Nine is Divine

I am the mother of a 9 year old....that makes me old.  Other than that, what a joy it is (and sometimes a heartache) to see my firstborn as she bravely begins to explore the world.  Sometimes is hilarious, sometimes terrifying, and many time frustrating...but still, so fun to watch her as she decides what kind of person she will be.

One of the gifts she got was checkers.  Please someone help me to understand how to play checkers without completely massacring a much younger opponent...I tried numerous times to give her advice and not make moves that would crush her, but still..I beat her BADLY.  All those years of my dad playing checkers with me are paying off. lol  I'm sure it won't be long until she's shaming me.

The best gift Elle could give me for her birthday, if that makes sense, is picking Tokyo Steakhouse to eat at rather than something like CiCi's pizza.

Our sweet family, with full bellies and a wonderful memory of a cool place to eat.

 

After dinner, we headed home to celebrate with some cake.  She requested an icecream sandwich cake, which again made my heart sing....I've been craving one of those for a while so it was nice to have an excuse to make one!