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Dough-nado and the No Eyed Monster

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Dear Baby,

Someday, you'll read this, and try and remember the details of your fifth birthday, affectionately known as Baby's Birthday Bash. So, I, along with your other aunt, uncle, grandparents, and parents have decided to record for you the events of your celebration. Lollie told us that if we didn't, we would lose all our Christmas presents, so it seems a fair trade to give you memories of a day in which we celebrated you and how happy we are to have you as a part of our family. 

Baby's Birthday Bash was a time of great Halloween celebration and cheer. We laughed, we carved, we sang, and we ate. So. Much. Food. And. Candy. The bowls on the counter were filled with Twix, Reeses peanut butter cups AND pumpkins AND ghosts(Reeses really has it together), Kit Kats, and Milky Ways, and by the end of the BBB, pretty much all of it was gone. Two food-related events I really loved from BBB were Donut on a String and Apple Bobbing. After all, what's better than a little food competition? 

Ethan and Mark spent quite a lot of time cutting string and tying doughnuts around them. We then went through the process of trying to find a broomstick now which we could hang the doughnuts, and the heats were created. 

Heat 1: Men and Baby

  

Heat 2: Women and Baby(who still had a little doughnut left, and as the birthday girl, was given a little extra time)

Heat 3: Winners from Heat 1(Daddy and Ethan) and Baby

Heat 4: Winners from Heat 2 (Allison and Rebecca (I think. It may have been Glo. All I know for sure is that it wasn't me) and Baby

Heat 5: Winners of Heats 3 (Ethan) and 4 (Allison)

Now, you may be wondering why this competition was so fun for me, as I was out in the first round in which I competed. Well, it's all thanks to the Dough-nado. 

I was chosen to hold the strings on which the winners' doughnuts were strung, rather than placing them on the broomstick. This allowed for both mobility and creativity. As I was grabbing the strings, Mark, ever the comedian, whispered, "Hannah, right when they get up to you to eat their doughnuts, just start spinning in a circle."

I accepted my mission. Allison and Ethan ran up to me at the start of the heat, and I began spinning. This was met with protests from both parties, but I continued spinning(and laughing) regardless. The real challenge had begun. How could they possibly eat a moving target? 

Well, in a moment of genius, Allison went to the stablest point of the string(right by my hand), then moved with me as she moved down the string, and wrangled her doughnut. Within seconds, the competition was over, and the winner was declared. Props to Ethan for not giving up, despite the fury of the Dough-nado. 

Now, bobbing for apples. A lot of people think that bobbing for apples is gross, because you're sticking your face in a bucket of water full of other people's face goo, but let's be honest. Every day of our lives is spent breathing the same air as the people around us. Anyway, there was an added element of Ew this time as we decided to use the same apples for each heat. I can't remember the exact pairings, but I do know that I was once again beaten. How, you might ask? Well, I have a serious issue of being able to open my eyes when there is water on my eyelids. Maybe it comes from my strange inability to watch makeup tutorials or years of contacts. Who knows. But we would each lean over a bucket of six apples, with a towel beneath our knees. Knowing that I would need to see the apples after which I would be chasing, I chose to bring my towel up to also give me access to my face. Needless to say, this proved my downfall. I couldn't wipe my eyes and bob quickly enough to win, though I did put up a good fight. In the end, Glo, my little sister, overcame me. How quickly she has grown. I believe that Ethan and Daddy went against each other at one point, and maybe Mark and Ethan, and maybe Glo and Mark. Baby and Brother also tried their hand at apple-bobbing, with some assist from Poppie. In the end, I think it may have been Ethan that won overall. 

We all wanted to throw away the very bitten-into apples, but Daddy insisted on keeping them, saying that he would use them to make some applesauce. Sure enough, the next day we enjoyed "Pork chops and applesauce", courtesy of the Wonder Parents. And it was delicious. 

Happy Birthday, Baby. We love you. 

Love,

Salem the Cat (aka, Tia Hannah)






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