Birthdays

We created a new tradition in the Allen Family this year: big birthday parties will occur every other year. "Big birthday parties" are defined as inviting 15 or more friends somewhere so that mom and dad can drop $300 for the kids to have fun, eat, play, and give us a headache overall. Don't get me wrong... we love creating memories for our kids and allowing them to spend all of our money. However, I think once every two years is memory enough.

Yesterday, we celebrated Brett's 7th birthday with friends at Main Event, where I get overstimulated about five minutes after crossing the threshold. You can play laser tag, rock climb, putt-putt golf in the dark, bowl, and play video games and pool. This year, Brett wanted to have a rock-climbing party, but we weren't sure all of his friends met the 48 inch height requirement so bowling it was.

Of course, Brett wanted to invite about 50 friends (he IS his mother's son, after all) but we decided he could either invite his baseball team or his class at school. He chose baseball. Then, he tacked on a couple of girls, his cousins, a neighbor and a few church friends. Lucky for us, Spring Break caused a few of them not to come!

All in all, 12 of the coolest kids in town accompanied Brett to his party and here's the proof: