Thursday, February 08, 2007

A motley crew

I dug around in that huge tub of *stuff* from my dad's looking for an idea of what to write about tonight and came up with this pic from my sixth birthday party. I'm the one wearing the tall crown and pigtails. We were a motley bunch of kids! These were all my little friends from the neighborhood. I'm kind of amazed that I can remember all of their names 30 years later, even though I'm not in touch with any of them. Once in a while I run into the tall girl standing behind me on the left; her dad still lives with his new wife across the street from where we grew up. My husband and I visit them at Christmastime and bring cookies.

My birthday is in June, so I always had a party in the backyard. I don't remember doing much of anything besides running around in the bushes and eating ice-cream sandwiches. I laugh remembering that, considering the highly-orchestrated birthday parties people have for their kids nowadays. It must have been enough for my mom to have 8 or 9 of my friends over at the same time and keep us from getting into very much trouble.

15 comments:

Mary said...

Laura, you always bring a smile to my face. Birthday parties are so elaborate these days - but look at the happiness in your face in that photo! I never had more than a few friends and cake and ice cream, along with pin the tail on the donkey, maybe. But it was heaven for me. Thanks for urging me to remember...

silverlight said...

And your birthday parties were most likely a lot more fun then those huge choreographed soiree's People throw now.

dmmgmfm said...

I loved the birthday parties my mom threw for me. Small scale, several of my best friends and family...usually around a campfire if it wasn't too cold. Lovely memories.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

What a cute little birthday girl! You look so excited.

amarkonmywall said...

You were quite the birthday princess- nice dress! I wish I still got as excited about wearing a fluffy party dress as I did back at that age. I can't stay real long- I just woke up from a bunny fix (my husband came home-hurray!) but I'll check back later- promise.

Jayne said...

How very cute Laura! I remember birthday parties as such wonderful events too. I only had maybe three or four with a crowd of friends, but I remember each of them...pin the tail on the donkey and all. Simpler times.

Endment said...

You always warm my heart with your memories!

KGMom said...

You are so right that birthday celebrations these days have become major productions. Parents feel obligated to outdo that prior year.
Your picture shows that children are happy with friends, fun & food.

Anonymous said...

You're a beautiful birthday princess! I used to love my birthday parties and those parties of my friends. Like Mary said, it was cake and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and lots of laughs!
Thanks for sharing your young photos - I love seeing them!

Unknown said...

Fantastic picture, Laura. What a cutie-pie you were.

We generally do the parties at home too. I find that having a houseful of kids fills the time quite nicely!

Ruthie lately has wanted different parties (sleepovers) which is fine but I limit the number of kids. I am not capable of having 7 little girls spend the night. :) None of us would survive, I fear!

I love your "old" picture posts. Thanks for sharing!

Dave Dorsey said...

More sugar please. Nice picture. My bday is in June also.

Anonymous said...

such a great great crew here and it is wonderful remembering all those great times!

Susan Gets Native said...

I refuse to get sucked into all the kid birthday party crap with my kids. And they are darn happy with the family gatherings we have, the cake and ice cream.
What a crown you were wearing! It's almost as tall as you!
Congrats on the new blogger! So, what do you think so far?

Cathy said...

Yes, it's amazing the way we can still attach names to those faces. Just think: stored deep in the recesses of our aging brains live on the smiles and names of those childhood friends.

Anonymous said...

how cute are you? the only thing you were missing at your party was the peanut hunt, trust me.....