Forty Years Young

Forty isn't that old.  My parents' friend turned 40 and we went to her surprise birthday party and she's definitely not old.

Plus I got to jump on a trampoline at her party, so I thought that was really cool.

Camptastic Summer

You may have  noticed that I haven't had a tip for a couple of days.  You would think that now that I'm a fourth grader and it's summer, I'd have more time.  But, I have to go to camps during the day.  They are actually sometimes fun.  They're not awesome, but they're fun.

It's just camps that camps keep you so busy and you're so tired that you can forget to do your tip.

So, my tip for today is that you should really enjoy your camp if you go to one, but be sure to get enough rest to enjoy it.

I mean, look at me.  It's 10:30!  I should already be asleep.

G'night.

P.S.  Happy birthday Aunt Janelle!!

Best Birthday Ever: Best Birthday Weekend EVER!!

What a great weekend!  Sorry I missed a couple of days of tips.  I was too caught up in the best birthday weekend ever.  Here's a quick rundown:

• Friday:  Had sleepover party with friends.  Played game of Survivor.  (Tom was the sole survivor.  I was runner up.  I saved Tom early in the game by giving him my individual immunity and then he won the whole thing!!) Got presents.  (I have a whole set of Lantern Rings now.) Watched a movie. (Bandslam . . . thumbs up.)  Stayed up late.
• Saturday:  Woke up and went swimming with friends. Had playdate with Emil, because he couldn't stay at the sleepover because of his baseball game. Grandma came down and started making my caterpillar costume for Alice in Wonderland.  Ate at Casa Brava . . . thy gave me a sombrero and sang Feliz Cumpleano to me.  Watched Doctor Who . . . big thumbs up.
• Sunday:  Family came to our house for birthday celebration.  Went swimming with my cousins.  Ate lunch.  Got presents (comics, a scooter, and some Legos).  My favorite comic I got was the Absolute Edition of Crisis on Infinite Earths in hardback.  Performed "Ode to Joy" at piano recital . . . thumbs up.  Ate subway . . . a footlong for a nine year old tummy!  Then, watched Survivor finale . . . thumbs up, except I think Sandra shouldn't have won, I wanted Colby or Jerri to win.  I liked Russell, but I didn't want him to win.

What a BIG weekend.

So my last tip for the Best Birthday Ever is make the most of everything you do for your birthday and you'll have a blast like I did!

Best Birthday Ever: Dream Theme

To have the best birthday party ever, you need a good theme.  Last year, I had a soccer and olympic challenge theme.  This year my theme is Survivor Kids.  My friends and I are going to make up two tribes: Cumpleanos Tribe and Geburtstag Tribe.  We are going to have luxury and immunity challenges.  After the immunity challenges, someone will get voted off until we merge into a single tribe and then have a sole survivor.

Themes have to be fun and not too complicated.  You need to make sure they're not too babyish or anything.  That's the worst when a party is Dora the Explorer or Clifford the Big Red Dog or Bob the Builder or something like that and the kids are just too old to think that's cool.

Best Birthday Ever: Goody Two Shoes

Next tip in the Best Birthday Party Ever series is about goody bags.  They are usually good, if you put the right stuff in them.  If you put bad stuff in them, like garbage or samples of your DNA, that would not make the party any fun.  Good goody bags have things that are not expensive, but still are fun.  It's not a good idea to put super nice stuff that is really expensive in goody bags.  Then, it's just a waste of money.  And it makes it seem like you're trying to buy off your friends with bling bling.  You want people to have fun, not praise you for your money spending.

Best Birthday Ever: Eats and Decor

Here's tip number three in my ongoing series of how to have the best birthday party ever.

Cake and balloons and pizza always make for a better party.  I don't even really like cake and I still know that you need it for a successful birthday party.  Plus, my mom makes a mean Wilton cake decorated however I want.

Balloons make for a more festive environment.  Pizza is just yummy.

Here's a preview for tomorrow's tip:  two words . . . goody bags!!

Best Birthday Ever: Installment #1

In honor of my ninth birthday on Sunday, over the next few days I'm going to give you nine tips on how to have the best birthday ever.  Today I'm featuring two tips.

First, sleepover birthday parties with friends are very effective for fun celebrations, because you get to have lots of friends and they can spend a long time with you.

Second, if you're having a pool party, make sure you tell everyone to bring their swimming gear, because you don't want to have someone forget their swimming gear and then have to sit out of the pool and watch everyone else swim or, worse yet, get in the pool in their underwear.  Gross!

Stay tuned for more "Best Birthday Ever Tips" this week.

The Height of Fun

If you want to go to someplace for rock climbing, I recommend Hoosier Heights in Bloomington.  My friend Hugo is having a birthday party there and he invited me.  I can't wait to go there and climb to the top of the wall without falling off.  You should try it, too.

Don't be scared.  I'm not.