Cassidy Is 5

A daughter is the happy memories of the past,
the joyful moments of the present,
and the hope and promise of the future.

-Unknown

Cassidy turned five in July, and all she wanted was a pinata, a tiara, and a trip to the zoo.

So in the photo above we are enjoying our trip to the zoo, and below, we have the pinata.

I can’t say I’ve ever really understood the allure of the pinata, the need to beat something with a stick to get at the goodies inside, but whatever. Kid wants a pinata (thank you, Jon & Kate, for letting her know that she NEEDED a pinata) and a pinata she had.

The boys chipped in on the candy to ensure we got the good stuff instead of the usual pinata fare of cheap plastic toys and chalky sweets. The downside to that was, the thing was packed so tight that nobody could bust it open.

We tried-

and tried-

and tried-

until finally Jeff broke the stick on the thing’s back.

So, we just opened up the trapdoor on the thing’s butt and dumped out the candy, and Cass has a lovely souvenir from her 5th birthday.

(Note: the candles in the top picture caused some sort of weird reflection in the camera lens, which resulted in Cassidy appearing to wear a tiara made of fairy fire. The actual tiara was broken maybe ten minutes after escaping its package. But it’s a neat effect, eh?)

Happy belated internet birthday to my darling girl, my girly girl, full of fire and enthusiasm and bubbling laughter and cheer, who loves everything and everyone and makes me strive to be a good mother and a good person, to be every good thing she perceives me to be.