Officially a TEENAGER

I don't recall a 3 tiered cake on my 13th! I think my first tiered cake was at my wedding!

Jeni and her big brother, Thomas

Brandon got asked to dance with the birthday girl

Chaperones

Superstar of the night...see point #3 below for more on this little "Eminem"

Macarena performance...this was one of the only line dances that was from our time!


Friday night Brandon and I attended Jeni's 13th birthday bash. I think the kids had a blast dancing and we danced a little, too. It was very entertaining to watch the kids and here are some lessons we took away from our night with the kids.

1. It is okay to dance with a boy, but never your own boyfriend. In fact, you really shouldn't ever interact with your boyfriend. No eye contact, no smiles and definitely NO conversation.

2. Dragging your older cousins, siblings, or parents on to the dance floor is acceptable, but once there, you must be totally embarrassed that the older relative is actually dancing. Laughing at the family member's dancing is necessary so that your friends know just how uncool you view your family.

3. Even if you are an 85-pound-white-boy-with-no-rhythm, grabbing the mike and rapping tunes written out on notebook paper makes you a superstar among 13 year olds. Starting over several times due to mess-ups does not make you any less awesome.

4. While slow dancing with a member of the opposite sex, you must keep your elbows firmly locked so that your bodies never come closer than arms length. Throughout the entire song, you should not ever make eye contact or speak with your dance partner. Your feet must step touch, step touch, step touch. Listening for the song's beat is not necessary, you can pick your own tempo so long as you do not deviate from the step touch choreography.

5. If all the boys are taken, dance with one of your girlfriends. This is much better than sitting out which, by the way, seems to be a thing of the past.

6. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER go to the bathroom alone!

7. Make sure you check your cell phone between every song and, for good measure, a few times during each song. It doesn't matter that everyone you know is on the dance floor with you...you could miss an important text--which is dreadful to even imagine.

8. Singing along word for word to songs that have very inappropriate lyrics is fine--even with your parents watching. When one over protective cousin (BRANDON!) points this out and explains the lyrics to your clueless parents, you can totally deny that you ever did such and act totally innocent and oblivious to any such behavior!

And finally...
9. I never want to relive those akward years!