Celebration of the Fool

Our Nixie turned nine on April Fool's Day. WHAT IS THIS?!  Oh, it's called time passing?  Great.

(I'm happy to say she makes an excellent nine-year old.)

 Her birthday breakfast was ready in stages.  Course 1: Home fries and oranges with a candle.

Course 2: Her favorite muffins-- orange-yogurt-- to be slapped someday on buildabelly

 

(the reason for these pictures)

...with a candle.

 

Her cake was a doozy, and it will never happen again.  She asked for (get this) a tree-- specifically, the cherry tree, with her, Dakota, and Ethan happily perched within.  I don't watch television, so how was I to know you could make crazy shapes out of rice crispy treats?  I wish I had known before the fact, because when someone told me about a cake show that uses that technique, I was flooded with rage.  IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO EASY!  What did I use? I'm so glad you asked.  My professional equipment included the following: toilet paper tubes, aluminum foil, duct tape (yup), old candy apple sticks, and then, when the tree fell over five times after I frosted it, a few metal skewers to brace the thing and lots more frosting to cover them up.  Oh, and cake.

If you're wondering why the tree's a lumpy mess, that could be why.  We barely had time to sing and blow out the candles before the tree collapsed for a final time.  Tiiiiiiimbeeeeerrrrrrr!

I did really love the bark Annika scavenged right before the party to make into a swing.

Once she put herself, Dak, and Ethan (in the tree), Grandma (on the grass), Cassie and Zeke (on the stump), Hannah (on the swing), and Candida and somebody else (leaning against the tree) onto the cake, it looked pretty cute, provided you didn't look at the actual tree-lump.

She was pleased and thought the teetering tree was funny, so it was worth it, but....never again.  Happy ninth, Nixie!  You're the only one for whom I'll ever make a toilet paper roll tree.  Such is my love.