three saturdays, three parties.

this week it was the turn of carpetbiter1. we spent the day waiting for it to happen but it was worth it.

birthday girl, five guests, six ponies and a very energetic riding teacher who spent an hour jollying them all through a series of gymkana games. only one girl thought it was all a bit frightening and even she stayed on pretty much all the way through until she decided that she had a cold eye and needed a rest.

the birthday girl smiled all the way through and managed no tears from start to finish.

warmed by hot chocolate and pringles (aka the devil's work - only permitted once a decade) we went home to play sardines and musical bumps (gets a bit hard to judge now that they're getting older), eat pizza and ice cream. they were a kind bunch of girls and made sure carpetbiter1 felt at the centre of things

we doled out party presents and collapsed. another year done. the june marathon has been a happy one this year but i'm glad we've only got another 6 days to go.