"Mom, today has been the best day. Thank you so much!" Lindsey told me after the 23 teen-aged guests left our house last night after 11 pm.
Here's the cake I baked. It was a carrot cake with a ton of frosting and sprinkles.

Guests from left to right included Jessica, Emma, Jill, Emily, (birthday girl Lindsey), McKenzie, Lauren, Jen, Zach, Paul, Kayla, Sierra, and Kathy.
Scott, John-Michael, Julia, Preston, Jared, Ivan, and Jeff also attended. Not pictured are Craig, Hayden, Tom, and Brady.


"Wilbur" displayed the menu of Pesto Party Squares, Tamale Round About, Tropical Turkey and Spinach Salad, California Wraps, Hawaiian Dip with Fruit Kabobs, Caramel Corn Snack Mix, Birthday Cake and Ice Cream, and Assorted Soft Drinks. I cooked everything except the Tamale Round About and made a last minute change to serve Chili Dogs, which I'm so glad I did, because the kids seemed to really enjoy those. Some of the ones with more gourmet taste-buds liked the other goodies too.


The first person to arrive took off her shoes, and everyone else continued, even though I didn't care one way or the other. I thought this was a cute image.
Lindsey opened gifts afer everyone left because she told me in advance that she would be too embarrassed to do it with everyone watching her. She got a lot of fantastic gifts and very thoughtful cards that she'll treasure. One gift didn't have a card...who gave her the red sports car (Matchbox) with the Teenage Soup for the Soul books? Lindsey was delighted when Lauren and Brad showed up the day before the party and said they couldn't be here, but wanted to deliver her the cheerful, bright flowers. I thought that was so sweet of them to do.
Lauren striking her usual pose.
Emma gave a Grammy-winning performance during the birthday song. (In her mind, at least.) It was pretty silly, but charmingly Emma.
Here's a cute little picture of me in kindergarten, 1968. All my life, I've never forgotten this shot below in first grade (1969) when the photog asked me to say "peaches" and he snapped the shot at the "ch" sound. If you're trying to get a kid to smile, don't tell them to say peaches. It's scarred me for life. Mom, what the heck happened to my hair? Did I fix it myself? After all, I was in second grade and very capable. My grandma crocheted that groovy vest for me, but who is responsible for the hack job on my hair? Hello, 1970! Who knows where my third grade picture is. We moved so often, changing schools, that I might have missed picture day. Next is my fourth grade mug shot. I must have sworn off bangs by then. Thank goodness for those plastic barrettes to deal with the in-between length. Notice how every year I wore green? Yeah, it's been my favorite color for as long as I can remember. I don't have an actual school pic of me in f...
Comments
What a par-tay Kelly!!!!!! Holy cow, you throw the best parties. Lindsey is sooooooo lucky to have such an awesome mom like you. I'm bowing down to you right now. What a special day and what a fun night. Please give her birthday hugs for me. Sweet 16 is the best! Wish I was 16 for the day and could crash a fun party like that with such yummy food. Glad it was a success :)
Kelly, will you make me that cake for my birthday? It looked SO good!!