Blogging 'Bout a Birthday

Hey people! I know that I promised more about my oh so fascinating adventures in Maryland, but today was just too much fun and too exciting that I need to share it right know. So, today is my little sister's birthday (Hi Poodle!) and we went to our neighbor's beach condo for the day. I know that this doesn't sound so great, but trust me, it was. The best part was that Carrie had no idea where we were going. I mean, she kind of knew that something was up ( our acting skills, sadly, are not that great). There have been, let me count, like 2 years in a row that we have tried to have a surprise party for her. Something always gets in the way, or something spoils it. Examples include people calling to tell Carrie that they can't come to her surprise party or Carrie seeing the clues for a scavenger hunt or people spraining their ankles. There was one year where we did pull it off, but I was not really a part of it until the end. Come to think of it, I wasn't really a part of the planning of this year's party. Maybe I'm the reason the parties never work out... Nah, it must be something else. So, back to this year's party, er, I guess it was really more of an adventure. But I'll start at the beginning...

Our brilliant plan began last night, when I cleverly kept Carrie awake until past her bedtime, so she would sleep in a bit. Carrie is prone to waking up quite early, especially when it's her birthday, so I wanted to keep her in bed until our friend, Kristen, could come in and pounce on Carrie's bed. I slept in Carrie's room, to guard her. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep. So, Kristen finally came in and woke Carrie up, she claims that she was awake, and we explained what was going. After that, we ate breakfast and Carrie blew out candles we put in a coffee cake. Then we got changed, picked up our other neighbor, Caroline, and headed off to Kristen's beach condo!

We had a blast swimming in all the fabulous swimming pools, including a lazy river, which was great. Carrie really enjoyed the water slide (it wasn't my favorite, partly due to the fact that my top fell down the first time I rode it...). We took lots of fun pictures on the beach and I think, I'm not quite sure, that I fell asleep on a lawn chair. All I know is that one minute, the family next to us is ordering their food and the next thing I know,they are finishing their meal. (Thinking back, I probably should not have used a beach towel as a blanket and made the chair as flat as a bed.) We also went on a bike ride and went and got Carrie another cake, her third one, at Publix, a total surprise for her, since she had been told there would not be another one.

Man, I love birthdays. Now I can't wait for mine... I wonder if anyone will plan a party for me? (*Wink* *Wink* *Nudge* *Nudge*) Since I won't turn 16 (!) until December, you all have some time to figure out what you want to do...

- Katie