11 and Counting!!!!!

I am a bit behind the times with this post, but better late than never! The last few months are always busy ones for us, largely because it is birthday season at the Rideout house! Heidi comes first midway through January. This year she turned 11! She is becoming quite a young lady and maturing and growing in every way. She is a joy to have in our family. We are very proud of her!

We usually get together with cousins to celebrate on the day. This year Heidi requested a birthday breakfast, but scheduling required that it be an evening breakfast, but we enjoyed Breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls anyway. For the first time the kids took over the "big" table and the adults got their own table off to the side... nothing like being outnumbered! The kids were thrilled :)

Heidi's birthday party followed close behind. She had a clue party this year. Each guest was asked to come dressed as one of the characters from the game "Clue." From left to right they are: Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Col. Mustard, Miss Scarlett, Prof. Plum, Mrs. White, Mlle Brune (we added her to have enough characters). The butler is on the right and Ms. Body is lying across the girls' laps. Here is a close up of Ms. Body, the victim and former owner of Mystery Mansion. The rooms in our house were transformed into the various rooms in Mystery Mansion and several clue playing cards were hidden in each room. Here is the butler who greeted each guest at the door. He is standing in the Dining Room. Each member received a notebook with a clue chart inside to mark off their clues. They went from room to room looking for the hidden cards, marking off the appropriate boxes and rehiding the cards for those coming behind them. When someone solved the mystery, they ran to headquarters and rang a bell. We then opened the envelope to see if their accusation was correct and they won, or if they were mistaken and out of the game. We put snacks in each of the rooms, so the girls could nibble as they went around. It was lots of fun and very easy! We played multiple rounds as each time we just had to reshuffle and rehide the cards. In between rounds we ate cake and opened presents. What a fun group of girls!