And another turns 13...

Jesikah turned 13 on August 13th, and that means another child in the Bass Family has earned the rank of "teenager".  I am not sure how many more we can handle...  (lol)

We let our kids have friend parties on the even years, so this year was her family birthday year.  She wanted to go to a movie with Eric and I, so we went to see "The Smurfs" which was the only decent thing playing.  It was pretty cute.  We made her favorite meal for her birthday.  Eric cooked yummy ribs and we had mashed potatoes, grren beans, and sweet carrots.  It was good.

Her birthday was on a Saturday, so we let her open her big present in the morning so she would have something fun to do.  It was the Diagon Alley Lego set.  That was exactly what she wanted, and she was very happy!

Jarem and Tessa were excited too

 Before her family party, she had already built part of it:

Birthday Dinner

 It turned out to be a little funny because Alex had been helping out at another boy's eagle project all morning, and he called to see if 2 of his friends could come home with him.  I was not keen on the idea since it was Jesikah's birthday, but he finally convinced me that if it was ok with Jesikah I would let them come over.  He easily talked Jesikah into it.  She has a soft heart and just a few kind words and she was in agreement.  So, strangely, Alex had two friends at Jesikah's party.  She did ask her best friend to come over for just dinner and presents, but she already had other plans.

 Jarem and Tessa put their money together and bought the knight bus Lego set as well as some candy and a card.  Jesikah really liked it.  In the picture. Jarem is saying, "No it isn't" when Alex said that it was from him too.

I bought this peasant top for Jesikah after we went school shopping because she loved it, but couldn't afford it.  Because I am writing this later, I can tell you that it looks beautiful on her. She also got several other tops, a sweatshirt, and a skirt.

She is still looking at the Legos.  Beside her you can see that she got the whole Percy Jackson and the Olympians book set because Alex doesn't like to share his and she loves to read books over and over.  She also got a poster.

About the cake, she had planned to have a mint chocolate cake with brownie pieces on top and pillars.  She sketched the whole thing out in full color.  But, the day before was Eric and I's anniversary and we had bought this Cheesecake Factory cheesecake at Sam's Club.  We planned to share it with the kids on the evening of our anniversary after spending the day together.  Well, we got home a little late, and we really didn't want to eat a heavy cheesecake so late, so we told Jesikah that if she wanted it for a birthday cake, she could have it.  Surprisingly, she decided that she did!  She does LOVE cheesecake, but the real reason why was because "her" cake would take a lot of time to make on her birthday and she wouldn't have as much time to enjoy.  I told her I would make it and she didn't need to help, but she wanted time with me doing other things.

She got several Burt's Bees for her birthday.  Here is her full collection now.

We love having Jesikah in our family.  13 things about her:
1) Loving
2) Helpful
3) Enjoys doing many of the same things that I do
4) Pretty
5) Takes time to make herself look nice
6) Responsible
7) Has a soft heart for others
8) Very good with kids
9) Smart
10) A good cook
11) Is not afraid to stand up for what is right
12) Has high standards for herself
13) Is a friend to everyone