Sent: July 30, 2010 10:34 PM
Subject: The Case of the Missing Birthday Photos

No, it's not a new Hardy Boys mystery, but it is a case of photographic lament. After taking over one hundred photos of Lisa's birthday party last month, I ironically managed to delete the handful of photos I took of the kids' birthday parties.

For his birthday, Jack took half a dozen friends to dinner and then to see Despicable Me. When assorted siblings and their friends were added, we had more than ten kids attending, and the trip to the mall turned into a multi-hour tactical operation. After the movie, we returned home to fill them with cake and attempt a sane bedtime. With five boys full of sugar, we were successful in the former and less so with the latter.

For her birthday, Cate invited five friends for pizza dinner and a night's sleepover. After much running around and scheming (the girls, not the parents), we decided to settle things down with a movie. Much to Cate's disappointment, we couldn't get her Hachiko DVD to work (note: never trust physical media), so they all settled for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. They loved the movie, and we didn't have to be ashamed to tell their parents what they'd watched (and maybe they'd forget to ask when their child went to bed -- with five girls chatting, it was an unholy hour).

While we're often ashamed of the printer-friendly version, we're again immensely regretful about the dearth of witty bullet points. They're seemingly impossible to find this time of year.

That's it for now!

Lisa and Greg

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