Sweet 16: Done Right This Time

(These first four pictures were taken by members of the Purdy clan, in case any of you had enough faith in me to think I'm in any state to climb a small hill, let alone a mountain. For the record, anthills tax me to my fullest these days, no pun intended.)

Anyone who's been following here for more than six months knows of our friends the Purdys and are probably aware of their unusual blend of generosity, excess, and ingenuity in gift-giving. What you may not know is that they also, in later years, have orchestrated daytrips along those same lines. The oldest three girls were invited along on two Big Purdy Adventures this year, one to the mountains and one on a river kayaking trip.

Annika wasn't sure if she'd be able to go, given the state of her knees since February, but the Lord orchestrated gracious and knowledgeable help from P.T. Titi P.(urdy), and her knees healed enough to allow it. It was-- as is evident by her grin in the above pictures-- one of the best days of her entire life!

Two weeks later, we had a belated 16th birthday celebration, so mountains were on the menu...er...or at least on the invitation.

Due to night-time rainstorms, we couldn't set anything up until the morning of the party, and these peaceful pictures are the result of frenzied scurrying.

 Thanks to guests bringing wheelbarrows of chips, this is now known as The Chip Party. It was awesome, and each new bag made me happier than the last.

Annika in paradise.

One highlight of the party was the fact that the Terry cousins were able to make it down from the North Country. John turned 18 on the day of Annika's party, so he, too, got a cake.

Aaaaaand that's all I've got. But don't despair! I stole some! Here are more!

Photo credit to those I name. With post-facto thanks... :)
These first six snapshots are courtesy of Heidi. 

These next five are stolen with thanks to Caleb Purdy. (Also, a big thank you to whichever Purdy owns that volleyball net and has brought it to both parties. It was perfect!)

And this last one-- sole evidence of the many guitar performances we enjoyed from the Terry boys and from Corynn-- is stolen with thanks to Cadie Purdy. I think things broke up around 9 o'clock or so, with the diehards gathered around the guitar.

Happy birthday, Nixie! We know of no better gift than to surround you with chums, and we love you!