Tink's 13th Birthday!

My baby is 13 years old.  A teenager! I'm not sure how that happened because just yesterday she was playing with dinosaurs and her face was smeared with peanut butter and jelly.  Now she plays video games and wipes her face after she eats. I tried offering her cash to stop growing, but the horse had already left the barn.  She acts more and more like an adult every day and I try my best to be happy and proud of the woman she is becoming (because she is AMAZING), but sometimes I just want to cry because I miss my baby so much.  :)  You moms know what I mean! 

She has grown up quite a bit since that picture.  And what a sweetheart she has become! She is the sweetest, kindest, most considerate person I have ever met.  A true angel.

We had a wonderful birthday weekend.  My parents took us all out to eat at a seafood restaurant for lunch Saturday and then we went back to their house for cake, presents, and a swim.  So much fun!!

We watched some pelicans while we ate.

Tink had the clam chowder...

and crab cakes.

Grandma and Grandpa had the shrimp basket.

Goose had a chicken sandwich (huge surprise there), Bubba had the Mahi Mahi sandwich, and I had the Captain's Platter, which was shrimp, clam strips, oysters, scallops, and Mahi.  No, I'm not a huge pig--I shared! :) :)  But I didn't get a picture of any of those meals.  I did get a nice shot of the neat restaurant, though.

 I highly recommend their Top Shelf Margaritas!

Grandma tied the birthday balloons to the noodles in her pool.  So creative!!  The whole lanai was decorated with birthday banners.  Tink was thrilled!!!

The cake was from Bon Appetit magazine. Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake with Chocolate Ganache.  I followed the recipe exactly and it was out of this world!  Tink said that it's the only birthday cake she wants for the rest of her life.  So sweet. :)  She said, "it will become a tradition!"  Have I mentioned yet that she is awesome? 

Jango Fett managed to take over the cake at one point.  Tink was so excited to see him.  She is a HUGE Star Wars fan.  HUGE.  Maybe a little obsessed.

This is what the cake was supposed to look like, sans Star Wars character...

It was delicious.  Simply, perfectly delicious.  Best chocolate cake we have ever had.

Tink's favorite present was a box full of vintage Star Wars characters that Goose bought for her from a collector.  Goose was so proud to spend her own money (and quite a bit of it) buying her sister something she knew Tink would fall to pieces over.  And she was beyond happy.  She added Jango to the mix after he climbed down off the cake. 

Goose's bunny, Fudge, tried to get in on the action.  (The bunny started off named Edelweiss. Then we started calling him Funny Bunny, then Fuddy Buddy, which led to us calling him Fudd. Then he was kinda messy one day and has since been called Fudge. That name will stick.  For now.) 

I got a little weepy thinking about both our girls being teenagers now.  Bubba helpfully reminded me that Goose will be driving next year. Geesh.  I am so proud of both of them.  Sweet, thoughtful, intelligent, creative, and all around awesome.  I can't wait to see the adults they will become!