Happy Birthday, Grace

Grace turned 10 today!  It was a hard day, with Pikachu being put down, but in some ways it was good to have the distraction of a birthday celebration to pull everyone out of the doldrums.

We got home from the vet at 1:30, a plumber came by to check out something they had done last week, and then Anna, Grace, and I did our weekly shopping at Walmart and Sams, which was a fun distraction for them.  We had Grace's birthday dinner tonight, which was chili, baked potatoes, and spinach strawberry salad.  But we weren't totally thinking straight, because we completely forgot about the pop we had just bought at Sams for the celebration!

Bob brought home some balloons, and Grace tied the "You're #1" balloon onto Pikachu's cage.  This brought about a fresh round of grief, and I wasn't sure we were going to make it through the rest of the evening.

Grace started out pretty glum, opening her presents.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long before she had perked up.  She is a hard one to buy for, because she's so quiet, but Anna really came through.  Every time Grace mentioned wishing for something or liking something, Anna made a little note of it (and, more importantly, told me, lol).  So Grace got a thermos, some new athletic shirts, the always popular candy selection (that's what Grace is opening here, which is why Verity is starting to move over to her chair . . . ), a watch, some earbuds, a purse for church, and, from Grandma and Grandpa, a new Bop-It game, which has already been very popular with everyone, not just her!

Obviously the evening ended up on a happier note than it began!  We didn't have her cake tonight, but we did have ice cream.  She wants a strawberry cake, and she and Anna will probably make it and decorate it this weekend, and she wants to have corn dogs for lunch one day, which will probably be Wednesday.  I think it will be good to spread out the celebration a bit, so that her whole birthday won't be overshadowed by Pikachu's untimely death.  I guess it will definitely be a birthday to remember, for better or for worse.  Now that she's 10, we need to find a time to get Grace her military ID card, the milestone for any military child!