Celebrate Good Times, C'mon!

We would make Kool & the Gang proud; I know we would.

Up in these parts, we scoff at birthday. We are all about birthweek. Especially when we (I) have been waiting a VERY long time to celebrate a child's birthday without worrying about snowfall.

We began celebrating Charleigh's first birthday by spending last weekend at Jellystone, Natural Bridge. By "we," I mean Jim, Cade, Clementine, Charleigh, and I; Cade's our curly-headed friend Andrew; Mom, Dad, and Baxter; Aunt Ellie, Uncle John, Daniel, and Madison; Rachel, Scott, and Zach; and Rob, Wendy, Luke, and Cole.

That would be thirteen people from the Greater Richmond Area; two people and one dog from East Tennessee; and four people from Hagerstown, Maryland. Everyone traveled a minimum of 2.5 hours to Natural Bridge, despite the likelihood of rain (since a hurricane was about to hit the coast). 

As it turns out, Cade pulled a muscle in his "shneck" (what I call the shoulder/neck area) at Jellystone, and Clementine managed to release the parking break on a keyless golf cart and send it rolling downhill, where it crashed into a fire pit.

But the weather was great! Here are some of my favorite photos. (I didn't manage to take any photos of either Scott or myself and borrowed those two from Rachel.)

Today, on Charleigh's actual birthday, we visited Miss Kim at Sears Portrait.

As always, she did a beautiful job.

(And here's an unprompted, shameless plug for Touchdown Tutus: my sister-in-law Jill's business. Jill made Charleigh's t-shirt and tutu. Please check out her wares on facebook and/or etsy. I know you have a little girl in your life who could use a tutu, and seriously? Jill has mad skills!)

So, anyway, then it was lunch and play with Clementine's and Charleigh's BFFs Camden and Zach.

And, later, it was a giant cupcake at home.

(My cousin-sister Andrea was here, which made it extra nice.)

And you know what? I have yet to sing anything but "Happy Birthday," so it's not quite over! Charleigh still has gifts to unwrap; a (yet unpurchased) cake to eat; and lots of celebrating to do at her favorite place (the lake) with some of her favorite people.

After all, a person doesn't turn one every day!