the twins exhilarate!

There's Alyssa, the (slightly) older of the twins, 

happily munching pepperoni pizza!

She's worked up quite an appetite - 

that's already her second piece!

But playing in the ball pit with her dad,

after an hour, and more,

bouncing on trampolines and such

wore off breakfast very quickly!

Here's Leila, the (slightly) younger twin,

happily munching on cheese pizza!

That's her second slice, too!

They'd chosen Exhilarate, here in Savannah,

for their three-hour birthday party bonanza!

Trampolines, a bunch of rock-climbing walls,

slides galore, a giant Jungle Gym, and more!

I recognized right away that it had been the furniture store where my couch and loveseat were bought almost two decades ago.

What a great use of that showroom/warehouse!

They had not bothered to do anything with that concrete floor that once had been traversed by forklifts and dollies, and covered by huge boxes of tables and chairs, recliners and beds, desks and so much more.

I can tell you this: the kids didn't care!

They were out of their shoes and into play socks for two hours of fun!

Then it was time for an hour of pizza, cake, and the opening of gifts!

Michael made red velvet cupcakes and they were delicious!

Here, he's supervising the delving into birthday bags of his two eight-year-olds, tossing the pink tissue paper into their paths - fun!

Leila was looking into her bag on the floor, while Alyssa chose to stand and see her gifts, while Aunt Christina (there with only Chloe) and Aunt Chelsea looked on and cheered, with Grammy Melinda filming the whole works as family and school friends looked on.

What a great birthday 8!

(smile!)

 

And just what had I given the girls?

Well, I wrote each a poem in their birthday cards, a  poem that was unique for each girl!

 

Alyssa's read:

"Hope your year

of being eight

is all you want 

and really great!"

 

Leila's was:

"Hope your year

of being eight

is filled with fun

and truly great!"

 

Hey, you were expecting Shakespeare?

(smile!)

 

As for their presents, I gave them something no one else did: books!

Even better, these were books for "big girls", with dust jackets on them!

Plus, these stories featured cats and other animals having grand adventures!

(smile!)

Yes, I'm talking about that blind cat, Oskar, and his best friend Klaus, from my years of being Fliss of Kickstarter with Mama's money.

I gave Alyssa "The Search For Bigfoot" for two reasons: it features a tea party and it came out the year she was born.

I gave Leila "The Mission To Cataria" for two reasons: she's a fan of science and it came out two years after she was born.

Yes, I did tell them that!

I worked a little math into the forewords I wrote in each girl's book!

(smile!)

 

Now, I've taken a little break to switch gears.

I don't want to say I'm switching off the frivolity, as I'm hoping for a light mood to prevail for this afternoon's activity.

I'm even bringing several pages of jokes - the only pages I read - from old American Legion magazines.

Just trying to keep a sense of humor, as my brother would have done.

As I told Michael and Christina when I left the party, I was going home to "pick up your Dad."

I'm glad the rain has stopped for our ceremony.

(smile)