Richardson Family Raconteur: Summer wrap-up; Pancakes and parties!

Harriet and Jack's middle school rudely interrupts our last few days of vacation to remind us through

registration that our days are numbered....

The giant stacks at the school library book pick up reminds us that

even in Southern California the summer isn't really endless.

BUT, before school can officially start there are a couple of things we still have to do...

First and foremost is our (now) long standing tradition of getting together in the day or two before school begins for the Back-to-School Breakfast at the Original House of Pancakes! For at least the fifth or sixth year in a row Grandpa invited all of his within-range grandkids and their folks to join he and Grandma for a delicious breakfast and all around fun morning together to mark the end of summer/beginning of school year. For the past several years we have held the breakfast on Labor Day morning so that Pete could join us as well, as we did that again this year. We even managed to catch Kenzie on her last full day in town before she heads back up to school at BYU-I!

Hot chocolate and competitive creamer structure constructing are part of the tradition...

Group photo with Grandpa and Grandma

(yes we all woke up early after having a sleepover of all the

cousins minus Kenzie at our house the night before, and it shows)

Group photo on the railing in front of the OPH - another part of the tradition

(Pete was behind the camera)

Thank you again Grandpa for continuing this delicious tradition!

For the rest of the (Labor) day we are invited to a block party with friends in our neighborhood. We take Porter along with us to enjoy the fun including a barbecue, a bouncy waterslide, and someone's giant pet parrot (macaw?).

Porter and parrot

The view from my chair under the easy-up next to my friends.

Didn't move from here much.

Porter getting ready to slide down - Jed in the pool at the bottom

Henry takes a run

The blue cooler at Pete's feet was filled with homemade Tamales-

better than the barbecue even...

Labor Day was overcast and cooler, actually the perfect

weather for being outside for hours eating and chatting.

The day after Labor day and the day before school starts is a special one - it is the day that my twins become TEENAGERS!

I was enjoying my last morning in my room of not having to get up and get everyone moving when I heard something next door - I go into Harriet's room and find that Jed and Henry, all on their own, have made her a birthday breakfast in bed! (Jack slept over at a friend's house and wasn't around) She is very touched by their effort, and I am impressed at the work they did all by themselves, including getting the serving tray down from its storage place on top of the fridge!

They fixed her a bowl of her favorite cereal, toasted and buttered two pieces of bread, poured her a glass of OJ complete with a straw, and served it with a muffin and a personalized birthday note!

It was so cute...

For their 13th birthday we have planned separate parties for Harriet and Jack to spend with their friends. Harriet's is today!

the adorable invitation we commissioned from Sugarhouse Ink

As is mentioned, Harriet wanted to have a colorful Tie Dye party! We had planned from the start to have the party outdoors due to its potentially messy nature. We were a bit worried when the Labor day before had been cooler and overcast, but we need not have worried. Today, the party day, was just the opposite; sunny, cloudless, and HOT!

There are 13 girls at the 13th birthday party - upon arrival they are invited to write a message to Harriet on the driveway in colorful chalk...

The colorful theme continues when Harriet opens her gifts...

The girls are given a goodie bag of colorful goodies, including a white t-shirt that they can tie-dye on the lawn.

Luckily, water is an integral part of the tie-dye process, and soon the buckets and hose are used in an impromptu water fight to cool off the girls - did I mention it was HOT outside today?!

Drying off post tie-dye/water fight activity

Harriet and her ice cream cake with party guests

(Harriet's clothes were soaked in the water fight so she changed)

Happy 13th Birthday sweet, smart Harriet!

(party tie-dye t-shirts drying in the sun)

All in all it was a fun party and a great chance for Harriet and her friends to hang out one last time

before school starts the next day, and celebrate the fact that she's a TEENAGER!!

Jack had a party with his friends as well. We ended up taking five of his friends to Sky High,

a trampoline arena in Costa Mesa that is literally wall to wall to ceiling trampolines!

There are several arenas for different activities - this one is dedicated solely to games of dodgeball, which Jack and his friends play over and over again