Over The Rainbow: Fourteenth Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Olivia's fourteenth birthday. On Saturday, as we readied the house for Olivia and her friends, she made the cake for her party. For weeks she planned out a strategy for constructing a six-layer rainbow cake, similar in construction and appearance to this one. With the hope of keeping things as simple and efficient as possible and since this was her first big cake undertaking, she decided to use two cake mixes and canned icing. It still took a good four hours to make. She found the gel colors to be the easiest to work with and she was able to get the saturated colors she desired. With much patience and planning, she ended up with a fabulous, simply huge cake, and it came out beautifully.












Sunday

After a Sunday brunch that was more like lunch (shush! We forgot to set our clocks ahead before bed, okay?), we asked Olivia to sit and open her presents already because we couldn't stand it anymore. Funnily enough, she was happy to oblige.







With hugs and smiles and thank yous all around, she was down to her last gift and Alex and I were trying to keep from shooting each other sly glances. And then she started opening her gift.



She opens the box and finds...a bag of brown rice and a can of tomato sauce and...??







I've so enjoyed my smart phone and it just seemed like a good tool for her to have, too. She was beyond thrilled and grateful and sweet. She's been getting apps and filling her contacts and calendar since then. She told me this afternoon it's like being able to take her whole life places with her.

After a few hours getting acquainted with her phone, we went out for some dinner and a stop at one of our favorite haunts for some books and music. When we came home, still on our old time and still full of energy, we had more cake, after which we snuggled together on the sofa to watch a movie Olivia had been wanting to see.









I think fourteen will be a good year for her. These years are challenging for most, and she's certainly had her own hurdles, but everytime she just comes out stronger and more confident and mindful. Everyday we are overwhelmed with pride and love for her and here's the thing--she returns it. We all know we are loved and adored by her and we feel exactly the same about her. Happy Birthday, our darling girl!