And then there was the cake. Oh, wow. I have to say, it was the best cheesecake I may have ever tastes. Mocha goodness.

But the cherry on top was when the olympic flame came jogging by my parents house. Well, the end of their street, anyways. We had made tentative plans to take the kids down to the hill for 7:00, but really didn't feel like fighting the crowds. So Aidan suggested, in an offhand kind of way, that we run down the road and see if the flame was coming by. One of us took it seriously and stepped outside only to see police lights flashing, That caused a flurry of activity as we all threw our coats on and ran down the street. And within 5 minutes, there came the parade. The guy with the flame had a jogging entourage who gave us all high fives and handed out flags. And the flame was so close we could have touched it. And it happened right outside our door. Bonus.

I told the kids; "You guys remember this, ok? You may not understand yet how cool this is, but someday you will."Then we headed back to cozy up with a mug of cider and more cake. That's the way to end a party.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY MY GIRL.