Annika's Birthday

Annika was our next birthday.

We spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. There you can see the roller coasters at Hershey Park in the background.

No. We didn't go there. Instead, we went to Hershey Chocolate World. Fast. Free. Not exhausting.

...but it still has a ride...the chocolate factory tour that we all love. :)

Since Annika's birthday fell right near Easter this year, we also dyed eggs (a tradition we skipped last year.)

Some kids - who claimed to be totally uninterested in egg dying - where the most involved.

...and we had a barbecue (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!), accompanied by gross things like shrimp for the birthday girl. Yuck. She didn't get that from me.

Costco cheesecake. Much yummier than nasty shrimp.

Annika is always both easy and hard to shop for. This year, she wanted a rose bush for her birthday. Well, we bought one and planted it....but you can't exactly wrap up a bush and open it on your birthday.

...and it's mostly a bunch of thorny twigs at the moment anyhow. 

Not very impressive.

So, we upgraded the birthday girl's ipod from a shuffle to a nano.

The biggest part of that gift is me tolerating the birthday girl's constant use of ear buds and her never having any recollection of anything that I say to her, while claiming to always be able to hear me.

Pretty appropriate for this birthday milestone.

Happy Birthday, you teenager you!