Party Season

Let the birthday season commence!

If you thought January was busy in our house for birthdays, then you haven't seen our spring.  Basically, if you are not born in December or January (mom, Zoe, myself, and Avery), then your birthday falls between Mar. 24 and May 19. It starts off with Papa Skov, quickly followed by Emily, then John, then Hilary, then Mr. Level-Headed, and finally, Elliot. Phew! Throw Easter somewhere in the mix, and you've got yourself one crazy, wild party season. To celebrate each birthday, everyone gathers at my house for dinner and birthday cake. It is always way too loud and we always eat way too much food. I love my family!

On Monday, the boys and I went to get groceries. As soon as they saw me put bottles of pop in the cart, they got excited because they know that if mama buys pop, it can only mean one thing: party time!  Every morning, Avery would stumble in my room, half-awake, and ask:

Is the party today?

My kids love our family get-togethers.

Not today, Avery. It is on Sunday.

When Sunday finally came, the kids were ecstatic. The pizzas were baking, the pop was chilling, and they were buzzing.

When are the coming?

Are they here?

There they are  . . . just kidding!

There's John and Tiffany's car . . . just kidding!

There's Grampy and Grammie . . . just kidding!

Yes, this is Elliot's latest and most annoying trick to play on us. He fails to realise that the more he does it, the less we fall for it, but nonetheless, he thinks it is comedic gold. Therefore, he does it over and over and over and over again. What a kid!

This year, for the first time, we skyped with my sister Hilary who lives in Halifax. It was hilarious! Five skov's and three Websters vying for the best position to see Hilary and to be heard. We are not known for our social graces. In the end, albeit probably very overwhelming for my sister, it was a huge success and will probably become just as much a party staple as the pop, the cake, and the teasing. Especially, since Emily, my youngest sister, is off to UBC in the fall to get her Masters degree in Creative Writing . . . woohoo!

All in all, I would have to say that Papa Skov's 60th birthday was a hit. For Elliot, though, this birthday was a tremendous success. You have to understand that although Elliot gets excited for our parties, he also finds them very overwhelming and typically retreats to the basement for the entire time. Recently, he is not so quick to escape and he often sits down and eats with everyone. Well, I say eat, but in all honesty, he more like picks at his food, but we have to start somewhere. After dinner, while we were all gathered around the table carrying on at least two different conversations, Elliot pulled out his Ipod and played with one of his apps. He took a picture of Grampy's car, did something with the app, and made a short video of Grampy's car being crushed by a gigantic boulder barrelling from the sky. He was quite pleased with his work and showed everyone. Much to his surprise, everyone laughed and asked to see it again. Elliot's face beamed and he did as he was asked. Then he went on to make more videos. The most popular one being a video of Grampy's head exploding. He titled that one: What Happens When You Get Grampy Angry. Of course, we laughed and laughed. Trust me, if you grew up in the Skov household, you would too.

After everyone left, Elliot came up behind me and gave me a big squeeze.

Did you have fun tonight, Bud?

Yep. Did you notice that I made everyone laugh tonight?

Yes, I did. Everyone really liked your videos. They were very cool.

This was the first time I have ever made them laugh.

Really? I think you have made them laugh before.

Nope. This was the first time.

Well, congratulations! You are becoming a Skov.

I don't know about that; I made them laugh, but I don't think I will ever get their jokes.

 . . . tee hee!

Yes, Bud. Most people don't.

Happy Birthday Papa Skov!

Same time, same place, same jokes next weekend? 

Oh, and if you missed it on Saturday night, my second article was published with www.familyshare.com. Please read it here. Then like it and share it with the Facebook tab at the top. If you are on Pinterest, you can pin it. If you are twitter, you can tweet it.  Or you can do all three. Easy cheesy!  Thanks everyone.